PHOENIX -- The Diamondbacks launched a new era Saturday, and "launched" was the operative word.
With Paul Goldschmidt homering twice and getting a career-high six RBI, the D-backs scored a franchise-record 18 runs in finally beating the Dodgers at home Saturday, hours after announcing the hiring of Hall of Fame inductee Tony La Russa to the newly created position of chief baseball officer.
The D-backs also got home runs from Chris Owings, A.J. Pollock and Eric Chavez among their 11 extra-base hits in the 18-7 victory at Chase Field, their first win in seven home games (including Australia) against the Dodgers this season.
It was the kind of high-powered game they had been waiting for all season.
"They haven't really broken out this year, and tonight we did," manager Kirk Gibson said. "We were patient. We got pitches to hit and we hammered them. We were on our way."
The victory was particularly notable because it came against two-time National League Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, although Kershaw has proved vulnerable recently at Chase Field. He has lost his last five starts here, and he was hit hard Saturday, giving up seven runs in the second inning. His breaking ball was up, and the D-backs hit it all over the field.
Cliff Pennington, Pollock and Owings had triples to the gaps in the space of five batters, with the three triples setting a franchise record for one inning. Pollock had four hits, Owings had three hits and Martin Prado had three hits and three RBI.
The D-backs passed the baton well.
"Obviously, Kershaw is one of the best in baseball, and to be able to get even a few runs off him ... then it kind of snowballed," said Goldschmidt, who also had two doubles and scored five runs.
"It is always a lot easier when you have a lead. It shouldn't make that much of a difference, but as a hitter, it takes pressure off you. You see the guys ahead of you have good ABs; you think, 'I have to follow this.' You don't want to be that guy that goes up there and throws it away."
Chase Anderson had a 7-0 lead after two innings and a 9-2 lead after four, and while the Dodgers cut the margin to 10-7 with a five-run sixth, they never got closer thanks to Goldschmidt.
Goldschmidt's massive three-run homer in the seventh made it 13-7 in the seventh, and he hit one of the D-backs' three homers in the eighth, that one a two-run shot.
"Hitting's contagious. You hear that all the time, and I truly believe that," said Owings, who scored four runs. "All those extra-base hits, you wanted to join in."
Anderson gave up a two-run homer to Yasiel Puig and a three-run homer to Carl Crawford before leaving with one out in the sixth, but he was around long enough to win his second start in as many tries in the majors. He gave up one run on two hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 5-1 victory over the White Sox last Sunday.
The big cushion was welcome.
"You can't really relax against the Dodgers lineup," Anderson said. "Their lineup is All-Stars from one to nine. I could go out there and make my pitches and let my defense work."
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The hits just keep on coming. Paul Goldschmidt leads major league baseball with 19 doubles, is tied with the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton with 104 total bases and is tied with the White Sox's Jose Abreu with 27 extra-base hits.
35 -- consecutive scoreless appearances by Joe Thatcher against the Dodgers
-- Addison Reed used his time in the ninth inning to throw four sliders and three changeups, the first time he has thrown that pitch in a game all year. He used the changeup in Chicago and plans to throw it more to get hitters off his fastball/slider mix.
-- Aaron Hill, scheduled to hit cleanup, was a late scratch from the starting lineup after feeling soreness in his right shoulder. He has landed on the shoulder twice in the last few days on diving defensive plays. The D-backs do not believe the injury is serious.
-- Results from left fielder Mark Trumbo's X-ray Friday indicated that the stress fracture in his right foot is healing apace, and he could get out of his walking boot in the next week.
Kirk Gibson stacked right-handed hitters at the top of the order to combat left-hander Clayton Kershaw, and it worked. Nos. 1-5 hitters A.J. Pollock, Chris Owings, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Ross and Martin Prado all had at least a hit or a walk (Ross walked twice) against Kershaw, and the quintet was 15 for 23 with 14 runs, 13 RBI and 10 extra-base hits overall.
