Major League Baseball

D-backs swept despite Pollock, Goldy, Tomas

Published Jun. 11, 2015 2:55 a.m. ET

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In A.J. Pollock, Paul Goldschmidt and Yasmany Tomas, the Diamondbacks have three of the most productive hitters in baseball the last three weeks.

But even their seemingly daily dose of hurt -- a combined nine hits, three homers, five RBI and five runs -- could not change the D-backs' fortunes in Los Angeles, as the Dodgers won their ninth straight game between the two at Dodger Stadium. Howie Kendrick followed two one-out walks by Daniel Hudson with a walk-off bloop single to right field in the ninth inning for a 7-6 victory.

"Great hitters get hits like that," D-backs manager Chip Hale told reporters.

While Kendrick had good series, with four RBI in the final two games of the Dodgers' three-game sweep, no one matched the D-backs big three in recent weeks.

Pollock, Goldschmidt and Tomas are starting to look like a group that could stand as the 2-3-4 hitters in the lineup for the foreseeable future -- though left-handed hitting David Peralta may move into the cleanup spot at times.

All three homered Wednesday, and Pollock's solo blast off Kenley Jansen tied the game in the top of the ninth. Tomas had another homer taken away when Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson got his glove over the center field fence in the third inning.

A look at the numbers:

* Pollock is hitting .357 with eight doubles, five homers, 15 RBI and eight stolen bases since May 19. He has reached base in all but two of his 19 starts.

* Tomas is hitting .362 with seven doubles, two homers and 15 RBI since May 16, and has reached base in all but two of his 19 starts.

* Goldschmidt is hitting .418 with five doubles, seven homers, 17 RBI and 23 walks since May 21. He has reached base in all 20 games he has played, and has been intentionally walked 11 times.

The three flexed in the fifth inning Wednesday -- Pollock singled before Goldschmidt and Tomas each homered -- to cut a 5-1 deficit to 5-4 and get the D-backs back in the game after Jeremy Hellickson had his streak of quality starts stopped at four when the Dodgers scored four in the second inning

"We were just trying to hit the ball hard and make a little run," Goldschmidt told reporters of the D-backs' mindset in the fifth off left-hander Brett Anderson. "A.J. got it started. Tomas had an unbelievable day."

Yasiel Puig's three-run homer in the second did most of the damage, and Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal also homered in the third.

"The difference was the pitch I left up to Puig in the second inning," Hellickson told reporters.

"We're never out of the game with this offense."

Pollock's homer off Jansen snapped his streak of  21 consecutive save conversions against the D-backs.

"Not trying to do too much is the way to battle him," Pollock told reporters about the matchup. "He's always a tough at-bat. It's kind of bittersweet. We didn't roll over, but they did a good job of scratching that run across."

It seemed surprising Tomas did not get to second base after driving a ball off the center-field fence with runners on first and second and one out in the first inning. The ball hit about three feet from the top of the fence and caromed directly to Pederson, who turned and fired to second. Still, the fence is 400 feet from home plate.

100 -- career homers for Goldschmidt, breaking a tie with Matt Williams for sixth place in franchise history.

* Goldschmidt tied a career with four hits, finishing a triple short of the cycle, to extend his remarkable run at Dodger Stadium. He is hitting .354 with 10 homers and 27 RBI in 32 games there.

* The D-backs missed a chance for a relatively easy out in the second inning, when Dodgers outfielder left himself vulnerable between third and home on Anderson's sacrifice bunt. Andre Ethier was at least halfway down the line, trailing D-backs third baseman Aaron Hill, when Hill field the ball and threw to first. Catcher Welington Castillo had the play in front of him, and had he noticed Ethier, Hill could have turned and tagged him out.

* The only two pitchers in major league history to win Rookie of the Year and Gold Glove awards were in the park -- Arizona starter Jeremy Hellickson and Dodgers TV commentator Fernando Valenzuela.

* The D-backs entered the series 4 1/2 games behind the Dodgers. They leave in last place in the NL West, 7 1/2 games back.

The D-backs kicked off the final day of the major league by selecting power bat Austin Byler from the Phoenix area and intriguing New York City high school right-hander Wesley Rodriguez in the 11th and 12th rounds.

Byler, who attended Peoria Sunrise Mountain High and Nevada, hit .328 with 18 doubles, 14 homers, 52 RBI and 69 runs this past season. His 34 career homers are fourth in school history. "He has really, really big power," D-backs scouting director Deric Ladnier said.

Rodriguez was ranked as the 77th-best draft prospect by Baseball America because of a fastball that has been timed at 98 mph, but signability concerns dropped him all the way to the 346th overall pick. He is being represented by Larry Reynolds, who handles the Upton brothers among others, and may have priced himself out of the market. Rodriguez has been offered a scholarship by Pitt but also has been linked to perennial junior college power San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas.

"He's a flyer," said Ladnier, adding that a hamstring injury may have caused Rodriguez' velocity to drop and his draft stock to sink.

If the D-backs saved save some of their allocated $12,816,100 in draft bonus pool money, they could take a run at Rodriguez later. The D-backs' first round pick is valued at $8,616,900.

"You've seen stranger things happen," Ladnier said. "We understand the situation. We didn't want to miss out on this."

The D-backs selected 36 college players in their 40-man class, with 17 pitchers and 12 outfielders.

Arizona State outfielder Jake Peevyhouse was the selected in the 34th round with the pick the D-backs named the "Cory Hahn 34th pick" as a tribute to Hahn, an assistant in the D-backs' scouting department. "I don't think there was a dry eye in the draft room," D-backs scouting director Deric Ladnier said. "That was pretty special." Hahn, 23, was paralyzed after suffering a fractured C-5 vertebra while making a head-first slide into second base in the third game of his freshman season at ASU. Peevyhouse hit .287 with two homers and 23 RBI in 57 games for the Sun Devils this season. Hahn, who wore No. 34, was named California's Mr. Baseball after his senior season at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei High in 2010. The D-backs made Hahn a ceremonial pick in the 34th round of the 2013 draft.

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