Arizona Diamondbacks crushed by Los Angeles Dodgers in NLDS Game 1

The Dodgers got to Taijuan Walker early, sending him packing after allowing four runs in the first inning, and cruised to a 9-5 win over the Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the NLDS in Los Angeles on Friday.

Rally fizzles

The Diamondbacks couldn’t complete a ninth-inning rally against Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, who sealed a 9-5 win for Los Angeles in Game 1 of the NLDS.

Pinch-hitter Gregor Blanco flied out to center and after Ketel Marte hit an infield single, Daniel Descalso walked. The Dodgers tried to turn a double play after a Jake Lamb grounder, but Lamb beat the throw at first – which was wild, allowing Marte to score.

But that’s as close as the Diamondbacks would get, as Jansen caught a line drive back to the mound by David Peralta to close out the game.

Timely triple

The Dodgers secured a pair of insurance runs in the eighth, moving ahead 9-4.

Lefty Andrew Chafin gave up a single to Austin Barnes to start the inning. Chafin was replaced by Jimmie Sherfy and with one out, he allowed a run-scoring triple to Corey Seager before Justin Turner knocked in his fifth run of the game with a base hit.

Quick inning

J.D. Martinez reached with one out in the eighth off an infield single, but Brandon Drury grounded into a double play to snuff out the chance.

Paul Goldschmidt popped up to Cody Bellinger at first base on the first pitch he saw to lead off the inning.

Close call

Yasiel Puig led off the bottom of the seventh with a triple, but the Diamondbacks were able to strand him at third to keep it 7-4.

Curtis Granderson flied to left and Yasmani Grandal flied to center, but Puig did not try to score on either hit. Logan Forsythe grounded out to end the inning.

Back-to-back

The Diamondbacks continued to chip away at their deficit in the seventh courtesy of back-to-back homers from Ketel Marte and Jeff Mathis off Clayton Kershaw.

Marte lined a one-out blast to left field, connecting on a 87 mph slider. On the very next pitch, Mathis smacked a 92 mph homer to the same area. This was the second set of back-to-back home runs in team postseason history, joining Ryan Roberts and Chris Young in the first inning of the 2011 NLDS Game 4 vs. Brewers.

That ended Kershaw’s night with the Dodgers ahead 7-4. All four runs were solo homers, which ties the club postseason record.

As for Kershaw, he’s allowed only four-plus homers in a single game (regular season or playoffs) one other time in his career: June 19, 2017, against the Mets (4).

Back to work

Diamondbacks right-hander Zack Godley returned to the mound for his fifth inning of work Friday and silenced the heart of the Dodgers’ order.

Godley got Corey Seager to ground out and both Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger to fly out.

Just dingers

J.D. Martinez smacked his first home run of the postseason, a solo shot in the sixth off Clayton Kershaw to make it 7-2.

It was Martinez’s first homer against the Dodgers in Los Angeles since his historic four-homer game Sept.4 en route to a 13-0 win.

Settling down

Diamondbacks Zack Godley rebounded from a three-run fourth to pitch a scoreless fifth.

He gave up one hit, a single to Clayton Kershaw.

Kershaw being Kerhsaw

After a big offensive inning by the Dodgers, ace Clayton Kershaw kept the momentum going by retiring the side in the fifth.

Jeff Mathis flied out, Zack Godley grounded out and David Peralta popped up to keep Arizona’s deficit at 7-1.

Three-run fourth

The Dodgers grew their lead over the Diamondbacks in the fourth, going up 7-1 after Los Angeles finally solved Zack Godley.

Logan Forsythe reached on a single to start the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Clayton Kershaw. After Chris Taylor walked, Corey Seager singled to left to make it 5-1.

With runners on first and third and just one out, Justin Turner knocked in another run by dropping a single into center for his fourth RBI of the game.

Later, with the bases loaded, Yasiel Puig grounded out to score another.

‘D’ is for defense

The Diamondbacks put two runners on in the fourth inning but couldn’t convert.

J.D. Martinez led off with a single up the middle, but he wasn’t at first base for long with Brandon Drury grounding into a double play. Adam Rosales then walked, but a slick grab by Cody Bellinger after a bouncer by Ketel Marte got Rosales out at second to end the inning.

MORE: Diamondbacks starter Taijuan Walker pulled after 1st inning in NLDS Game 1

Godley in a groove

Diamondbacks right-hander Zack Godley made quick work of the Dodgers in the third, retiring the side in order.

Yasiel Puig flied out, while Curtis Granderson and Yasmani Grandal struck out.

Pollock homers

The Diamondbacks trimmed their deficit in the third, as a solo homer from A.J. Pollock made it 4-1.

Pollock sent a 93 mph fastball from Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw to the seats in left-center.

Mop-up time

Diamondbacks right-hander Zack Godley took over in the second inning, replacing Taijuan Walker after a four-run disastrous start, and Godley was able to quiet the Dodgers.

He struck out Chris Taylor, got Corey Seager to ground out and although Justin Turner walked and then scooted all the way to third after a wild pitch and throwing error by catcher Jeff Mathis, Godley stranded Turner by striking out Cody Bellinger.

Cruise control

Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw picked up where he left off in the first, fanning three more Diamondbacks in the second to preserve Los Angeles’ 4-0 lead.

Kershaw struck out Brandon Drury looking and after Adam Rosales reached on an error by third baseman Justin Turner, Kershaw cleaned up the mistake by striking out Ketel Marte and Jeff Mathis.

Fast start

Diamondbacks starter Taijuan Walker’s postseason debut got off to a rocky start.

Walker was hammered by the Dodgers in the first inning, giving up four runs and needing 38 pitches to record his first out.

Justin Turner clobbered a three-run homer to put Los Angeles up 3-0 with nobody out in the bottom of the first after Chris Taylor led off with a single and Corey Seager walked.

Next up, Cody Bellinger singled and then scored after an RBI double from Yasiel Puig to make it 4-0.

In the sixth at-bat of the inning, Walker finally secured an out – striking out Curtis Granderson before also getting Yasmani Grandal to go down swinging.

After intentionally walking Logan Forsythe, Walker struck out Clayton Kershaw to end the inning.

He threw 48 pitches in the inning.

Swing and miss

After issuing a leadoff walk to David Peralta, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw settled down to retire the next three Diamondbacks in the top of the first inning Friday in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

A.J. Pollock flied out to center, Paul Goldschmidt struck out looking and J.D. Martinez struck out swinging, with Kershaw getting ahead 0-2 in all but one at-bat.

Kershaw entered the game 2-0 with a 0.59 ERA with 19 strikeouts against the Diamondbacks this season. He’s also 14-8 with a 2.55 ERA in his career against Arizona.

Lovullo explains D-Backs’ controversial lineup

LOS ANGELES – Torey Lovullo raised eyebrows with his starting lineup for Game 1 of the National League Division Series, going with Jeff Mathis over Chris Iannetta at catcher and sitting third baseman Jake Lamb in favor of Adam Rosales in the matchup against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.

Lovullo said he “liked the way Jeff matches up with Taijuan (Walker),” the Diamondbacks starter opposite Kershaw. Mathis, regarded as a defense-first catcher, was behind the plate all nine innings in Wednesday’s wild-card victory over the Colorado Rockies.

The Diamondbacks are expected to alternate between the two catchers throughout the series.

One thing Lovullo said was not a factor was Iannetta’s relationship with Walker. During a start on Sept. 23, Iannetta caught a pitch from Walker and fired it back to the mound, the ball flying by Walker’s head and into center field. There was no one base at the time, but it appeared to be a tense one between the two.

“I know that they have a longstanding relationship and they’re like brothers out there,” Lovullo said. “I know certain things you may have seen throughout the course of the year would give you the feeling that it wasn’t a great relationship, but believe it or not it’s a strong, kind of pushing-forward type of relationship.”

Iannetta, who was with Walker on the Seattle Mariners last season, told Fox Sports Arizona that there was “nothing personal” about the exchange.

“We’re great friends,” Iannetta said. “It was just me trying to get on him, trying rile him up any way that I could. I know and I’ve seen it over the last year with Seattle and after we came here, when he’s fired up he’s real locked in and he pitches a lot better.”

As for decision at third base, Lovullo said a big factor for him was the fact that Lamb has never faced Kershaw. He also said he’s been using Rosales against lefties regularly over the past two months and didn’t want to diverge from the script.

Lovullo was asked if he wished he had gotten Lamb a start against Kershaw earlier this year, a question he said the Diamondbacks’ front office had already asked him. He noted that Kershaw started against them only twice this year, and that there were times when he was trying maximize the team’s chances to win by sitting Lamb, who struggles against lefties.

“But, yes, in a perfect world, I do regret not getting an opportunity to get a spin at him,” Lovullo said. “But at that time you can’t project forward and figure out that we’re going to be sitting in this seat at this moment.”

Roster moves

The Diamondbacks’ roster for the division series is the same as it was for the wild-card game with the exception of two changes. Right-hander Taijuan Walker and slugger Christian Walker were added with outfielder Rey Fuentes and catcher Chris Herrmann taken off, giving the club 14 position players and 11 pitchers.

Lovullo said the decision to carry the right-handed hitting Christian Walker was mostly about trying to play matchups against the Dodgers, who have three left-handers in their rotation and two more in the bullpen.

“We just felt like in projecting the Dodgers roster that we wanted to maximize certain situations,” Lovullo said. “We had to give up something. You can’t have every matchup you want.”

Infielder Chris Owings remained off the roster, Lovullo said, because he wasn’t “100 percent physically” ready to return from the fractured right middle finger that has cost him the past two-plus months.

“We were up late last night talking about him as a group,” Lovullo said. “And we just felt like he was close but not exactly perfect.”

Apple Watch-gate

Major League Baseball released a statement regarding its investigation of coach Ariel Prieto’s use of an Apple Watch in the dugout during Wednesday’s night’s wild-card game, saying it examined the watch and Prieto’s cell phone and “found no evidence” that he used either during the game.

Still, the league fined both the team and Prieto an undisclosed amount, which will be donated to hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

Short hop

As expected, Lovullo said Robbie Ray would start Game 2 on Saturday, with Zack Greinke aligned to start Game 3 on Monday at Chase Field. Ray would then line up to make a Game 5 start, if necessary, on normal rest.

–Nick Piecoro

MORE: D-Backs GM Hazen credits predecessors for laying playoff foundation

Game Info

When: First pitch is set for 7:31 p.m. Friday. 

Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles.

Pitchers: Diamondbacks RHP Taijuan Walker (9-9, 3.49) vs. Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw (18-4, 2.31).

TV: TBS.

TV broadcast crew: Brian Anderson, Dennis Eckersley, Joe Simpson and Lauren Shehadi.

Radio: KMVP-AM (98.7), KHOV-FM (105.1).

Live streaming: MLB.tv will stream the NLDS and NLCS.

PREDICTIONS: Can the Diamondbacks upset the Dodgers?

Diamondbacks Game 1 lineup

Brandon Drury is starting for the Diamondbacks at second base tonight, while Adam Rosales, not Jake Lamb, is starting at third.

Jeff Mathis is getting another start at catcher ahead of Chris Iannetta, which manager Torey Lovullo attributed to the way Mathis ‘matches up’ with Taijuan Walker. 

1. David Peralta LF

2. A.J. Pollock CF

3. Paul Goldschmidt 1B

4. J.D. Martinez RF

5. Brandon Drury 2B

6. Adam Rosales 3B

7. Ketel Marte SS

8. Jeff Mathis C

9. Taijuan Walker P

Games 2 and 3 starters revealed

Robbie Ray will start Game 2 and Zack Greinke will start Game 3 for the Diamondbacks against the Dodgers, manager Torey Lovullo said in Los Angeles before Friday’s game.

Greinke lasted only 3 2/3 innings during his start in the NL wild-card game on Wednesday, and Ray came in to pitch 2 1/3 innings in relief.

“(I’m) ready to go whenever they ask me to,” Ray said on Thursday. “Obviously, they haven’t decided anything yet. But I’m sure that’s something we’ll talk about today and leading into tomorrow and figure something out.”

Asked to compare the way he feels Thursday to the day after a start, Ray said, “Not even close. It feels like a day after a bullpen.”

By starting Game 2, Ray would then be able to start a potential Game 5 on regular rest. And having him available to face the Dodgers twice if the series goes that long would figure to be a huge factor for the Diamondbacks.

In five starts against the Dodgers this season, Ray has posted a 2.27 ERA with 53 strikeouts and only 12 walks in 31 2/3 innings. The numbers are even better at Dodger Stadium: 0.92 ERA in 19 2/3 innings with eight walks and 37 strikeouts.

“I feel like I’ve had a good amount of success against them this year,” Ray said, “and I feel like I match up pretty well against this lineup.”

Diamondbacks’ NLDS roster unveiled

LOS ANGELES – The Diamondbacks’ roster for the National League Division Series includes a pair of changes from the one they used in Wednesday’s wild-card game, with right-hander Taijuan Walker and slugger Christian Walker both being added.

In their place, the Diamondbacks removed catcher Chris Herrmann and outfielder Rey Fuentes.

The Diamondbacks will have 14 position players and 11 pitchers.

Taijuan Walker was left off the wild-card roster but was added in order to start Game 1 of the division series on Friday night.

Christian Walker, who is not related, gives the Diamondbacks a potential right-handed power bat off the bench. Walker, 26, spent most of the season in Triple-A Reno, where he won Pacific Coast League MVP honors after hitting .309 with 32 homers.

In 11 games at the big-league level in September, Walker went 3 for 12 (.250) with two doubles, a homer, a walk and two hit by pitches. Walker has only 39 at-bats at the major league level in his career.

Remaining off the roster is infielder Chris Owings, who has been out since late July with a fractured right middle finger. He had been working his way back by getting at-bats at instructional league.

On Wednesday, the team was uncomfortable with the fact that Owings had played only one game – at Salt River Fields – in the past two-plus months. That lack of recent reps might still be the drawback for Owings today.

BICKLEY: Diamondbacks playing with house money in LA

MLB clears D-Backs coach of Apple Watch espionage

Diamondbacks coach Ariel Prieto was cleared of using an electronic watch to steal signs, or any other activity outlawed in major-league baseball, following an investigation from MLB.

The league fined Prieto and the Diamondbacks an undisclosed amount after Prieto was caught wearing the watch in Wednesday night’s wild-card win over the Colorado Rockies.

MLB released a statement Friday that said a forensic investigation was conducted and found no evidence of wrongdoing. 

READ THE STORY: Diamondbacks coach cleared of sign stealing with Apple Watch

Game 3, 4 times

The Arizona Diamondbacks announced the start time for Game 3 of the National League Division Series in Phoenix next week.

First pitch will be at 7:08 p.m. Monday for the third game of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gates will open at 5 p.m., according to the Diamondbacks.

If the series makes it to Game 4, that will start at 6:08 p.m. on Tuesday, and gates will open at 4 p.m.

READ THE STORY: Diamondbacks in the playoffs: Start times announced for NLDS Game 3 and 4

D-Backs not intimidated by LA

The Diamondbacks head into the best-of-five series with the Dodgers riding a wave of confidence, bolstered not only by their win over the Rockies but how they played the Dodgers in the regular season. Arizona won the season series 11-8, including a three-game road sweep of Los Angeles in early September.

Of course, that’s when the Dodgers were going through a stretch in which they lost 15 of 16 games; they got back on track and went 7-3 over the final 10 games of the season.

Still, the Diamondbacks think they match up well with the Dodgers. At the very least, they won’t be, to use manager Torey Lovullo’s word, intimidated.

The Diamondbacks’ first order of business is figuring out a way to get to Kershaw. He was 2-0 against Arizona in the regular season with a 0.59 ERA while striking out 19 batters in 15 1/3 innings. He’s 14-8 with a 2.55 ERA in his career against the Diamondbacks.

READ THE STORY: Diamondbacks believe they match up well with Dodgers

Walker gets the nod

Taijuan Walker was tabbed as the Game 1 starter on Thursday afternoon. Walker has thrown well against the Dodgers with a 3.24 ERA in three starts against them, including a 1.64 ERA in two starts in Los Angeles.

Walker, of course, will be matching up against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, whose 2.31 ERA was the best in the National League. Kershaw faced the Diamondbacks twice this season, allowing just one run in 15 1/3 innings.

“I think the biggest thing is to just focus on myself, focus on my game plan, focus on the pitches I have to execute,” Walker said. “Kershaw is the best in the game. It’s definitely going to be a fun one tomorrow, but I think I’ve just got to focus on myself.”

The Diamondbacks appear to be leaning toward starting Robbie Ray and Zack Greinke in the following two games.

READ THE STORY: Walker’s start leaves D-Backs leaning toward Ray, Greinke in Games 2, 3