Diamondbacks sharp as Taijuan Walker, bullpen shut down Dodgers

LOS ANGELES – Diamondbacks right-hander Taijuan Walker’s game plan was straightforward, an idea he said was hatched in a pregame sit-down with catcher Chris Iannetta. Walker’s best pitch is his fastball, and if the Los Angeles Dodgers were going to beat him on Sunday, they were going to have to hit it.

When he found himself in his first jam of the day – a bases-loaded, two-out situation in the opening inning – Walker did not stray from the plan. Instead, he fed Joc Pederson four consecutive fastballs, the last one clocked at 94 mph, a pitch Pederson swung through, and Walker screamed into his glove as he walked off the mound.

“That’s what we did,” Walker said. “We went out there and attacked with the fastball. We mixed in some offspeed, but, really, we just used the fastball and it was effective.”

Walker turned in his best outing yet with his new club, tossing five innings of one-run ball, striking out seven, and helping the Diamondbacks snap a three-game losing skid with a 3-1 win at Dodger Stadium.

He was far from the only contributor. The Diamondbacks played a clean game in the field, a rare occurrence through the season’s first two weeks. Their offense resurfaced, contributing at just the right moments. And the bullpen, including (who else?) Archie Bradley as well as a slightly less nerve-racking version of Fernando Rodney, tossed four scoreless innings to close it out.

“We’re happy with the win,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “It’s been a grind for them the past couple of days. I think the guys were happy with the results. We played a good baseball game today.”

The win moves the Diamondbacks to 8-5 overall and 2-4 on the road trip. They have a chance to split their four-game set with the Dodgers on Monday night before heading down the coast for three more in San Diego, the final stop on their three-city trip.

MORE: D-Backs muster enough offense to edge Dodgers

Walker might have pitched deeper in the game had he not been dealing with back tightness, an issue that first surfaced during his start in San Francisco last week. He downplayed it, but Iannetta made it sound like it wasn’t a nonfactor.

“Really gutsy performance,” said Iannetta, who homered in the victory. “I know he wasn’t 100 percent and I just think he went out there and battled and he gave us everything he had, which we’re really thankful for.”

Walker said the injury dates to an at-bat in his previous start in San Francisco, when he was “just swinging too hard and trying to do too much.” While he insisted it wouldn’t prevent him from making his next start, Lovullo acknowledged it played into his thinking when he replaced Walker for a pinch-hitter in the top of the sixth.

“Nothing alarming,” Lovullo said, “but it was one of those things that we didn’t want to escalate. Because of the situation, as well, we thought it was the right move to take him out of the game.”

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Walker made sure that when hitting on Sunday he took “easy swings” that were under control. One of those swings produced a clean single to center and led to a run in the third inning.

“I want to make sure I can go out there every fifth day and pitch,” Walker said. “It’s good to get offense, but my job is to go out and pitch.”

Pitching for the first time since hitting Buster Posey on the head with a fastball, Walker showed no ill effects, seemingly willing to pitch inside when necessary. He said a day earlier that it might be difficult against right-handed hitters; the Dodgers had just two in the lineup on Sunday, Justin Turner and Yasiel Puig, and Walker went inside multiple times against both.

Bradley took over in the sixth and recorded the next eight outs without much trouble. It was the second time in his four appearances he’s been asked to protect a lead, perhaps a sign that Lovullo will start using him more in higher-leverage situations.

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.

Monday’s game

Diamondbacks at Dodgers

When: 7:10 p.m.

Where: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles.

Pitchers: Diamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray (1-0, 2.19) vs. Dodgers RHP Brandon McCarthy (2-0, 1.50).

TV/Radio: FSAZ/KMVP-FM (98.7), KHOV-FM (105.1).

Ray walked five batters against the Giants last week at AT&T Park, but he managed to work around them, tossing 6 2/3 shutout innings in a 4-3 win. … This will be Ray’s first start against a team other than the Giants. He’s had success against the Dodgers in the past, posting a 2.96 ERA in eight career starts against them, including a 2.52 ERA in four starts at Dodger Stadium. … McCarthy gave up two runs in six innings against the Padres in his first start of the year and followed that with six scoreless against the Cubs at Wrigley Field last week. … According to Pitch-f/x data, McCarthy is throwing more cut fastballs this season than he did the previous two years, using the pitch 17.8 percent of the time. … A former Diamondbacks pitcher, he has faced his old team only once in his career, an outing that came last season. He threw six scoreless innings with no walks and eight strikeouts in a start at Chase Field.

Coming up

Tuesday: At San Diego, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Shelby Miller (1-1, 5.06) vs. Padres RHP Jared Cosart (0-0, 3.86).

Wednesday: At San Diego, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zack Greinke (1-1, 4.32) vs. Padres RHP Jhoulys Chacin (1-2, 7.80).

Thursday: At San Diego, 6:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin (1-2, 2.81) vs. Padres LHP Clayton Richard (1-2, 3.60).