Grandal's single caps 5-run rally as Dodgers beat D-backs

LOS ANGELES (AP) The seventh inning took 72 minutes to complete, saw 21 batters come up, and twelve runs cross the plate. It gave the Los Angeles Dodgers' offense the opportunity for its most memorable outburst yet.

Yasmani Grandal's RBI single capped the Dodgers' five-run rally in their 9-7 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night.

''Every win is a big one, but that arguably is the best win of the year,'' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. ''My memory might be short, but, yeah, we are resilient.''

Joc Pederson and Chase Utley each hit two-run home runs in the deciding rally as the Dodgers erased a 7-3 deficit and improved to 17-9 since June 26.

''It was exciting for sure. For them to score seven runs that inning, and for us to battle back it's impressive,'' Utley said. ''It shows the guys aren't giving up. We were getting great at-bats that whole inning and capitalized on some mistakes.''

Three batters after Corey Seager doubled against Zac Curtis (0-1), Grandal hit a 2-1 pitch from Randall Delgado into center field, scoring Seager from third with the tiebreaking run.

''For the offense to respond like that: to give up seven runs and come back and score score five runs, and never quit,'' Roberts said. ''Earlier in the year, that probably would never have happened.''

Los Angeles pulled one game behind the division-leading Giants, the closest the Dodgers have been to first place since May 15.

''They were hot for a second there, but it's not how you start it's how you finish,'' said Pederson. ''It's going to come right down to the end. We're just going to continue to play Dodger baseball and things will take care of themselves.''

Los Angeles sent 10 men to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, a half-inning after the Diamondbacks sent 11 men to the plate and scored seven runs.

''It's frustrating. I feel bad for the guys,'' said Diamondbacks Manager Chip Hale. ''They battled their hearts out.

''We did a great job of scoring runs. We continued to score runs.''

Paul Goldschmidt capped a three-hit night with a bases-loaded double off Pedro Baez (3-2) that finished off Diamondbacks' rally consisting of six hits and a pair of walks against five Dodger pitchers.

Arizona lost for the eighth time in their last 10 games.

With the Dodgers trailing 7-3, Pederson, who also had a two-run double in the second, tied his career-high with four RBIs with a two-run homer off Daniel Hudson, pulling the Dodgers to 7-5.

After Scott Van Slyke walked, Utley hit the first pitch he saw from Curtis (0-1) over the right-center field wall to tie the score.

Seager then scored the tiebreaking run later in the inning and added an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth for the final margin.

Kenley Jansen retired the final four Arizona hitters for his 31st save.

The Diamondback's seventh-inning explosion squashed Kenta Maeda's bid to become the first rookie to win 10 games this year.

Maeda held the Diamondbacks to two runs and four hits, retiring 16 of 17 hitters as he shut out Arizona through six innings. He struck five and did not walk a batter.

Over his last four starts, Maeda has struck out 26 and walked one over 23 innings.

Rookie Andrew Toles notched his first career RBI for Los Angeles.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Diamondbacks: Zack Greinke was on a 60-pitch limit Friday night in a rehab start in an Arizona rookie league game in Mesa, Arizona. If he pitches and recovers without incident, Greinke would be on an 80-pitch limit in his next start. The Diamondbacks would decide if that start would be at the major- or minor-league level, manager Chip Hale said Friday. ... Socrates Brito (fractured fight toe) made another rehab start Friday night at Single-A Visalia.

Dodgers: Yasiel Puig (hamstring) was out of the Dodgers starting lineup for the seventh game in a row. The Dodgers are off again Monday, their third off day in eight days, which has allowed them to go with four starters and keep from deciding whether Puig should go on the disabled list. ... Adam Liberatore (sore right knee) was available after sitting out Tuesday and Wednesday night.

NEXT UP

Diamondbacks: Braden Shipley (0-1, 10.13 ERA) makes his second career start. Rated the Diamondbacks' No. 1 prospect by MLB.com, Shipley gave up six runs and eight hits over 5 1/3 innings in his debut against Milwaukee on Monday night.

Dodgers: LHP Scott Kazmir (9-3,4.35) looks for his eighth consecutive decision on Saturday against a team he has not faced since 2007 with Tampa Bay. Kazmir is the National League's only unbeaten starter since May 14, going 7-0 with a 3.73 ERA in 13 starts.