AP – Arizona Diamondbacks' Justin Upton hits a a three-run double to deep right center in the sixth inning … LOS ANGELES – Justin Upton greeted reliever Matt Guerrier with a go-ahead, three-run double, and the Arizona Diamondbacks climbed within three games of the NL West lead with a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night.
Micah Owings (5-0) allowed four runs and six hits over five innings, including a two-run homer by NL RBI leader Matt Kemp. The right-hander, who has won three of his four starts this season, left the game for a pinch-hitter when the Diamondbacks parlayed two hits and four walks into a five-run sixth that put them ahead 6-4.
Chad Billingsley (9-9) was charged with six runs and seven hits over 5 2-3 innings. He struck out four and tied a season high with five walks. One of them was to No. 8 hitter Gerardo Parra with the bases loaded and none out in the sixth. Xavier Nady batted for Owings and hit a sacrifice fly against Billingsley, reducing the Dodgers' lead to 4-3.
Another walk to Kelly Johnson on Billingsley's 103rd and final pitch loaded the bases again, and Upton hit a drive to center field that got past Kemp and cleared the bases. The three RBIs increased Upton's team-high total to 65, just four fewer than he had last season in 133 games.
Kemp came up in the seventh, representing the potential tying run, but Bryan Shaw struck him out with a runner at third. J.J. Putz, the sixth Arizona pitcher, pitched a hitless ninth for his 23rd save in 27 attempts and second since coming off the disabled list last Tuesday.
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly and general manager Ned Colletti were measuring their words carefully before the game when asked to shed light on the status of a proposed trade that would sent shortstop Rafael Furcal to St. Louis. Furcal was held out of the lineup, but participated in batting practice and pregame drills. But he was not in the dugout in the ninth inning, when Mattingly used Eugenio Velez instead of Furcal to pinch-hit for reliever Josh Lindblom.
The Diamondbacks also loaded the bases with none out in the second, but all they could get out of it was a sacrifice fly from Willie Bloomquist. Right fielder Andre Ethier prevented two more runs when he robbed Johnson of extra bases with a lunging catch while going full speed toward the warning track.
The Dodgers grabbed a 3-1 lead in the third. Casey Blake, in his first game off the disabled list, hit a sacrifice fly one pitch after a one-out triple by Tony Gwynn Jr. Ethier singled with two outs and Kemp deposited Owings' 2-1 pitch into the pavilion seats in left-center for his 26th homer, raising his RBI total to 82.
Jamey Carroll's line drive up the middle through a drawn-in infield increased the margin to 4-1 in the fourth. The next batter was Billingsley, who showed bunt before pulling the bat back and hitting a scorching liner that deflected off Owings' glove as he bailed out to avoid getting hit in the head. Second baseman Johnson threw out Billingsley.
Billingsley pitched eight innings of one-hit ball against the Diamondbacks on May 14 at Dodger Stadium and ended up losing 1-0 after his throwing error led to an unearned run.
Notes: The Diamondbacks' acquisition of RHP Jason Marquis from Washington on Saturday brings the 12-year veteran into a clubhouse that still has vivid memories of his June 5 start against Arizona, when he was ejected for hitting Upton with a pitch. He did it following a warning from plate umpire Rod Drake, after Arizona's Ian Kennedy hit Jayson Werth. "It's all about winning. The Giants made a big move getting Carlos Beltran, and now it's our turn to make a move," LHP Joe Saunders said. "And if that's the move we're going to make, we have to live with it and deal with it and welcome him into our family. In this game you have to let bygones be bygones and turn the page quickly — because you never know when the guy you hate is going to be on your team. Now you have to like him, and he's your best friend. So that's always an intangible. But the good thing is you know the guy is a competitor and he takes it seriously. And if he thinks something's wrong, going to let the other team know about it — which he did to us." ... RHP Hiroki Kuroda informed Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti that he decided not to waive the no-trade clause in his contract and finish out the season with them. Kuroda was the subject of considerable trade speculation prior to Sunday's non-roster trade deadline. "In my heart of hearts, knowing him like I know him, I'm not surprised that is the way he felt," Colletti said. "I would have been more surprised if he had said, 'OK, I'll go somewhere else.' In a way, it's refreshing. He made a commitment to sign here, and he wants to fulfill that commitment." ... Blake missed the Dodgers' previous 21 games because of a cervical strain. The Dodgers placed 3B Juan Uribe on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 24, because of a groin strain that sidelined him the previous five games. ... Arizona placed LHP Alberto Castillo on the 15-day DL due to shoulder tendinitis and recalled LHP Ryan Cook from Triple-A Reno.
