Offtopic » PHOENIX — Dodger Stadium again this season is ranked

as one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in the National League.Mostly when the Los Angeles Dodgers pitch http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-brandon-finnegan-jersey , it seems.The Dodgers have hit a franchise-record 227 homers this season, setting a team record for the second consecutive year, and they had one more — on the road — from Cody Bellinger on Tuesday, but the Diamondbacks hit the one that mattered.Article continues below ...Eduardo Escobar’s walkoff in the last of the ninth inning gave them a 4-3 victory and trimmed the Dodgers’ lead in the NL West to one-half over the Colorado Rockies. The teams are even in the loss column. The Dodgers have four games remaining. The Rockies have five.“It’s always the best way to win a game,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.While the Dodgers continue to peak, the Diamondbacks got a small reprieve from their uncharacteristically subdued offense as the teams prepare for the final contest of a three-game series Wednesday, when Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling (8-5, 2.84 ERA) is to face Arizona right-hander Zack Greinke (14-11, 3.21).Reserve Max Muncy leads the Dodgers with 33 homers (in only 378 at-bats) and Cody Bellinger, Yasmani Grandal, Enrique Hernandez, Matt Kemp, Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig have between 21 and 24. Justin Turner has 13 in 98 games after missing two months with an injury. Manny Machado has 13 of his career-high 37 since joining the Dodgers.“Am I surprised? Probably not,” Roberts said.“If you look at our lineup and our position players, there are a lot of guys who can slug. We have a lot of good players. That’s great. That wins baseball games. But for me Reggie Sanders Jersey , it’s the detail of grinding at-bats. There was a fly ball to the left fielder (Monday) that I think was the best at-bat of the night.”After Turner flew out to left field to end an 11-pitch at-bat in the fifth inning Monday, Machado homered to tie the game at 2. The Dodgers won 7-4.Not to be overlooked, the Dodgers also lead the NL in pitches seen per plate appearance at just over four per. Grandal, Bellinger, Chris Taylor and Muncy are in the top 17 among players who have seen at least 1,900 pitches. Hernandez and Turner also are above four, and both have seen more than 1,600 pitches.“You have homers, but there are a lot of at-bats outside of those ‘x’ amount of homers that we hit this year that are very important. I like to appreciate those are important at-bats, too,” Roberts said.Arizona, meanwhile, has struggled to put up the kind of offensive numbers it is accustomed to.The Diamondbacks have 676 runs, ninth in the NL league, and are on pace to average about 4.3 runs Johnny Bench Jersey , a 17 percent decrease from 2017. David Peralta has had a career year offensively, as has the middle infield combination of Ketel Marte and Nick Ahmed. Paul Goldschmidt was his consistent self.But the loss of free agent J.D. Martinez could not be overcome, injuries to 30-homer third baseman Jake Lamb, A.J. Pollock and Steven Souza Jr., and the addition of the humidor could be factors in the decrease.“It hasn’t been anything that I expected because this group is so talented,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.“This group is so gifted with their ability to set up pitchers and score runs in bunches and blow teams away. For some reason we’ve lacked that. Why? I don’t know. We’ve tried just about everything. Things that I’ve shared with you. Things that I have not shared with you. Just nothing has really seemed to give us a push and be as consistent as we had hoped we would be.”The Diamondbacks have scored fewer runs only once in their last 10 years, in their 69-win season in 2014 that brought a managerial and front office change.“Pitching and defense kind of carried us,” Lovullo said. “It would be nice to see everything function at the same time. I’m disappointed that we didn’t met the expectations. We were spoiled last year. We had a really good offensive team.”Stripling has lost his last two outings, going 3 1/3 innings each time. He missed most of August with a back injury and the Dodgers have taken it slowly on his return. He has made six early-season appearances against Arizona, five in relief and an April 30 start in which he gave up four runs in four innings of an 8-5 loss. He is 0-3 with a 5.19 ERA in 10 career games at Chase Field.Greinke will make his final start of the season Wednesday, his last chance to get to the 15-win plateau for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. He won 13 games in 2016, his first season with the Diamondbacks, after missing two months with an oblique injury.Greinke is 2-1 with a 4.12 ERA in three starts against the Dodgers this season and is 6-5 with a 3.83 ERA against them in 14 career starts. NEW YORK — As the New York Yankees start the final month, their roster will be getting some significant fortifications via a trade and a key piece returning from the disabled list.Andrew McCutchen and Gary Sanchez are expected to be in the lineup Saturday afternoon when the Yankees continue a four-game series with the Detroit Tigers.The Yankees also acquired infielder Adeiny Hechavarria in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.Article continues below ...Masahiro Tanaka will start for the Yankees and Daniel Norris will return from a lengthy disabled-list stint because of a groin injury to start for Detroit.McCutchen and Sanchez are joining the Yankees after an eventful 7-5 Yankees win on Friday night. New York’s 10th win in 14 games was decided on a bases-loaded, two-run single by rookie Gleyber Torres in the eighth inning off Alex Wilson after a controversial check-swing walk by Luke Voit off Joe Jimenez.McCutchen was acquired from the San Francisco Giants on Friday for two prospects — infielder Abiatal Avelino and pitcher Juan De Paula.Friday was the last day players could be traded and still be eligible to appear in postseason games for their new teams.McCutchen was in his first season with the Giants after spending his first nine seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. McCutchen batted .255 with 15 homers and 55 RBIs in 130 games while posting a .357 on-base percentage.“We’re getting a really good player http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-morgan-jersey ,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I think that’s exciting for us and I’m just looking forward to him getting here tomorrow, hopefully putting him in the lineup and seeing him help us. “Last week when the Giants visited the New York Mets, McCutchen cleared waivers and when informed about it, he quipped: “I’ve got a better chance of understanding trigonometry.”What the Yankees understood was they possess a right field problem since Aaron Judge is finishing his fifth week of being on the disabled list with a fractured right wrist. While Giancarlo Stanton has manned right field at times, the Yankees would like to use him at designated hitter. But New York’s right fielders are hitting a combined .189 (23-for-122) in Judge’s absence.When McCutchen arrives in New York, he will be reunited with Neil Walker and J.A. Happ. Walker spent seven seasons in Pittsburgh playing with McCutchen and Happ spent the final two months of 2015 season with the Pirates.“I saw him for the three years that we made September,” Walker said. “Postseason pushes elevate his game to the next level, not that he needed to do that, but you saw him be the player that he’s capable of being when the spotlight’s on him. That’s fully what I expect when he steps in here.”The Yankees are hoping to see some big hits from Sanchez, who has missed 57 games in two DL stints with a groin injury. Sanchez last played July 23 in Tampa Bay, and he is trying to improve on a subpar season that has seen him bat .188 with 14 homers and 42 RBIs in 66 games.Sanchez tuned up for his return by homering twice in four rehab games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.“I think we’re getting potentially a front-line player and a guy that will be an absolute presence in our lineup,” Boone said.The Tigers totaled 12 hits Friday but lost for the sixth time in seven games. Niko Goodrum homered for the second straight night and Victor Martinez went 2-for-4, giving him a .339 average (21-for-62) in his last 17 games.“I’m just proud of our guys,” said Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire, whose team came into the series after getting outscored 34-10 during a five-game losing streak. “I’m proud of the way they played. We’re in a big atmosphere here.”Tanaka (9-5 Dave Concepcion Jersey , 3.97 ERA) starts for the Yankees after allowing four runs and 10 hits in seven innings Monday against the Chicago White Sox. He is 0-3 with a 4.40 ERA in his last five starts.Tanaka is 1-3 with a 4.40 ERA in five career starts against Detroit. He is 0-3 with a 5.71 ERA in three home starts against the Tigers.Norris was 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA in five appearances (two starts) this season, but he has been on the disabled list since April 30.Norris appeared in four rehab games at three different levels and compiled a 2.31 ERA in 11 2/3 innings. His velocity was around 91, 92 mph and he is stretched out to 90 pitches, according to Gardenhire.Norris last appeared for the Tigers on April 29 in Baltimore when he exited after three innings. He underwent surgery after pitching with the groin problem since last summer.“I’m just happy to be here,” Norris said. “Obviously appreciative of the opportunity. It was definitely an interesting year, rehabbing the whole time pretty much. I started with kind of a frustrating April, getting surgery and then going through that. It was difficult but I’m happy to be here.”The 25-year-old left-hander was one of three pitchers acquired from Toronto at the 2015 non-waiver trade deadline for David Price. Since joining Detroit, Norris has been on the disabled list four times with oblique, back, hip, quadriceps and groin issues.Norris is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against the Yankees.