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Dodgers top Diamondbacks again to improve NL West title hopes

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DailyNews.com 
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Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty throws to the plate during the third inning of their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday afternoon in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

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PHOENIX — The Dodgers are making their closing argument.

Freddie Freeman hit two home runs, Teoscar Hernandez had a five-hit game and Shohei Ohtani stole three bases as they beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 11-6, on Monday afternoon, putting their foot down in the National League West by taking three of the four games at Chase Field in this series.

The two teams combined to score 67 runs in a four-game series that left both pitching staffs slightly traumatized. The Dodgers did their share of the bludgeoning, batting .338 (52 for 154) in the series while scoring 32 runs.

“I mean, we still have 20-plus games left,” said Freeman, who returned from getting a series off to hit four home runs and drive in 10 runs against the Diamondbacks. “So if you’re looking at division leads this early in September, you’re doing the wrong thing.”

It doesn’t feel wrong.

With the series win, the Dodgers (83-55) pushed the Diamondbacks (77-61) six games back in the National League West with 24 games to go. The San Diego Padres are five games back after their 3-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday.

The Dodgers also took the season series from the Diamondbacks, 7-6, giving them the tiebreaker in the increasingly unlikely event they need it.

Despite their ongoing issues in the starting rotation, the Dodgers have rolled into September, holding the Diamondbacks and Padres at bay by winning 17 of their past 23 games and five consecutive series as they pursue their 11th division crown in the last 12 years.

“It was an important series, a big series,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Obviously you could see the urgency with both clubs, how they played. For us to win three here is a tough feat. It took some big hits, some big pitching. Overall, to come out of here up six games on these guys – we took care of business.”

They took care of business in Arizona despite their starting pitchers in the first three games (Clayton Kershaw, Gavin Stone and Justin Wrobleski) giving up 18 runs in 11⅓ innings.

Jack Flaherty was acquired at the trade deadline to shore up the front of that starting rotation and he has given them a series of starts that have mostly resembled Monday’s outing – quality but not quantity.

He allowed just one run, scattering five hits and three walks. But his pitch count reached 96 after back-to-back walks with two outs in the sixth and Roberts pulled him. Flaherty has completed six innings (and no more) just twice in his six starts as a Dodger.

“Will (Smith) did a really good job keeping me in the zone,” Flaherty said. “I didn’t really have a lot of feel for the slider today, but was able to use my fastball and had pretty good command of that. So you’ve got to adjust to what you’ve got that day, and had some really good stuff for points in time in that game and sometimes where it just wasn’t really great.”

The Dodgers handed him a lead in the third inning when Chris Taylor led off with a double, went to third on a ground out and scored on Mookie Betts’ RBI single. Freeman made it a 3-0 boost with a two-run home run down the left field line.

The Dodgers added to the lead with a three-run seventh inning.

Ohtani sparked the inning with a one-out single then stole second and third base. After an intentional walk of Betts, Ohtani scored on a sacrifice fly by Freeman.

Ohtani (who was on base four times with two walks and two singles) had a third steal in the game and now has 44 home runs and 46 stolen bases in his quest to become the first player with a 50-50 season.

“I’m not sure how many games are left,” Ohtani said of pursuing history. “But just really looking forward to being able to contribute every time I get to play the game.”

Hernandez had his fourth hit of the game – one of his three singles to go with a double and a triple – and scored with Betts on a two-out single by Smith.

The Diamondbacks lead the majors in runs scored from the seventh inning on, including nine in the first three games of this series. They chopped away at the Dodgers’ lead with two runs in the seventh off Ryan Brasier and Anthony Banda, a solo home run from Eugenio Suarez in the eighth and two more runs in the ninth.

But the Dodgers responded by putting the game away with five runs in the eighth inning – all after the first two batters were retired. Betts drove in two with a double and Freeman hit his second two-run home run of the game and fourth home run of the series.

“It’s a lot of the same guys (Diamondbacks pitchers) that we saw last October that we didn’t have success with and even some parts of this year,” Roberts said. “So to come here into their backyard and swing the bats like we did and beat the starter, tax the ’pen – I thought we had a great offensive gameplan throughout.

“The big players, the big stars performed.”