PHOENIX _ A scene unfolded in the fifth inning of a 13-7 victory over Arizona that no Los Angeles Dodgers executive, even the most creative of Andrew Friedman's brain trust, could have expected six months earlier.
Chris Taylor, a utility infielder acquired from Seattle on June 19 in exchange for a minor league pitcher, hit a double. He scored on the next at-bat, courtesy of pitcher Bud Norris. Desperate for pitching after Clayton Kershaw injured his back, the Dodgers traded for him 11 days after Taylor joined the organization. Now he brought home Taylor with a single to score the team's eighth run.
Paired together, Norris and Taylor do not represent a panacea for the club, but an emblem of the team's emphasis of improving the margins of its roster. The fanbase hungers for star power, and Friedman has pledged to search for that type of talent before the Aug. 1 trade deadline. But his maneuvers on the fringes have already aided the club's cause.
Norris supplied five innings of four-run baseball in a credible but unexciting outing. It was Taylor who opened eyes. He hit a two-run triple in the fourth, that double in the fifth and a grand slam in the sixth. He became the first Dodger to hit a grand slam for his first career home run since the team left Brooklyn.
As the second half began on Friday, the Dodgers found themselves in a curious position, holding a lead in the National League wild-card standings while trailing San Francisco by 5{ games in the division. The ascendancy of the Giants has transformed the Dodgers from big-market bullies into something else. A club with a $250-million payroll cannot be considered an underdog, but the team's ongoing injury horrors have shown the wisdom of the depth stockpiling this past winter.
On Friday, the Dodgers faced a club who chose a different tack during the off-season. Arizona corralled ace Zack Greinke with a $206-million offer, one the Dodgers declined to match. The team doubled down by raiding its farm system to acquire another pitcher, Shelby Miller.
The Dodgers faced neither man on Friday. Greinke resides on the disabled list. A day earlier, Miller earned the dubious distinction of a demotion to the minors. Arizona rolled out Patrick Corbin, a left-hander with a 4.94 earned-run average that was about to rise.
Justin Turner spent a portion of the break at a resort in Mexico. He lounged on the beach and played golf. He had earned a little relaxation. After a sluggish start, Turner found his footing in June. He popped 10 homers after May 31, and finished with an .897 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in his final 36 games of the first half.
The second half started well for him. Corbin fired an 0-and-1 fastball at his knees. Turner handled the 92-mph velocity with ease, powering a solo shot into a camera well inside the batter's eye in center field.
The opposing third baseman contributed to another Dodgers run in the third. Norris led off with a grounder toward third base. Jake Lamb let it bounce off his glove. Corey Seager smashed a one-out double off the wall. Turner chopped another groundball toward third. Lamb could not handle the ball, which skipped into the outfield, allowing Norris to score.
Norris handed back the lead in the bottom of the inning. The trouble started with an infield single by Corbin. A single by shortstop Nick Ahmed followed. Up came outfielder Michael Bourn, who stroked a ball in between center fielder Scott Van Slyke and right fielder Yasiel Puig.
Both runners scored, and Bourn jetted to third when the ball rolled beneath Van Slyke's glove. The extra 90 feet proved crucial in the next at-bat, as All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt scored Bourn on a groundout.
For the Dodgers, the deficit did not last long. The Diamondbacks collapsed in the fourth inning, undone by the well-placed hitting of their guests and Corbin's inability to control the strike zone.
Van Slyke opened with a single, shooting a grounder through a vacated portion of the infield. Yasmani Grandal cracked another single through a hole. Taylor punished a slider for a two-run triple.
Batting in the leadoff spot, Howie Kendrick shot an RBI single down the first base line. At this point, Corbin failed to throw strikes. He walked Seager and Turner to load the bases. Puig cracked a two-run single.
By the sixth, the Diamondbacks had opened up their bullpen. The relievers did not fair much better. A fellow named Edwin Escobar hit Turner to start the inning and then gave up a single to Adrian Gonzalez. In came a man named Silvino Brancho, who allowed Puig to single.
The bases were loaded for Taylor. Brancho fed him a fastball at the waist. Taylor shipped it beyond the left-field fence.
