LOS ANGELES_An autumnal chill did not envelop Chavez Ravine on Wednesday night _ it was 74 degrees, not an October-like 54 degrees, at first pitch _ but Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts sensed a different feeling in the stadium, one that has grown with each passing day of September.
"There's that anticipation," Roberts said. "Guys are getting to the ballpark a little bit earlier, and you feel the energy in the crowd at home a lot more. It's intensified. We all know what's at stake."
The six-month marathon has been reduced to a 3{-week sprint, and the Dodgers are looking like a team capable of a strong finishing kick.
Behind a superb start by another rookie pitcher _ Brock Stewart _ two clutch swings from rejuvenated right fielder Yasiel Puig and an arsenal of seven bullpen arms, the Dodgers beat Arizona, 3-1, to push their National League West lead over San Francisco to five games with 23 games left.
A suspense-filled evening built to a crescendo in the seventh inning when the Diamondbacks, trailing, 3-1, loaded the bases with two outs and pinch-hitter Rickie Weeks worked the count full against Dodgers left-hander Grant Dayton.
Weeks fouled off two pitches before Dayton blew a 91-mph fastball by him for a third strike, Dayton punctuating it with a scream and a violent pump of his left fist.
Pedro Baez struck out two of three in a scoreless eighth, and Kenley Jansen retired the side in order in the ninth for his 43rd save, as the Dodgers extended their winning streak to five and pushed their record to 79-60.
Perhaps girding themselves for the playoff battles of October, the Dodgers played with a sense of urgency that could be seen in second baseman Charlie Culberson sprinting 80 feet and diving in an effort to catch Paul Goldschmidt's bloop run-scoring double in the first.
It was also evident in the way third base coach Chris Woodward boldly waved Howie Kendrick home from first on Corey Seager's double to right in the first, and the way Kendrick slid head-first into the plate to avoid the tag of catcher Chris Herrmann for a 1-1 tie.
Roberts showed it in the sixth inning when he used four relievers _ left-hander J.P. Howell, right-hander Louis Coleman, left-hander Luis Avilan and right-hander Jesse Chavez _ to face four batters.
The crowd of 44,352 got more involved in the top of the sixth, letting out a huge roar when Colorado's 6-5 victory over San Francisco, a game the Rockies won with three runs in the ninth, was posted on the scoreboard.
Those fans erupted again in the bottom of the sixth when Puig, who lofted a sacrifice fly to left to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead in the first, lined an 82-mph slider from left-hander Robbie Ray over the left-center-field wall for a homer and a 3-1 lead.
Into this cauldron of a pennant race, the Dodgers sent a rookie to the mound for the fourth straight game. The last Dodgers team to start four consecutive rookie pitchers played in Brooklyn in 1952.
A big deal for these Dodgers? Nah, they've started rookies in 59 of 139 games, though 27 have come from Kenta Maeda, who pitched for eight seasons in Japan before coming to the U.S.
That Stewart, who opened the season at Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, delivered a strong effort under heavy pressure, allowing one run and five hits in five innings, was hardly a surprise.
The right-hander has added a slider to go with his 94-mph fastball, and Roberts felt he had the courage to handle the assignment.
"His biggest strength for me ... is his pulse," Roberts said. "He doesn't scare off. For us, that's been one of the common factors with a lot of our young players. We've put them in some difficult situations, and they've risen to the occasion."
Stewart walked A.J. Pollock with two outs in the first, and Pollock scored on Goldschmidt's bloop double. But he blanked Arizona on four hits over the next four innings despite the leadoff man reaching base in all four innings.
The five rookies who have started for the Dodgers this season _ Maeda, Ross Stripling, Julio Urias, Stewart and Jose De Leon _ are a combined 23-18 with a 3.90 earned-run average in 59 games.
