LOS ANGELES _ Jake Arrieta turned to his right, ever so slightly, on Tuesday night and watched the fly ball soar toward left field. Arrieta was dealing in the seventh inning of a 6-1 Philadelphia Phillies' win over the Los Angeles Dodgers and Logan Forsthye's contact came off the bat with that home-run sound.
It was the type of blast that would've spoiled Arrieta's night, but the ball sliced foul. A relieved Arrieta turned back to home plate, waited for a new baseball, and promptly fired a sinker that Forsythe pounded for a double play.
That foul ball _ which produced just an instant of doubt _ was about the only trouble the Dodgers could give Arrieta. The righthander was just as brilliant as he has been all month, dominating L.A. for seven shutout innings and striking out five. And it seemed like every time Arrieta needed a grounder _ like after that scare from Forsythe _ he got one. Arrieta, who has the highest ground-ball rate in the National League, recorded 10 of his 21 outs via grounders.
This was the night the Phillies needed after Tuesday's eighth-inning debacle. They said this season's meltdown at Dodger Stadium would not lead to the spiral caused by their brutal loss here last year. Monday night was an emphatic statement to back it up. Arrieta delivered, the offense jumped to an early lead, and the bullpen quickly silenced the second scare of the night.
Hector Neris, pitching at Dodger Stadium for the first time since the nightmarish night last season when he gave up three consecutive homers, retired just one of the four batters he faced in the eighth and allowed a run before being lifted. Forsythe failed to spoil Arrieta's night, but Neris looked set to do so. Tommy Hunter restored order and needed just four pitches to record the final two outs of the inning. Edubray Ramos handled the ninth.
Nick Williams homered to start the second and Odubel Herrera followed six batters later with a two-run single. Scott Kingery and Jorge Alfaro hit back-to-back doubles to produce a run in the sixth. It was plenty of support for Arrieta. Rhys Hoskins, with a swollen face and cut lip from being hit in the mouth Monday by his own foul tip, hit a pinch-hit double and scored in the ninth. Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda threw just 30 pitches before he was lifted in the second inning with a strained right hip. The Dodgers used six relievers to record the next 22 outs.
Arrieta has allowed just three earned runs in 30 innings this month. Tuesday against the Dodgers may have been his toughest test of the season. And he breezed through it. Arrieta is starting to seem comfortable at the pitcher he has become, one who relies less on whiffs as he masters the art of forcing ground balls. Arrieta was what the Phillies needed on Tuesday night as they moved past Monday's shocking loss, a defeat the Phillies hope was like that foul ball, just a brief scare.
