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Loney propels Dodgers past Diamondbacks

Jul 19, 2008 - 7:48 AM PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Finding offense has been a sore subject most of the season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, if one game is any proof of what they can do under his tutelage, new hitting coach Don Mattingly may have an easier job than expected.

James Loney hit the tie-breaking homer in the 11th inning Friday, powering the Dodgers into a first-place tie once again atop the National League West with a 8-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Nomar Garciaparra homered twice for Los Angeles (47-49), which used a four-homer effort to grab a share of first place in the division with Arizona. The Dodgers have tied the Diamondbacks twice this month in the standings, but have been unable to overtake them.

"You never know what to expect," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "After three or four days off, we came out swinging the bats and I was really pleased with that."

After rallying from a three-run, second-inning deficit, Garciaparra used a two-run homer in the third and a solo shot in the sixth to close the gap to 7-6 before Matt Kemp's solo blast knotted the game at 7-7 in the seventh.

"First, it's good to be a help" Garciaparra said. "It's just a matter of contributing. "(The Diamondbacks) swung the bats really well, put some runs up, we needed to put some runs up ourselves in order to pull this one off."

Loney completed the comeback in the 11th with a solo home run off Doug Slaten (0-3), handling a high fastball from the reliever and sending it into the right-field stands for his eighth homer.

"It feels good," Loney said. "To get the sweet spot of the bat on the ball, in your count, you always want to do that."

Cory Wade (1-1) tossed a scoreless 10th inning to collect his first victory in the majors before new closer Jonathan Broxton, filling in for the injured Takashi Saito, set Arizona down in order for his first save of the season.

The power-hitting and scoring display was unusual for the Dodgers, who entered play Friday's action with 65 homers, tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the second-worst total in the majors, and 390 runs, the fifth-worst mark in baseball. But it had to be a welcome sight for Mattingly, who is replacing Mike Easler.

"We want a better approach team wise," Mattingly said. "We want to be able to attack people with what the guys are doing and have an understanding what that pitcher does, not give in to his strengths, make him come to us a little bit more. You got some veterans who know what they are doing and other young guys who need to keep refining their game. And that's what we are trying to do."

In a game marked by its twists and turns, the Dodgers jumped to a three-run lead in their first at-bat only to be faced by a three-run deficit after two frames. However, Garciaparra, Kemp and Loney all did their part to bring the Dodgers back.

The Dodgers surged to a 3-0 lead in the first off starter Doug Davis - capped by Garciaparra's first hit of the contest, a run-scoring single - but were quickly answered by the Diamondbacks' four-run response in the bottom of the frame.

"Both teams swung the bat well in the first couple of innings," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. "It looked a little sloppy defensively in the first couple of innings, tightened it up considerably and it ended up being a good game, obviously. We had a few more opportunities, with some guys on, typically in a game like that one pitch will end up costing it and Loney got a good pitch to hit."

Arizona doubled up Los Angeles in the next inning, increasing the margin to 6-3 after two when Conor Jackson scored on a wild pitch and Chad Tracy drove home Orlando Hudson with an RBI double.

"The offense had a good night tonight," Diamondbacks center fielder Chris Young said. "(The offense) came through and got some big hits, we battled. When it gets to a point where it did tonight, the 10th, 11th inning, at that point the game could go to anybody, whoever gets the big hit. Loney did, so it was a good game played by both teams."

Garciaparra began the Dodgers' long road back in the third when he belted a fastball from Davis near the pool area in right-center field for a two-run shot, his third of the season.

Even though the Diamondbacks answered with a run of their own in the bottom half to increase their lead to 7-5, Garciaparra halved the gap with another blast in the sixth - a solo shot off reliever Yusmeiro Petit - into the stands in left, posting his first multi-homer game since August 4, 2002, in the process.

Kemp evened the game one inning later, pounding a changeup from reliever Leo Rosales several rows deep into the stands in left-center for his 10th home run.