Phoenix, AZ – The last time Zack Greinke faced Arizona there was a brawl on the field at Dodger Stadium.
On Monday night, Greinke was focused and sharp on the mound and at the plate, helping Los Angeles to a 6-1 win over the NL West-leading Diamondbacks.
Greinke (7-2) yielded two hits and had seven strikeouts over seven shutout innings to win his fourth straight start and beat Arizona for the first time in his career (1-3). He also singled three times and scored once to boost the Dodgers to their seventh win in nine games.
Hanley Ramirez went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored and extended his career-high hitting streak to 19 games.
Andre Ethier also had three hits with an RBI and a run scored. A.J. Ellis knocked in two runs for the Dodgers, who opened a three-game series in Phoenix nearly four weeks since the teams were involved in a heated affair.
Five players were hit by pitches, six were ejected and five were suspended following the crazy June 11 game. Greinke was a key figure in the events of that night, as he hit Arizona catcher Miguel Montero as payback for the Diamondbacks hitting outfielder Yasiel Puig. Arizona starter Ian Kennedy, who will start Tuesday, then plunked Greinke up near the shoulder to set off a wild fracas.
The payback Greinke focused on was moving up in the standings. The Dodgers closed the gap to 3 1/2 games on the Diamondbacks.
"I just wanted to win a little more. That's also because they're in first place," Greinke said. "It's a big game because of that."
Arizona, which had a five-game winning streak broken, managed only four hits, two coming from Paul Goldschmidt.
Randall Delgado (1-3) allowed 11 hits and three runs over six innings.
"He didn't throw the ball bad at all," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. "He had everything working."
Juan Uribe singled to center to drive in Ramirez in the fourth inning.
The Dodgers scored two more in the fifth and seventh for a 5-0 cushion. Adrian Gonzalez and Ramirez had RBI singles in the fifth. Puig, one of six Dodgers with at least two hits, scored the second run in the fifth.
Ethier doubled in a run in the seventh and scored on Ellis' single to right field. Ellis drove in the sixth run in the ninth with a fielder's choice.
Eric Chavez doubled in Goldschmidt in the bottom of the ninth.
Game Notes
The Dodgers made several roster moves before the game, including placing center fielder Matt Kemp on the 15-day disabled list Monday due to left AC joint inflammation. They also put right-handed pitcher Stephen Fife on the 15-day DL with right shoulder bursitis, recalled outfielder Scott Van Slyke from Triple-A Albuquerque and added right-handed pitcher Ricky Nolasco to the active roster. Nolasco, who was acquired from the Miami Marlins on Saturday, will start Tuesday's contest ... The Diamondbacks lost for just the second time in their last eight games against the Dodgers ... Arizona center fielder Gerardo Parra made a sliding over-the-shoulder catch at the warning track to rob Ellis of a hit in the sixth inning.
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