Dodgers shut out by D-backs in Victorino's debut

Associated Press Sports

updated 7:45 p.m. ET Aug. 1, 2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Patrick Corbin was brimming with confidence as he began his third stint this season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, convinced that he belonged with the big club on a permanent basis.

His solid outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers only confirmed that notion.

The 23-year-old left-hander pitched two-hit ball over six innings following his promotion from Triple-A Reno on Wednesday, and the Diamondbacks got home runs from Miguel Montero and newcomer Chris Johnson in a 4-0 victory that completed their first three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium since 2007.

"I feel a lot more comfortable now and I feel like I should be up here," Corbin said. "That's the biggest difference - feeling comfortable and going out there knowing you can pitch against these guys."

Corbin (3-4) struck out five and walked two in his sixth major league start.

"I'd say he was a little bit excited. It's a big series, so the adrenaline goes a little bit faster. So he was probably trying a little bit too hard," said Montero, the Diamondbacks' catcher. "He was trying to be too perfect early in the game and was pulling the ball a little bit. But when he got in jams, he made quality pitches to get out of them. Then he settled down a little bit and pitched good the last three innings."

Corbin, who began the season with Double-A Mobile, made five starts for Arizona earlier this season with a 4.15 ERA. In the last one, he gave up two runs over 5 1-3 innings in a 6-1 loss to the Dodgers at Chase Field on May 21. The Diamondbacks sent him to Reno for six starts, then recalled him and used him out of the bullpen for two weeks. Then it was back to Reno for three more starts - which Corbin hopes will be his last ones in the minors.

"My breaking ball was a good pitch for me coming up through the minor leagues, and I didn't have it my first time up here," he said. "But I gained it back when I was in the bullpen and then continued with it in Reno. Today I was throwing it for strikes, getting ahead of guys and then finishing them with it."

The Dodgers' only hits were a two-out single by Matt Kemp in the first inning and a two-out single by rookie pitcher Stephen Fife in the second. They were outscored 19-4 in the series, which followed a three-game sweep at rival San Francisco.

"This series scared me from the beginning," said manager Don Mattingly, who categorized it as a "trap series" before Friday night's opener. "They hurt us with the long ball all three games and we weren't hitting the ball."

Montero opened the scoring in the second with an RBI single and made it 4-0 in the eighth with his 13th homer, a two-run shot off reliever Randy Choate. Montero's three RBIs raised his season total to 64, the most among catchers.

"But right now I'm not satisfied. I'm never satisfied. I always expect more out of myself," Montero said. "The first two months were my worst months, pretty much, but it's not how you start. It's how you finish."

Shane Victorino was 0 for 4 in his Dodgers debut in left field, a day after he was acquired from Philadelphia during the final hours before the non-waiver trade deadline.

It was a homecoming of sorts for the two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, who was selected by the Dodgers in the sixth round of the 1999 draft but never got to play for them until Wednesday. Mattingly switched to uniform No. 12 so Victorino could have his familiar No. 8. He became the eighth player Mattingly has used in the leadoff spot this season, and the ninth to start in left field.

"You always want to get to the team that drafted you in the big leagues," Victorino said. "Now I get to wear Dodger Blue again - not as a young kid, but as a guy who has had time in the big leagues, has had some fun and some great moments. I'm trying to relive those moments here."

Fife (0-1) allowed two runs and six hits over 4 1-3 innings, a year to the day after the Dodgers acquired the 25-year-old right-hander in a multiplayer trade with Boston. He has yielded four runs in 16 1-3 innings during his three big league starts, but has walked three batters in each one.

A heads-up baserunning play by Paul Goldschmidt helped the Diamondbacks score their first run after he singled on Fife's first pitch of the second inning. Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis made a sensational, diving grab of Justin Upton's bunt after sprinting about 30 feet to the left of the plate, but Goldschmidt got to second after tagging up, and Montero singled him home.

"I saw Justin square around - I wasn't expecting that - and then I saw it go foul. So I figured I better go back and tag because, if he makes a diving play, then I can make a run for it," Goldschmidt said. "I took a few hard steps and I saw he was kind of off balance, so I just put my head down and kept going."

Johnson made it 2-0 in the fourth with his 10th homer. In three games with the Diamondbacks after being acquired from Houston on Friday, he is 6 for 11 with seven RBIs - including a grand slam against Aaron Harang in the series opener - and has been on base eight times in 13 plate appearances. Johnson is 11 for 22 with three homers and 10 RBIs in his last six games overall.

NOTES: Goldschmidt was 8 for 11 with five RBIs in the series, including first-inning homers in each of the first two games. ... Two-time All-Star Bobby Abreu was designated for assignment to clear a spot for Victorino.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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