LOS ANGELES -- Zack Greinke's sore calf prevented him from attempting to end the Los Angeles Dodgers' four-game losing streak in the middle of a playoff race.
Although the Dodgers realized they couldn't replace the major league ERA leader, their much-maligned bullpen and their Philadelphia connection came through splendidly.
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Chase Utley hit a leadoff homer and added a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth inning, and the Dodgers snapped their skid with a 4-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night.
Utley's double to the wall in right field drove in Jimmy Rollins, whose clever bunt single leading off the eighth was Los Angeles' first hit since Utley's homer on Chase Anderson's first pitch.
Clutch play is nothing new for the Phillies' longtime double-play combo, but Utley and Rollins were thrilled to connect for their new team.
"I've seen Jimmy do that a few times over the years," Utley said. "Being in a playoff race is a nice change of pace from the last few years. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to be in this atmosphere."
San Francisco Giants
Chavez Ravine was rocking when Corey Seager added a two-run homer later in the eighth for the Dodgers (86-65), who lowered their magic number for clinching a playoff berth and their third straight NL West title to six.
Anderson mowed down the Dodgers after the first pitch, striking out five straight batters at one point.
"I thought (Anderson) threw as well as we've seen him, as well as probably early in the year when he was dominating," Arizona manager Chip Hale said. "It was really good to see, especially after not being out there in competition for a while."
BIG BLAST:
Utley put Anderson's first pitch of the game into the bleachers in right. The veteran infielder had never hit a leadoff homer in the first 1,575 games of his 13-year career. Anderson was just as shocked as the Dodgers' fans: "I knew that he was probably the lowest in Major League Baseball on first-swing percentage on pitches. After that, I just kept going and tried to make the outing as strong as I could."
Utley was the fourth player to hit a leadoff homer for the Dodgers in September, setting a major league record for a calendar month.
ANOTHER BIG BLAST:
Goldschmidt answered Utley with his 31st homer on Frias' first pitch of the second inning. He joined Chad Tracy as the only Arizona players to homer in four straight games in Los Angeles.
TRAINER'S ROOM:
Diamondbacks: SS Nick Ahmed is expected to miss at least two games with a sore lower back.
Dodgers: Greinke is expected to take his next turn in the rotation early next week. He said the calf injury isn't serious.
UP NEXT:
Diamondbacks: Patrick Corbin (6-4, 2.99 ERA) has a 1.44 ERA in his last five starts.
Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw (14-7, 2.18 ERA) is coming off his first loss since June 27, but still leads the majors with 272 strikeouts.