Chase Utley, Corey Seager help Dodgers snap skid with 4-1 win

The Dodgers looked like a slumping team for most of the night Wednesday. They made struggling right-hander Chase Anderson look like Nolan Ryan. At one point, he retired 14 consecutive Dodgers and struck out a career-high 10.

And because they were going with something of a bullpen start with the late scratch of Zack Greinke (sore calf), it was not the most promising of nights.

Still, the Greinke stand-ins did their job and it was a 1-1 game heading into the bottom of the eighth when the Dodgers -- who had only one hit to that point -- went to the Philly connection and then to phenom Corey Seager to down the Diamondbacks, 4-1, before a Dodger Stadium crowd of 46,364.

The victory snapped the Dodgers’ four-game losing streak and lowered their magic number for clinching the National League West to six with 11 games to play.

Jimmy Rollins, starting for the first time since Sept. 6 because of a bruised knuckle, began the Dodgers’ rally in the eighth with a leadoff bunt single. Pinch-hitter Ronald Torreyes’ bunt sacrificed him to second and he scored on Chase Utley’s double off the wall.

Seager added a two-run homer into the right-field seats just inside the foul pole and the Dodgers suddenly had a three-run lead.

The early scoring came quickly.

Utley, back at second base, was placed in the leadoff spot and ripped a solo home run off Anderson. It was the seventh time this season a Dodger has led off a game with a home run, but the first time for Utley in his 13-year career. Until coming to the Dodgers, however, he’d only led off two times.

The Diamondbacks got the run back the same way, Paul Goldschmidt -- who else? -- hitting a solo home run to lead off the second. For Goldschmidt, it was his 31st home run of the season and the 21st of his career against the Dodgers.

Otherwise, Carlos Frias more than did his job as an emergency starter for Greinke. Frias had been part of the rotation when his lower back flared up and he spent three months on the disabled list.

He returned only Sunday, pitching two innings.

But against the Diamondbacks -- the last team he had started a game against, on June 20 -- he did better than anyone had a right to expect. The Goldschmidt home run was the only hit he allowed in his four innings.

He did not walk a batter and struck out two. He was lifted after throwing 43 pitches.

Ian Thomas gave up two hits but induced an inning-ending double play in the fifth, Pedro Baez held the Diamondbacks scoreless for his 1 1/3 innings, Luis Avilan did the same for his inning, Chris Hatcher got the final two outs in the eighth and then Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth for his 33rd save.

Anderson, who has 2-3 record and 6.08 ERA in the second half, had not started a game since Sept. 8. In his six innings, he allowed the one run on only one hit and a walk, to go with his 10 strikeouts.