PHOENIX (AP) — Sergio Alcántara used a translator for most of his postgame interview following his three-run homer in the 10th inning that lifted the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 on Wednesday night.
The questions would come in English. Alcántara responded in Spanish.
That is, until he was asked if he was looking for a fastball during his clutch at-bat. No translator needed for that one.
“Yeah,” he said, grinning. “I was looking fastball.”
The slim infielder, listed at a mere 5-foot-9 and 151 pounds, got the pitch he wanted with two outs and hit his surprising long ball way over the right field fence off closer Craig Kimbrel. The D-backs snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Dodgers and avoided a three-game sweep.
The Dodgers took a 3-2 lead earlier in the 10th when Austin Barnes scored on a wild pitch by Reyes Moronta (1-0).
Kimbrel (4-6) blew his fifth save of the season. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he was still confident Kimbrel would be the team’s closer as the team prepares for postseason play. The right-hander had thrown 9 1/3 scoreless innings before Wednesday’s blown save.
“No one feels worse than Craig right now,” Roberts said.
Los Angeles started several bench players one day after clinching the NL West title. Stars like Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Justin Turner were all out of the starting lineup.
“Everybody’s talking that it wasn’t their starters,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I don’t care. We won a baseball game and it’ll push us to the next day. I want us to feel good about it.”
Dodgers right-hander Michael Grove threw a career-high five innings in a spot start after being called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City. He gave up two hits — both solo homers — but was otherwise very good,…