Dodgers still finding new heroes, as Ivan De Jesus leads 8-7 win

This is how it’s become for the Dodgers, who can’t possibly do anything these days but win: Even when their happy little script takes an unexpected detour, they still manage to find a way to come out on top.

For your consideration, the Dodgers offer their Tuesday night hero, Ivan De Jesus. Last week he was in triple-A, but in keeping with their season-long theme, he stepped out of almost nowhere to provide the winning hit.

The Dodgers appeared set to waste a five-run, seventh-inning comeback that had tied the game when Lyle Overbay hit a solo home run in the eighth off Josh Lindblom.

But in the ninth, down to their final out, De Jesus doubled in the tying and go-ahead runs off Arizona closer J.J. Putz to to lead the Dodgers to their latest unexpected victory, this one 8-7 over the Diamondbacks in Phoenix.

It made for the Dodgers’ sixth consecutive victory and pushed their baseball-best record to 30-13.

Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless, if very shaky, ninth to earn his sixth save.

Aaron Harang started for the Dodgers, but never was at the top of his game. If he didn’t resemble the right-hander who had gone 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in his last three starts, he did look a lot like the guy who had started the year 1-2 with a 5.72 ERA in his first five starts.

He lasted only 4 1/3 innings, surrendering five runs on nine hits, and four of those went for extra bases.

The Diamondbacks started the scoring in the second inning after Overbay singled and ex-Dodgers’ farmhand Josh Bell simply crushed his first home run of the season. The two-run homer went an estimated 453 feet.

Arizona added one more in the third on a Ryan Roberts double and Justin Upton single, and then chased Harang with two more runs in the fifth. Doubles by Willie Bloomquist and Upton scored one and sent the call for reliever Scott Elbert, who promptly threw a wild pitch and gave up a sacrifice fly to Jason Kubel.

The Dodgers scored their first run in the sixth when an Andre Ethier sacrifice fly made him the first in the National League to 40 RBI, but the Diamondbacks got it back in the bottom of the inning off Elbert on doubles by Overbay and 41-year-old Henry Blanco.

And then came the Dodgers’ five-run seventh.

A.J. Ellis singled and reliever Brad Ziegler threw away Dee Gordon’s sacrifice bunt for an error, before pinch-hitter Jerry Sands sliced a run-scoring double down the right-field line.

That brought a call to reliever Craig Breslow, who was greeted by a two-run single from Tony Gwynn Jr. Then Bell bobbled an Elian Herrera bouncer for an error and Bobby Abreu singled in another run. After Ethier singled to load the bases, pinch-hitter De Jesus Jr. sent a fly deep enough to right to sacrifice Herrera with the tying run.

With runners on the corners and just one out, James Loney then bounced into a double play.

RELATED:

Dodgers of 2012: Is something special going on?

Easy now, but James Loney is starting to hit again

Don Mattingly makes the call; Dodgers reap the reward

Dodgers still finding new heroes, as Ivan De Jesus leads 8-7 win