Chris Taylor puts on big hitting display in Dodgers’ 13-7 win

Not since the Dodgers left Brooklyn had this happened, had a player hit a grand slam for his first career home run, but Chris Taylor did not have grand plans for his memento. He intended to give the ball to his parents and let them choose a setting for it.

“Maybe they’ll put it in a case or something,” Taylor said after his offensive breakout aided his club in a 13-7 victory over Arizona to start the second half.

Taylor finished a single shy of the cycle, with a two-run triple in the fourth inning, a double in the fifth and his slam in the sixth. The Dodgers totaled 18 hits as they crushed the Diamondbacks to start the second half of the season. In the fifth, a scene unfolded that no Dodgers executive could have predicted six months earlier: Taylor scored on a single by starting pitcher Bud Norris, who gave up four runs in five innings.

Paired together, Norris and Taylor do not represent a panacea for the club but are an emblem of the team’s emphasis of improving the margins of its roster. The fan base hungers for star power, and Friedman has pledged to search for that type of talent before the Aug. 1 trade deadline. But his maneuvers on the fringes have already aided the club’s cause.

As the second half began on Friday, the Dodgers found themselves in a curious position, holding a lead in the National League wild-card standings while trailing San Francisco by 51/2 games in the division. The ascendancy of the Giants has transformed the Dodgers from big-market bullies into something else. A club with a $250-million payroll cannot be considered an underdog, but the team’s ongoing injury horrors have shown the wisdom of the depth stockpiling this past winter.

On Friday, the Dodgers faced a club who chose a different tack during the off-season. Arizona corralled ace Zack Greinke with a $206-million offer, one the Dodgers declined to match. The team doubled down by raiding its farm system to acquire another pitcher, Shelby Miller.

The Dodgers faced neither man on Friday. Greinke resides on the disabled list. A day earlier, Miller earned the dubious distinction of a demotion to the minors. Arizona rolled out Patrick Corbin, a left-hander with a 4.94 earned-run average that was about to rise.

Justin Turner spent a portion of the break at a resort in Mexico. He lounged on the beach and played golf. He had earned a little relaxation. After a sluggish start, Turner found his footing in June. He popped 10 homers after May 31, and finished with an .897 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in his final 36 games of the first half.

The second half started well for him. Corbin fired an 0-and-1 fastball at his knees. Turner handled the 92-mph velocity with ease, powering a solo shot into a camera well inside the batter’s eye in center field.

“After the break, you never know how you’re going to feel, what’s going to happen,” Turner said. “To put up runs like that, that’s a good sign.”

The opposing third baseman contributed to another Dodgers run in the third. Norris led off with a grounder toward third base. Jake Lamb let it bounce off his glove. Corey Seager smashed a one-out double off the wall. Turner chopped another ground ball toward third. Lamb could not handle the ball, which skipped into the outfield, allowing Norris to score.

Norris handed back the lead in the bottom of the inning. The trouble started with an infield single by Corbin. A single by shortstop Nick Ahmed followed. Up came outfielder Michael Bourn, who stroked a ball in between center fielder Scott Van Slyke and right fielder Yasiel Puig.

Both runners scored, and Bourn jetted to third when the ball rolled beneath Van Slyke’s glove. The extra 90 feet proved crucial in the next at-bat, as All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt scored Bourn on a groundout.

For the Dodgers, the deficit did not last long. The Diamondbacks collapsed in the fourth inning, undone by the well-placed hitting of their guests and Corbin’s inability to control the strike zone.

Taylor punished a slider to drive in two runs with a triple. Batting in the leadoff spot, Howie Kendrick shot an RBI single down the first base line. At this point, Corbin failed to throw strikes. He walked Seager and Turner to load the bases. Puig cracked a two-run single.

By the sixth, the Diamondbacks had opened up their bullpen. The relievers did not fare much better. A fellow named Edwin Escobar hit Turner to start the inning and then gave up a single to Adrian Gonzalez. In came a man named Silvino Brancho, who allowed Puig to single.

The bases were loaded for Taylor. Brancho fed him a fastball at the waist. Taylor shipped it beyond the left-field fence. He would try to bunt for a single in eighth, but could not place the ball properly. The out did not ruin his night.

“A really fun night,” Taylor said. “A night I’ll always remember.”

andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes