PHOENIX — As the final cutter from Kenley Jansen sizzled past the bat of Arizona slugger Paul Goldschmidt, Dave Roberts disappeared in a succession of bearhugs from his coaches, a group celebration a tactical masterpiece, as the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Diamondbacks out of a National League division series with a 3-1 victory in Game 3.

Roberts manipulated the game like a marionette, pulling each string with the proper force at the proper time. In a postseason already littered with managers undone by indecision and miscalculation, Roberts offered a rejoinder: At least one man knows what he is doing.

Roberts could not ensure a victory on his own. Cody Bellinger barreled over a dugout railing and blasted a home run. Austin Barnes sent Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke to the showers with a fifth-inning homer. Yu Darvish struck out seven batters in five innings of one-run baseball, but Roberts opened his bullpen when Darvish lost his control in the sixth inning. The Dodgers survived an 0-for-10 game with runners in scoring position by limiting Arizona to three hits.

The Dodgers completed their first postseason sweep since downing the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the 2009 playoffs. They will await the winner of the series between the Chicago Cubs and the Washington Nationals, with Washington facing elimination in Game 4 on Tuesday.

Greinke was not at his best Monday. He had not pitched beyond the fourth inning in his previous three outings. The Dodgers welcomed him to the mound with malice. Chris Taylor worked the count full before hitting a leadoff double into the left-field corner.

After a walk by Corey Seager, Taylor took third base on a flyout. He scored on a groundout by Bellinger. Unable to finish at-bats, Greinke required 29 pitches to complete the inning. Greinke did not generate a swinging strike until his 54th pitch, a slider Darvish swung over to end the second inning.

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Darvish had not pitched since Sept. 25. He skipped his final outing of the season. The Dodgers assigned him the third game of this series in deference to his success on the road in 2017. Roberts acknowledged the possibility of rust.

“There’s always that chance, but I think he’s going to be fired up,” Roberts said. “There are going to be some emotions. He’s just got to recoil those emotions and make pitches.”

Darvish did not crumble. His postseason career was brief but checkered: Two starts, two defeats and a 5.40 earned-run average. He aimed to rectify that history. Darvish faced one batter over the minimum on his first turn through Arizona’s lineup. The Diamondbacks lacked experience against Darvish — only outfielder J.D. Martinez had more than six at-bats against him.

In the fourth inning, Darvish flabbergasted the heart of Arizona’s lineup. He unleashed a 2-and-2 slider that nipped the outside corner to freeze shortstop Ketel Marte. His fastball touched 98 mph before he struck out first baseman Goldschmidt with a slider. Darvish finished the inning with a wicked, two-seam fastball that induced a futile swing by Martinez.

The gap between Darvish and Greinke, in terms of aesthetics, was immense. The actual difference in the game was only one run. Greinke walked five batters in the first four innings but held the Dodgers to six hitless at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Bellinger devised a solution. It was a familiar one, a lightning strike with his lumber, and it erased the bitterness of his two-for-12 start to October.

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With two outs in the fifth, Greinke fell behind Bellinger in the count. A 3-and-1 changeup floated across the plate. The crack of Bellinger’s bat reverberated through the stadium. The solo shot landed in the left-center field seats.

The two-run lead got halved into the bottom of the inning. Darvish buzzed through the first two batters before hanging two sliders to second baseman Daniel Descalso. Descalso fouled back the first. He crushed the second for a homer, which awakened the crowd and activated the Dodgers bullpen.

Bellinger helped Darvish escape the inning. Bellinger raced to the Dodgers dugout and settled beneath a foul ball lofted by catcher Jeff Mathis. Bellinger kept his eyes on the ball as he rolled over the railing and tumbled into Roberts. His teammates reached to pull Bellinger back to his feet.

Greinke had thrown 104 pitches. Despite his subdued arsenal, he dragged himself through five innings. Manager Torey Lovullo was not satisfied. He sent Greinke out for the sixth. The mistake became obvious after an 0-and-1 fastball to Barnes, who hit a solo shot beyond the left-field fence.

Darvish did not last much longer. Roberts allowed him to bat with a runner on third in the fifth. Darvish grounded out and the runner would be stranded. Back out for the sixth, Darvish clipped pinch-hitter Christian Walker in the helmet with a 94-mph fastball. Roberts jumped up from the dugout and called in Tony Cingrani, who induced a double play to erase Walker.

From there, Roberts conducted a clinic. He allowed Brandon Morrow to face four batters, including left-handed hitter Jake Lamb. Morrow retired them all. Kenta Maeda pitched a spotless eighth. And waiting at the end was Jansen. He finished the job.


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