Christian Walker Regains his Power as D-backs Shut Out Rangers

Arizona's first baseman found a burst of power with two homers, with some help from an excellent night of pitching.

Sep 10, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first base Christian Walker (53) celebrates with Joc Pederson (3) after hitting a solo home run against the Texas Rangers in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks won a strong showing against their former World Series foes in the Texas Rangers by a score of 6-0. They are 81-64, and hold the second Wild Card spot behind the relentless Padres, as every game becomes more important by the day.

Zac Gallen looked a bit off-balance early on, but settled down for an excellent scoreless outing, albeit only five innings.

He showed a high pitch count through two innings, but was able to work more efficiently through innings 3-5, on the way to five innings of solid two-hit, shutout baseball. He walked two and struck out seven without allowing a run.

The D-backs, as they are known to do, struck early with a pair of home runs in the first inning, off Rangers right-hand starter Nathan Eovaldi. After Eovaldi retired Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte, DH Joc Pederson slammed a center-cut fastball from Eovaldi for a towering 450-foot solo homer.

Right behind Pederson, Christian Walker entered tonight's game with just three hits in his first five games back from his oblique injury. Walker immediately smacked a solo shot just over the right field wall, his first opposite field homer of the year, and Arizona's 12th instance of back-to-back homers on the season.

“I felt like I was due, it’s good to help the team win, this team’s been winning a lot," said Walker postgame, speaking to D-backs TV's Jody Jackson, "It’s fun to be a part of this lineup, a lot of credit to our [pitching] staff tonight for shutting down a good offense.” 

“Just trying to keep it simple, the timing was feeling good," he continued, "I’ve faced Eovaldi enough to know that he’s nasty out there, you’ve got to keep it simple, you’ve just got to try to hit a ball hard, and luckily they were on my side."

Those 12 back-to-back home runs this year are the most in a season in D-backs history. But Walker wasn't done. After Pederson worked a one-out walk in the third, the first baseman knocked another opposite field homer to the same spot, doubling Arizona's lead to 4-0.

Eovaldi was only able to survive five innings, surrendering seven hits, a walk and three homers, adding up to four earned runs on the night.

Walker finished 2-for-4, with the two home runs and three RBI, a much-needed power surge after a slow return from injury.

It's also the fourth time Pederson and Walker have gone back-to-back this year. That's the second-most in MLB behind only Juan Soto and Aaron Judge of the Yankees. It also ties a D-backs record, also held by Paul Goldschmidt and J.D. Martinez, back in 2017.

“I’ve got the easy part of that, he’s the one that starts it off," said Walker about his teammate Pederson. "That guy’s impressed me all year with his swings, I love hitting behind him, it’s nice to feel like I can try to protect a good hitter like that. Tonight was fun, it was cool to put together two swings like that for us.”

The scoring would then fall silent until the eighth inning, as Jake McCarthy bunted for a base hit. Pavin Smith, fresh off his historic three-homer night, yanked a double just fair down the right field line to bring him in. With Smith at second, Jose Herrera smashed a ground rule double to make it 6-0.

But the initial lead would end up holding strongly, as the D-backs' bullpen worked its magic en route to a shutout. Kevin Ginkel, Ryan Thompson, A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez combined for four scoreless innings, with the lone hit split between them being a weak dribbler against Ginkel, grounded slowly to third base in the sixth.

A.J. Puk struck out the side in the eighth, and Justin Martinez worked a stress-free ninth, as the relief corp combined for six strikeouts with just the one baserunner allowed.

The D-backs are back in action on Wednesday for the finale of this two-game set. First pitch is at 12:40 p.m. Arizona time.