D-backs Beat Braves 1-0 With Great Pitching and Defense

Brandon Pfaadt pitched a gem, Jake McCarthy made two great catches, and Eugenio Suarez homered for the second straight night.

Jul 11, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt (32) throws against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports / Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Pfaadt threw six scoreless innings, and the Diamondbacks defense and bullpen protected a 1-0 lead provided by Eugenio Suarez' fifth inning homer. Jake McCarthy made a game saving, home run robbing catch at the left field wall to preserve the shutout and the narrowest of victories over the Braves.

WHAT A CATCH, JAKE! 😱 pic.twitter.com/gfs5E4ulsO

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 12, 2024

Pfaadt retired the first 11 batters he faced before giving up a two out single to Austin Riley in the fourth inning. A leadoff single for the Braves by Marcel Ozuna went nowhere in the fifth after Pfaadt got a strikeout and a couple of ground outs.

Another lead off single in the 6th was erased on an excellent 3-6-3 double play started by Christian Walker. Pfaadt's final line was 6 IP, 0 ER, 3H, 0 BB, 4K. His record goes to 4-6 and he got his ERA down to 3.97.

Max Fried was pitching a great game for the Braves too. The D-backs put two on in the first, but Fried got out of it with a 5-4-3 double play on a ball hit by Walker. He gave up a leadoff single to McCarthy in the second, but struck out the next three batters.

By the time Suarez came up in the fifth inning with score still 0-0, Fried had retired nine in a row. The patient Suarez worked the count full before finally getting a changeup that stayed up out over the plate. He blasted the pitch 437 feet to the home run porch to the left side of the batters eye. It was his second homer in as many nights and his ninth of the year.

It was up to the bullpen to preserve the lead. Kevin Ginkel pitched out of a jam in the 7th after giving up a leadoff double to Riley by retiring the next three in a row.

Ryan Thompson came on for the 8th and he was helped out by two outstanding defensive plays. Walker leaped high and to his left to snare an Eddie Rosario line drive, robbing extra bases. One batter later Sean Murphy hit a smash to left center. McCarthy was playing centerfield at the time, and raced 110 feet into the gap to make the running catch in front of the wall.

Paul Sewald came out to close out the ninth. He struck out Riley in impressive fashion, tying him up with fastballs up and in. But he left a 2-2 fastball up in a bad place to Matt Olson, who crushed the pitch. Fortunately McCarthy had shifted from center to left and was there to make the game saving grab.

The victory gave the D-backs a 2-2 split in the series with the Braves after dropping the first two, They are also 47-47. They're now just a game back of the Padres and the Mets, who are in a virtual tie for the third wild card spot in the standings.

The Diamondbacks start a three game series against the Toronto Blue Jays tomorrow night. Ryne Nelson starts for Arizona, and Yariel Rodriguez, a 27 year old rookie from Cuba, starts for Toronto. First pitch is at 6:40 P.M. MST