Diamondbacks Ride Power Surge, Pitching to Dominant 7-3 Win vs Guardians

The Diamondbacks are MLB's hottest team, after guaranteeing their 7th straight series win. Their latest comes against Cleveland, in a dominant power performance.

Aug 7, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (2) hits a two-run home run during the second inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Paul Sewald shut the door for the Arizona Diamondbacks, in a dominant win against Cleveland. While the box score paints today's game as a steel-fisted win, it was a far more difficult game to take in practice. Arizona has become the league's hottest team, beating the Guardians 7-3.

The Diamondbacks threatened early against Ben Lively, managing to get runners on the corners with two outs. However, they were unable to capitalize as Lively continued his early dominance in 1st innings, having only allowed 2 runs in game openers all year.

The second inning, however, came with some rocky waters for Lively. A one-out walk to Alek Thomas was followed by a 2 run home run from Geraldo Perdomo, the first of the year for the young shortstop. The ball was uncorked at a 99.2 mph exit velocity, deep into the right field bleachers at Progressive Field.

Brandon Pfaadt backed up the D-backs' scoring with 12 straight batters sent down to start the game, striking out 3 of his first 5 batters faced. It was another fantastic start to the game for Pfaadt, who has been Arizona's most consistent starting pitcher of 2024.

The 5th inning didn't go much better for Ben Lively. He walked Jose Herrera, the 9 hitter, ahead of Corbin Carroll, showing visible frustration. That walk, as often seems to happen, was followed by Corbin Carroll's 9th home run of the year, a blast out to right field, just beyond Lane Thomas' reach. Lively would then walk Marte before escaping the 5th, and subsequently ending his day.

The first baserunner allowed by Brandon Pfaadt came on a solo home run from Josh Naylor. After that things began to unravel. Two singles and an RBI double from Bryan Rocchio cut the D-backs' lead in half. Things looked dire until Corbin Carroll came through with a massive double play, catching a shallow fly ball and rifling a throw to nab Daniel Schneemann at home plate.

Pfaadt then settled down, having a quiet but productive end to his night, pitching into the 7th inning and giving the Diamondbacks some desperately needed length in game one of a huge doubleheader.

Final Pitching Lines

Brandon Pfaadt: 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 6 K, 1 BB, 81 P

Ben Lively: 5 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 4 BB, 93 P

The Guardians have had the best bullpen in MLB coming into this series, but Arizona has managed to get to them multiple times throughout this series. Today they jumped on Pedro Avila, who went an inning but allowed an insurance run for the D-backs on an Eugenio Suarez double, making it 5-2 Arizona.

Dylan Floro ran into his first batch of trouble in a Diamondbacks uniform, after being acquired at the trade deadline from the Nationals. He allowed 3 hits, including an RBI single to Jose Ramirez, and left two men on before being pulled for Joe Mantiply.

Mantiply was seemingly wild in his limited appearance, but managed to get his only batter, Josh Naylor, to ground out to first base, escaping the potentially game-changing jam relatively unscathed.

The Diamondback's 5-3 lead entering the 9th would receive some padding, with 3 straight hits from the D-backs, including a 2-run home run from Ketel Marte.

It was Marte's 8th home run in the 9th inning in 2024, the most by any player in the 9th by 3 home runs. It is also his 29th of the year. Marte, now a top contender for MVP is making his case to be the frontrunner for the award known with his play on the field. His unbelievable recent hot streak includes 10 home runs in his last 14 games.

Paul Sewald entered the game in the 9th inning for the first time since his removal from the closer role. He didn't have the prettiest of innings, struggling with control, allowing a hit and a walk, but closed out the game with a scoreless inning regardless.

The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3, clinching their 7th straight series win, and allowing themselves a chance to sweep the team with the best record in baseball later today.

They improve to 62-52 on the year and are undeniably MLB's hottest team. Game two of today's doubleheader does not yet have an official start time but is anticipated to begin around 1:30 p.m. Arizona time.