D-Backs Clobber Padres for Series Win
After the Diamondbacks took game one of the Saturday doubleheader versus the San Diego Padres, they were set up to face a tough pitcher in Yu Darvish while they themselves had a bullpen game. Turns out that the early game was just an appetizer to the offensive main course in the night game. The D-backs got big offensive production from Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, Gabriel Moreno, and Christian Walker. Meanwhile, Bryce Jarvis got his first MLB win out of the pen.
The theme of the day was elite hitting, working the count, and getting timely patient at-bats. Multiple times, they loaded the bases against a struggling Yu Darvish. Darvish gave up nine hits, four runs, a walk, and seven strikeouts over just five-plus innings. No San Diego pitcher was able to get comfortable out there on the mound. The team continued to string at-bats throughout multiple innings such as the second when they plated two runs behind Alek Thomas' double and Gabriel Moreno's RBI ground-out. Those two and Walker were dominant.
Thomas went two for three with two walks and three runs. Walker went three for four with an RBI, a walk, and two runs. Moreno contributed the most with a grand slam off of Nick Martinez in the seventh inning to put the team up 8-1 and seal their win. His bat flip was legendary. It was Moreno's fifth home run of the season and his first career grand slam. Also, his 35th RBI on the season. He had five RBI, two hits, and a run in five at-bats. He had this to say through his translator on his game-changing hit.
"First of all, it starts with [my] preparation before the game. He knew he was going to face Darvish, one of the guys that has better sequencing in the business. He was well prepared, had a different approach, and whenever he saw Martinez, the game was kind of slower for him"
Corbin Carroll showed signs of breaking out of his slump by going three for four with an RBI and a run. Nick Ahmed contributed two hits in four at-bats and Tommy Pham extended his hitting streak to 11 games by crushing a double in the seventh and later scoring on Moreno's slam.
Meanwhile, the refreshed bullpen showed signs of breaking out of their slump too. Scott McGough served as the opener and threw 2.1 innings with one hit, one walk, and two strikeouts. Then, Bryce Jarvis came in to handle the bulk of the game. Fun fact: the last time the D-backs and Padres faced each other in a doubleheader came in San Diego during the 2001 season. Kevin Jarvis, Bryce's dad pitched for San Diego in the nightcap. 22 years later his son pitched in the two team's next doubleheader only this time he did it for the D-backs in the night game. Baseball sure is magical.
Jarvis threw 3.2 innings never facing much trouble other than a bad pitch to Xander Bogaerts who deposited said pitch into the left field seats for San Diego's only run. Peter Strzelecki, the player acquired in the Andrew Chafin trade, made his D-backs debut after being called up earlier to serve as the 27th man for the day. He struggled a bit but did well to avoid any issues during his 1.1 innings. It was refreshing to see a pitcher not get overwhelmed by the moment, although his going over an inning showed that he's strictly a one-inning pitcher. He was gassed towards the end of his outing it seemed.
Justin Martinez closed the game out by throwing 1.2 innings with two strikeouts. He showcased his insane fastball velocity and splitter. Perhaps even more encouraging was that he continued to prove that he can locate his pitches. He isn't missing wildly or throwing. He's pitching. That's the best news the D-backs could get about this bullpen as he has legitimate All-Star closer potential.
The fact the team needed just four pitchers to get through this tough lineup really saved their team's arms. They could've easily sent out seven or more pitchers, but their guys white-knuckled it and gritted out a great game. They held the Padres' first five hitters, Kim, Tatis Jr., Soto, Machado, and Bogaerts to just one hit in 17 at-bats with three walks. That was a clear path to victory.
The Diamondbacks continued to snuff out any playoff hopes for San Diego while they improved their playoff odds. The D-backs climbed to within 0.5 games back of the Cubs/Reds who are tied for the third Wild Card spot. They leapfrogged the Marlins. Perhaps even better is that Arizona is just now a game behind the Giants for the second Wild Card spot. The D-backs improved to 64-61, three games over .500 while the Padres fell to 59-66, seven games under .500. They finish their road trip 5-2 against the Rockies and Padres.
They have an off day tomorrow due to Hurricane Hilary. They return to Arizona and will face the Texas Rangers at home in what is shaping up to be a challenging two-game series with the first-place AL West team. That game is at 6:40 PM and no starting pitchers have been decided for either team. Tonight was a big morale-boosting win for the young D-backs as they continue to climb their way back from that dreadful nine-game losing streak. Over their last ten games, they've gone 7-3. A huge turnaround as they play for their playoff lives.
