Scott McGough Gives Two Homers in 9th in 5-4 Loss to Padres

A gutsy D-backs comeback effort thwarted by blown save, Ha-Seong Kim walk off homer

In an ending that is all too familiar to the Diamondbacks, and their fans, they suffered a blown save in the ninth inning when Scott McGough gave up back-to-back homers in a 5-4 loss. 

The D-backs had taken a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth when Evan Longoria barreled up a slider and drove it into the upper deck in left. But McGough failed to record an out in the bottom half of the inning. He had just picked up his first major league save a day earlier in Los Angeles.  But on this night he left a splitter up and out over the plate for pinch hitter David Dahl who drove it just over the wall in left center to tie the game at 4-4.  Then after falling behind 3-1 to Ha-Seong Kim, he hung a slider over the middle of the plate and Kim drove it to deep left for the game winning walk off homer. 

The game started off rough for the D-backs when starter Ryne Nelson was charged with a pitch timer violation on the second pitch of the game. He seemed to be struggling with the PitchCom, but failed to alert the umpire and was charged a ball. Trent Grisham singled and then Nelson put a 94 MPH fastball middle middle over the plate to Juan Soto who drilled it to center field for a homer and a 2-0 San Diego lead. Nelson walked two more batters in the inning but battled through to get out of it with no further damage, despite needing 32 pitches to get through it.   

Singles by Longoria, Corbin Carroll and and Nick Ahmed, led to a run in the top of the second. One more came home on a ground ball double play and the D-backs had tied it up 2-2.

A double and a walk in the bottom of the 2nd put Nelson right back in trouble however. He almost got of that jam too, but a fluke squib ground ball by Manny Machado hit off the first base bag, resulting in an RBI infield single and a 3-2 Padres lead.

To that point Nelson had thrown 58 pitches and it looked like another short outing for a D-backs starter. But Nelson managed to battle through the next three innings, putting up zeroes while giving up just two more hits. 

That effort by Nelson and three  combined scoreless innings by Cole Sulser, Miguel Castro and Andrew Chafin gave the D-backs a chance to get back in the game. That happened when Corbin Carroll hit his first homer of the year in the 7th to tie it up at 3-3. Carroll also had a single in the 9th for the first three hit game of his career. 

Corbin Carroll on the board for 2023. pic.twitter.com/u2EQtXKy75

— Michael McDermott (@MichaelMcD8393) April 4, 2023

After the game Torey Lovullo tried to be stoic and down play the significance of the blown save and loss by McGough. Asked if he felt like "here we go again", Lovullo said "I think we're beyond that. I know I am."  Not all will agree with that sentiment. 

Lovullo went on to praise the other relievers, and it's true they have been getting some good relief work. Yesterday the bullpen threw four hitless innings, and then threw three more tonight before the ninth inning.  Miguel Castro looked especially impressive, coming in with two men on in the 7th to face Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado. He retired them on a fly out and strike out looking using five straight sliders. 

It's fair to wonder if the team should quickly make a transition and give Castro the ninth inning over McGough any time soon. His stuff has looked the most impressive of any reliever so far and he has a lot of incentive clauses in his contract for game finished.  McGough may have saved a lot of games in Japan, but his high 80's to low 90's arsenal only works when he has pinpoint command.  When he leaves pitches in bad spots, like tonight, bad  things are bound to happen.