Record 5-5. Pace: 81-81. Change on 2025: 0.
The D-backs blew leads of 3-1, 4-3 and 5-4, but managed to prevail in the bottom of the tenth inning. Ketel Marte swatted the first pitch he saw over the head of the Atlanta right-fielder, driving in Manfred Man Jorge Barrosa from second for our first walk-off win of the year. That gave them a split of the four games against the Braves, despite being outscored 25-10 overall. It also returned the team to .500, and Arizona now gets a day off tomorrow, to rest before a tough upcoming road-trip to the East coast.
Brandon Pfaadt started this game, and it was another underwhelming experience. He seemed to be throwing an inordinate number of curveballs in the early going. But it didn’t help in the first, as new nemesis Drake Baldwin homered off a thigh-high sinker with one out in the top of the inning. However, the Answerbacks showed up, tying the game in their half. Ketel Marte led off with a double to left, and productive outs proved to be productive. Marte advanced on a groundout to second by Corbin Carroll, and Geraldo Perdomo was able to get the run in from third with a sacrifice fly to left, making it 1-1.
The bottom of the second saw Carlos Santana gets his second single of the year, therefore avoiding the dishonor of lowest batting average by a D-back through ten games. However, he tweaked his groin earlier in the at-bat – not even on a swing – and was clearly hobbling as he was going down the line to first. He was lifted from the game, replaced at first by Ildemaro Vargas. But if an IL stint is needed – and it didn’t look good – it’s going to be interesting. Because the Diamondbacks literally do not have any other healthy position players on the 40-man roster. Jordan Lawlar, Tyler Locklear, Pavin Smith and Lourdes Gurriel are all hurt.
Today, at least, this proved to a blessing in disguise. The next time that spot came up, in the bottom of the fourth, two men were on base: Carroll had singled and Nolan Arenado walked. Vargas then drove them both in with a two-run triple into right (above). I feel fairly confident in saying that Santana would not have done that. Not least because since the start of 2020, he has hit precisely one triple in 3,133 plate appearances. That gave the D-backs a 3-1 lead. However, Pfaadt was unable to hold it. Three hits, a walk and a wild pitch, while recording only one out, let the Braves tie things up, and one out later, Pfaadt’s day was over.
The final line for Brandon: six hits and two walks over 4.2 innings, with three runs (all earned allowed) and just two strikeouts. The last is perhaps the most immediate matter of concern. In 10.2 innings of work, Pfaadt has struck out just five batters: that 6.75 ERA seems earned. He will get one more start, with the news today that Merrill Kelly needs an additional rehab appearance. But when Kelly is pronounced fit to return, on the evidence of the first two spins around the rotation, it would probably be Pfaadt, and not Michael Soroka, who makes the transition to pitching long relief out of the bullpen.
Thereafter, it was a case of punch and counter-punch. In the sixth inning, Carroll singled, stole his first base of the year and eventually scored on Arenado’s first RBI of the year, making it 4-3. But Nolan then blotted his copy-book with an error in the seventh, while trying to look the runner on third back to the bag. That extended the inning, allowing that runner to score: 4-4. The Answerbacks answered back immediately again, on a Jorge Barrosa double, followed by a Carroll triple (above): 5-4. Kevin Ginkel pitched a scoreless eighth, but three straight hits off Jonathan Loaisiga, in to save the game (because Paul Sewald pitched Friday and Saturday) blew that lead.
Indeed, it could have been worse than just a tying, but Loaisiga then avoided further damage from a situation of two on, with nobody out. This took Arizona into extras, and all the was left in the bullpen for the D-backs was either Taylor Rashi or Andrew Hoffman. Torey Lovullo went with the former, and the key play came with one out, after the Manfred Man had been advanced to third. The Diamondbacks had their infield in, and it paid off as a hot smash (102 mph) off the bat of Mauricio Dubón, was smothered by Perdomo. He looked the runner back, threw to first for the second out, and Rashi finished off the inning, putting up an invaluable zero.
Ketel Marte: one pitch (above). Any questions? It was Marte’s first walkoff hit in almost seven years, and gave him two doubles on the day. Carroll had three hits – all coming off left-handed pitchers – while Arenado and Vargas each reached base twice, with a walk and a hit. Credit must also go to the bullpen. While they were credited with a pair of blown saves, they allowed one earned run over 5.1 innings of work. Taylor Clarke and Ryan Thompson worked in addition to those mentioned above. While their collective ERA is still 6.50, it’s worth noting that half of the 26 earned runs they have allowed belong to Joe Ross and James McCann.
Click here for details, at Fangraphs.com
Eggs Benedict: Corbin Carroll, +33.5%
Eggs-ultation: Marte, +33.4%; Vargas, +22.6%; Rashi, +14.0%; Clarke, +13.4%; Ginkel, +12.2%
Rotten Egg: Jonathan Loaisiga, -19.5%
Walking on Eggshells: Tawa, -18.0%; Pfaadt, -12.7%; Thompson, -10.4%; Fernandez, -10.2%
An interesting decision about who should get the SnakePit W today. Unofficially (based off the Fangraphs figures, which are slightly different from Baseball Reference), this game goes to Carroll. The hitters picked up +53% in total, while the pitchers combined for -3%. But Carroll and Marte are so close at the top, that we will have to wait for the B-R results tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, in the Gameday Thread, we went past two hundred comments, with today’s winner being chwalter. While there were more-rec’d comments, this was the most relevant to the outcome!
All told, given how this series started, I’m more than happy to walk away with a split, and the team back at .500. Fingers crossed they will come back from this nine-game road-trip to the Mets, Phillies and Orioles no worse than one game below even. Things get under way at City Field on Tuesday, with Zac Gallen on the mound for the Diamondbacks, facing Freddy Peralta.
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