Another strong start from right-hander Brandon Pfaadt and a great night at the plate was enough for the Diamondbacks to defeat the Dodgers 7-3 at Dodger Stadium. Pfaadt logged his fifth consecutive quality start, allowing three runs in six innings, and the offense pounded out 12 hits and two home runs.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Pfaadt handled his first career start at Dodger Stadium with exceptional poise. After walking the first batter of the game, he retired the following nine hitters. That allowed the Diamondbacks to take the lead and play downhill from there. He ran into some turbulence in the sixth, as the Dodgers got three hits to score two runs to shrink the lead to one. However, Pfaadt was able to make the key pitch to finish the inning with a lead. He finished with three runs (two earned) on four hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts, picking up his second win of the season.
“I’m really proud of him, this is a tough environment to come out here, it’s a good lineup,” said first baseman Christian Walker. “To work through it three times, that’s impressive. He never backed down, came right at them. A lot of good hitters in that lineup, a lot of credit for Pfaadt.”
The Diamondbacks took the lead in the second, as Eugenio Suárez and Gabriel Moreno recorded RBIs during a stretch where they hit four singles. Every time the Dodgers kept closer, they found a way to answer on the scoreboard. Ketel Marte drove in a run with a groundout in the fifth and Christian Walker added a home run in the sixth. It was Walker’s ninth home run of the season and his 13th career homer in 38 games at Dodger Stadium.
Christian Walker pads the #Dbacks lead with his 9th homer of the season, and his 13th career HR at Dodger Stadium. pic.twitter.com/mdWK4afvHi
— Michael McDermott (@MichaelMcDMLB) May 22, 2024
“I wasn’t necessarily sitting changeup, but I know he likes that pitch a lot,” said Walker. “3-2, wasn’t going to just groove me a fastball there. I wanted to be ready for anything and luckily I was able to get it in the air.”
Those extra runs proved to be critical, as the Dodgers got to Pfaadt when the lineup turned over a third time. Shohei Ohtani ripped a single through the infield and Will Smith doubled to the right-center gap to put the Dodgers within a run. Pfaadt got Teoscar Hernández to fly out to end the threat on his 94th and final pitch. That ended up being a critical play as the offense found a way to answer in a big way the following inning.
Another bottom of the order rally ended up setting up the moment for Joc Pederson to deliver the knockout punch. Kevin Newman, who was 18 for his last 44 at the plate, drew a leadoff walk against reliever Michael Grove. Marte lifted a broken bat single down the right field line to extend his hitting streak to 20 games. Up stepped Pederson, who got a middle of the plate slider from Grove and crushed a 108 MPH line drive into the right field stands to break the game open.
Joc Pederson gets his former team with this rope of a homer. pic.twitter.com/SDE3sBTzH2
— Michael McDermott (@MichaelMcDMLB) May 22, 2024
“You’re just looking for a pitch to get in the air to get the guy on third in,” said Pederson. “I hit it pretty good. I love hitting home runs.”
The home run allowed the Diamondbacks to cruise the rest of the way, as the trio of Ryan Thompson, Joe Mantiply, and Paul Sewald pitched three scoreless innings to close it out.
The Diamondbacks will have a chance to win the series on Wednesday night, but they face a tough customer. Arizona will send right-hander Ryne Nelson (2-3, 7.06 ERA) while Los Angeles will go with right-hander Tyler Glasnow (6-2, 2.90 ERA). First pitch at Dodger Stadium will be at 7:10 PM MST.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks and Arizona Cardinals for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
