Following Friday night’s loss, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said a game where they combine an offensive game with a well-pitched game was coming soon. Those words proved prophetic less than 24 hours later, as the Diamondbacks defeated the New York Mets 10-5 at Citi Field on a day the Mets retired Darryl Strawberry’s No. 18.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The offense was the highlight of the day, as they put up crooked numbers in four separate innings. They created chaos on the bases, with a season-high four steals. They also got the clutch hits, going 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position. Three of those four hits came with two outs, the type of hit that’s eluded the Diamondbacks in their five-game losing streak.
“We’ve been grinding so much emotionally through all of these types of games,” said Lovullo. “They’re trying, they’re practicing hard, they’re working hard, and they don’t have the results. When you finally have something that goes your way, it’s a big relief. Those are the stolen bases that added up, it was guys getting on base. That was our type of baseball game.”
The scoring began in the third inning. Jake McCarthy and Kevin Newman led off the frame with a single and a walk against left-hander Sean Manaea, then stole their way into scoring position. After a pair of strikeouts from Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll, Manaea chose to pitch around Randal Grichuk, who was 6-for-16 with a home run against him, to load the bases for Christian Walker. That proved to be a mistake, as Walker got a sweeper in the middle of the strike zone and launched a towering fly ball down the left field line for a grand slam.
This inning almost got away from the #Dbacks, but Christian Walker made sure that wasn’t going to happen with this 2-out Grand Slam. pic.twitter.com/Ihaxdq0OAW
— Michael McDermott (@MichaelMcDMLB) June 1, 2024
“I think that’s the beauty of this lineup, we have a lot of weapons and you’re forced to make tough decisions like that,” said Walker. “Just trying to keep it simple, trying to hit a hard liner somewhere. He left a slider up for me to elevate.”
Walker’s big hit, something that’s eluded the Diamondbacks over the past week, allowed the team to settle in the rest of the way. It was the second game in a row the Diamondbacks’ first baseman provided a big, two-out home run in a close ball game.
The early run support was enough for Slade Cecconi, who did a good job of handling the Mets lineup two times through. Cecconi allowed one run on five hits, no walks, and four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. While he didn’t get credited with the win, his superb start set the tone for the day. With the lineup turning over for a third time and the Mets creeping closer in a 4-1 game, Lovullo went to the bullpen and brought in Kevin Ginkel. That proved to be the right decision, as Ginkel needed only one pitch to retire Francisco Lindor and complete the inning, who fouled out to third.
Arizona’s bullpen shut down the Mets offense for the next three innings, as the offense continued to tack on runs. The Diamondbacks scored two runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth inning each to blow this game open. The Mets made things a little bit close for comfort, with four runs in the ninth inning, but Paul Sewald retired J.D. Martinez on three pitches to close out the game.
The Diamondbacks will look to try to secure a series split, which will be impressive considering they dropped the first two games of the series. Arizona will send right-hander Brandon Pfaadt (2-4, 4.16 ERA) while the Mets counter with left-hander José Quintana (1-5, 5.06 ERA). First pitch at Citi Field will be at 10:40 A.M. 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
