The Diamondbacks crushed the Angels 11-1 at Chase Field to take the series. They won with a complete team effort, taking a big lead early in the game and getting an outstanding start from Brandon Pfaadt to cruise to victory.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!It only took four batters for the Diamondbacks to grab the lead for good on the night. Ketel Marte doubled and Joc Pederson walked with one out, setting up Christian Walker for an opportunity to put up a crooked number. Jumping ahead 3-0 in the count, Walker missed two mistake pitches out over the plate from Angels starter Griffin Canning. He wouldn’t miss a third hittable pitch, turning on an elevated fastball on the inside edge of the zone and launching a towering home run that sailed past the left field bullpen.
“3-0, didn’t want to get off the gas pedal here,” said Walker on the Diamondbacks postgame television broadcast. “He’s got a good fastball, knew he was going to challenge me. Good pitch on the slider there [on 3-1] but still wanted to stay on the heater, let that slider beat me, get a little deep. Felt like I made my adjustment, got my foot on the ground a hair sooner, and made a good swing on a pitch close to me.”
Walker would get to Canning again in the third, getting a hanging slider on a 2-1 count and launching it onto the walkway behind the home run porch in left-center. It was his third home run in his last four at-bats, this one traveling an astonishing 464 feet.
Christian Walker has homered in 3 of his last 4 ABs. Make that man an All-Star. pic.twitter.com/POXfxZIdQz
— Michael McDermott (@MichaelMcDMLB) June 14, 2024
“Just a pure swing,” said Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo. “He’s got a beautiful swing, great approach, and everything was timed up and synced up really really well. Just long, loud home runs.”
The two home runs allowed the Diamondbacks to play downhill and gave Brandon Pfaadt some breathing room. Pfaadt walked three and allowed six hits, but made the key pitches to escape out of jams. With a tired bullpen having to recover from a very short start by Slade Cecconi the night before, he delivered six strong innings with eight strikeouts. He punctuated his outing by striking out Jo Adell, the potential tying run, on a perfectly placed sweeper to end the sixth. It marked the first quality start by a Diamondback since June 3.
“Pfaadty was great,” said Walker. “Nothing but confidence in him when he’s out there. You know he’s going to fill up the zone, he’s going to attack hitters. The fastball is electric. Everything we needed out of him, he provided for us.”
After Pfaadt did his job, the offense blew the game open in the seventh. Eugenio Suárez walked to lead off the frame, then Gabriel Moreno doubled on a sinking liner that Mickey Moniak misplayed. Kevin Newman capitalized on the opportunity, lining a single to right-center to plate both runners. Two more walks loaded the bases for Joc Pederson, who ambushed a first-pitch sweeper for a grand slam over the pool in right-center.
Joc Pederson having a grand ol’ time. #Dbacks have hung 6 on the Angels in the 7th to blow it open. pic.twitter.com/EM00xoXsnO
— Michael McDermott (@MichaelMcDMLB) June 14, 2024
Even with a nine-run lead, Lovullo opted to use Ryan Thompson and Paul Sewald to close the game out to get his two backend relievers some work. Sewald hadn’t pitched in a week and Thompson’s last appearance was Sunday. They each pitched a scoreless inning.
The Diamondbacks will take on the Chicago White Sox over the weekend. The White Sox boast the worst record in Major League Baseball at 18-52, but Arizona should not take them for granted with the current makeup of their roster. Ryne Nelson (3-5, 5.96 ERA) takes the mound for the Diamondbacks while Chris Flexen goes for Chicago. First pitch at Chase Field will be at 6:40 P.M. MST.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
