The Diamondbacks entered San Diego with a lot of confidence after taking two of three against the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, Paul Sewald’s second consecutive blown save undid an impressive comeback in the top of the ninth in a 10-8 walk-off loss to the Padres.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Trailing by five, Arizona rallied in the top of the ninth to score six to take an 8-7 lead. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out, forcing Padres manager Mike Shildt to bring in his closer. Alek Thomas ambushed the first pitch from Robert Suárez for a grand slam to get Arizona within one. Another double by Carroll put the tying run in scoring position with Ketel Marte set to bat.
The #Dbacks have made this interesting. Alek Thomas blasts Robert Suárez’s first pitch for a Grand Slam. Padres lead down to 1. pic.twitter.com/XcnBdcAjCj
— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) July 6, 2024
However, it wasn’t Marte who would come to the plate. With his All-Star second baseman experiencing lower back tightness, manager Torey Lovullo elected to pinch-hit Randal Grichuk. Grichuk hammered a hanging changeup into the third level of the Western Metal Supply Co. overhang to give the Diamondbacks an 8-7 lead.
Torey Lovullo has the magic touch tonight. Randal Grichuk launches a go-ahead two-run homer. #Dbacks lead 8-7. pic.twitter.com/qzjQiTwzf9
— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) July 6, 2024
For the second consecutive appearance, Sewald was asked to protect a one-run lead in the ninth and did not get the job done. He jumped ahead of Jurickson Profar 0-2, but badly missed on three straight pitches before grooving a full-count fastball down the middle. Profar launched it out to right to tie the game. Sewald then walked Jake Cronenworth after another full count, setting the stage for Manny Machado to walk it off when he misfired a sweeper on the inner third of the plate.
“This game’s great isn’t it,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told Dbacks TV reporter Todd Walsh. “You go from low to as high as you can imagine to as low as you can feel at the end of the night. That’s the beauty of the game. It’ll do that to you, we’re all kind of used to it, I think in some ways addicted to it. I was proud of our team today, I was proud of the way we came back from a 7-2 deficit, and we had a chance to win this game.”
The game started perfectly for the Diamondbacks. Corbin Carroll led off the game with a double that handcuffed Merrill in center field. Two batters later, Joc Pederson launched his third home run in his last four games to give them a 2-0 lead.
Cecconi allowed just one run on one hit in the first three innings. However, he endured a very rough fourth inning. A couple of well-placed ground balls put two runners on with no outs. A deep fly ball to right center advanced both runners into scoring position for Jackson Merrill. Falling behind 3-1 with an open base, Cecconi grooved a changeup to the Padres’ rookie and it got smoked for a two-run triple. An RBI double from David Peralta and an RBI single from Kyle Higashioka capped off a four-run inning.
Once again, the second turn through the lineup short-circuited a Cecconi start. After throwing just 29 pitches to get through the first three innings, he needed 37 for the fourth. Cecconi only got two more outs, as a throwing error with two outs spelled the end of his night after 4 2/3 innings. He allowed five runs on eight hits, one walk, and two strikeouts.
For the Diamondbacks, the number of runs allowed is a pretty good barometer for whether they’ll win or not. When they allow four or fewer runs, their 38-9 record is the third best in MLB. When they allow five runs or more, they have the fifth-worst record at 5-36.
Joe Jacques came in to relieve Cecconi in the fifth, retiring Merrill on one pitch. However, he ran into trouble in the sixth, as he gave up a leadoff single to Peralta. Kyle Higashioka homered to put the Padres up 7-2. Humberto Castellanos gave up a leadoff single to Machado, but retired the next six hitters for two scoreless innings to set up the ninth inning heroics.
Marte is currently day-to-day with his lower back tightness. He had a similar experience the last time the Diamondbacks visited San Diego.
The Diamondbacks will have to shake off the heartbreaking loss when they return to Petco Park on Saturday. Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt (3-6, 4.28 ERA) will go for Arizona while right-hander Matt Waldron will pitch for San Diego. First pitch 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
