Coming off back-to-back crushing losses to the Atlanta Braves, this game felt like a “must-win” for the Diamondbacks from a sanity standpoint. They showed their resiliency this season, bouncing back to defeat the Braves 7-5 at Chase Field. Eugenio Suárez and Geraldo Perdomo had big nights at the bottom of the order, combining for five hits, four RBI, and four runs scored.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“It feels great, that was our mentality pregame,” said Suárez in an interview Diamondbacks reporter Jody Jackson and analyst Mark Grace for the postgame coverage on Dbacks TV. “We came here to win the game, we came here with a conviction that we got to play a good game and try to win the game. That’s what we did and today was a great game.”
The best part of this game is they answered every score by the Braves, in full, in their next at-bat. They scored three runs to defeat a tough Atlanta bullpen that had shut them down for 24 scoreless innings in the first five games between the two teams. It was also a mixed night from the backend of the Diamondbacks bullpen, with Ryan Thompson coughing up the lead and Paul Sewald recording his first save in four attempts.
Arizona trailed 2-0 in the second following a two-run double from Travis d’Arnaud. Perdomo roped a two-out double, setting the stage for Suárez to get a big hit. After working the count full, he got a curveball to hit from Charlie Morton and launched a towering home run that made it to the Cold Beers and Cheeseburgers restaurant in left field to tie the game.
Would you like fries with that homer? Geno Suárez crushes this Charlie Morton curveball and launches a 452 foot bomb to the Cold Beers & Cheesburgers restaurant. Game tied 2-2. pic.twitter.com/sZr7NpPD2p
— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) July 11, 2024
“I knew he got a very good breaking ball,” said Suárez. “I was looking for one mistake and he made that one. I was ready for that pitch and I put my best swing on it and ended up hitting that big home run there.”
After the Braves scratched another run off Slade Cecconi, Ketel Marte answered in the third. Marte got a fastball to hit and launched it to the walkway beyond the home run porch to the right of straightaway center.
Cecconi had another short start, lasting just four innings and allowed three runs. While he avoided the disaster start that would have negatively impacted the team’s chances to win, a run of short starts by the young right-hander has become an issue. It wouldn’t be that shocking if the team options him to Triple-A in anticipation to activating Jordan Montgomery from the injured list after the break.
Following scoreless innings from Joe Mantiply, Kevin Ginkel, and Justin Martinez, the Diamondbacks finally broke through against Morton. Perdomo ripped a liner to right for his third hit of the game, putting Suárez in position to make another impact on the score. Suárez did just that, hitting a soft liner down the left field line to take a 4-3 lead. José Herrera tacked on another run with a single to push the lead to two.
Those two runs proved to be critical, as Thompson struggled in the eighth. Facing the middle of the Braves lineup, Austin Riley doubled off the center field wall to bring the tying run to the plate. After retiring Matt Olson, Thompson had to face Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna, who will be participating in the Home Run Derby on Monday, smoked a ball to the home run porch to the right of straightaway center to tie the game.
For the third and final time, the Diamondbacks found an answer to a Braves score. This time, it wasn’t the big hits that did the job but rather putting together five quality at-bats together.
Corbin Carroll started the inning off with a liner to the right center gap for a double. Marte with two strikes hit a ground ball to the right side to advance Carroll, with the ball hit just far enough from Ozzie Albies to reach on an infield single. Joc Pederson fell behind in the count but caught a break when Joe Jiménez hit him with a backfoot slider.
With the bases loaded, no outs, and their best power bat at the plate in Christian Walker, the Diamondbacks had a chance to put a crooked number. While Walker didn’t hit the big grand slam, he laid off some tough pitches to earn a walk that put his team ahead for good on the night. Perdomo ripped his fourth hard-hit ball of the night toward the right field corner, but Adam Duvall chased it down to hold Arizona to two runs in the inning.
Looking for redemption after three consecutive blown saves, Sewald pitched a clean ninth inning for his long-awaited 12th save of the season. Once again, Perdomo made a huge play as he made a diving stop to rob Travis d’Arnaud of a hit and allowed his closer to exhale a little.
The Diamondbacks will have a chance to force a series split, but they face a tough customer in left-hander Max Fried (7-4, 3.18 ERA). Torey Lovullo told reporters postgame that Brandon Pfaadt (3-6, 4.17 ERA) will start for Arizona, first reported by Jesse Friedman of PHNX Sports. First pitch at Chase Field will be at 6:40 P.M. MST.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
