The Diamondbacks bounced back to even the series against the Kansas City Royals with a 6-2 victory in Kauffman Stadium. Arizona scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back, as Jordan Montgomery was victorious in his return from the injured list.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“It was a great bounceback win,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told Jody Jackson in the Dbacks TV postgame coverage. “Yesterday was a tough day for all of us to digest. We know what happened, we know why we lost the game, and we came out and executed really well in the first inning.”
Singles by Corbin Carroll and Joc Pederson, with a Ketel Marte walk sandwiched in between, loaded the bases with no outs against Royals right-hander Alec Marsh. Despite loud contact from Christian Walker from Lourdes Gurriel Jr., two great catches threatened to cap the inning to one run. However, Gabriel Moreno ensured that would not be the case with a two-run single to center, making it a three-run inning.
Gabriel Moreno lands another big hit to make it a 3-run first. pic.twitter.com/9hKOhxWHsB
— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) July 24, 2024
The insurance runs came in handy, as Bobby Witt Jr. continued his amazing tear at the plate. Witt smoked a line drive into the left field corner to score Garrett Hampson to cut the lead to 3-1. That would be the only run the Royals scored on Montgomery, as he retired the next three hitters.
From that point, the left-hander settled into his start. Following a single to start the second inning, Montgomery retired the next seven hitters before a walk to Hunter Renfroe in the fourth. It was likely that he would have his start cut short after four innings, but the Diamondbacks caught a break. With a full count to Freddy Fermin, Renfroe was caught attempting to steal second base. Montgomery struck out Fermin on the next pitch and was out of the inning with just 20 pitches.
“It’s a 3-2 count, one out, with a man on first base,” said Lovullo. “You’re a hit away from putting a couple runners on and really closing things up in a 3-1 game. That was a huge out, and one pitch later we’re out of the inning. That was a big swing.”
That ended up being a huge break, as it allowed the left-hander to stretch out to five innings. The Royals had a couple of well-hit balls in the fifth inning, but thanks to a couple of good defensive plays from Marte and Eugenio Suárez, needed only six pitches to get through the inning and put himself in line for the win. Montgomery finished his outing with one run allowed in five innings on three hits, one walk, and two strikeouts on 67 pitches.
Lovullo spoke about what worked for the left-hander.
“The changeup was in play, and that was a very key pitch for him. When we saw him in the first go-around, before he got banged up, it was a pitch he was leaving up, out over the plate. The pitch was very very effective, he got a lot of confidence in it, you can see he was going to it. The changeup getting him back into counts, the fastball was aggressive enough and effective enough to get some swings and get them to check off of the secondary stuff.”
The Diamondbacks broke the game open in the fifth, with their All-Star taking center stage. Marsh had retired 10 of the 11 hitters following Moreno’s single, but Geraldo Perdomo doubled on a hard grounder that second baseman Maikel Garcia could only slow down. That set up Marte to put a dent in the scoreboard, as he smoked a 111 MPH line drive that hit high off the right field pole. First base umpire Brian O’Nora initially ruled the batted ball foul but changed the call to a home run after a discussion with the rest of the crew as Marte was jogging around the bases.
Ketel Marte provides some much-needed insurance runs with a pole shot. 5-1 #Dbacks pic.twitter.com/2ACi0orlMm
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“I was standing on home plate watching the ball,” Marte told Jackson in the on-field postgame interview on Dbacks TV. “When I saw the ball touch the pole, I started running. I knew that was a home run.”
Had the call stayed a foul ball, Lovullo was prepared to ask for a Crew Chief Review for a boundary call.
With the requisite five innings completed for Montgomery to get the win, Lovullo maneuvered to the bullpen. Bryce Jarvis pitched two scoreless innings, highlighted by a strikeout of Witt in the seventh. Joe Mantiply retired two of the three hitters he faced and Ryan Thompson got Witt to ground out to short to end the eighth. Kevin Ginkel had a bit of a bumpy ride to start the ninth, with the Royals putting up a quick run, but got a key double play thanks to a lightning-quick turn by Ketel Marte and finished the inning.
Next Game
The Diamondbacks and Royals will square off for the rubber match of the series. Arizona will send out right-hander Ryne Nelson (7-6, 4.78 ERA) while Kansas City will go with right-hander Michael Wacha (7-6, 3.55 ERA). First pitch at Kauffman Stadium will be at 5:10 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
