Six batters into the game, it looked like the Diamondbacks would cruise to a victory. However, the Pittsburgh Pirates remained stubborn and chipped away at Arizona’s lead. What was originally a 5-0 before Brandon Pfaadt threw his first pitch of the game eventually turned into a 7-6 deficit. Despite trailing, the Diamondbacks scored in four straight innings to earn a 9-8 win at PNC Park.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“We didn’t waiver, there was never a doubt,” new Diamondbacks first baseman Josh Bell told Dbacks TV reporter Todd Walsh.. “Guys were coming off the field like ‘Come on, come on, come on, let’s go, let’s get it back.’ We got to pick up the bullpen, they got to pick us up sometimes, that’s what makes a good ball club.”
Josh Bell Makes Baseball History (Twice)
Josh Bell homered from both sides of the plate, with both home runs coming with a piece of history attached. Facing the team that drafted him and got him to the major leagues, Bell crushed a home run from each side of the plate. That made him the second-ever player to homer from both sides of the plate in his D-backs debut, with Felipe Lopez achieving the feat on Opening Day 2009. Ironically enough, the final score of that game was also 9-8.
Corbin Carroll opened up the game with a triple in the right field corner and scored when Oneil Cruz’s throw got away from Ke’Bryan Hayes. Ketel Marte and Joc Pederson followed with tape measure blasts. Bell came up to the plate and slugged the first pitch he saw out of PNC Park. OptaStats noted that the 15 total bases through the first four hitters of a game is the most in MLB history.
The @Dbacks to begin tonight's game:
Triple (Carroll)
Home run (Marte)
Home run (Pederson)
Home run (Bell)That's the most total bases (15) by a team's first 4 batters of a game in MLB history. pic.twitter.com/Xe3NtPENb7
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 3, 2024
In the seventh, the Diamondbacks trailed 7-6. Bell faced Aroldis Chapman, entering the at-bat a career 0-for-7 with two strikeouts against the flamethrowing left-hander. On an 0-2 count, Chapman left a 102.9 MPH sinker up and out over the plate and Bell hit it out to right field for a game-tying home run. The velocity is worth noting, as it became the fastest pitch to ever get hit for a home run since the start of the pitch tracking era in 2008 according to Diamondbacks beat reporter for MLB.com Steve Gilbert.
The homer that @Dbacks Josh Bell hit off Aroldis Chapman was a 102.9 mph fastball. That's the fastest pitch ever hit for a HR since ball-tracking began in 2008.
— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) August 3, 2024
“I just try to be on time,” said Bell. “My timing’s felt great for the last week, so I’m trying to stick with the same routine, not try to do too much, trying to stay inside all the baseballs I can. If I get it in the air, good things happen.”
MVP Marte
Looking at the box score, all nine starters for Arizona recorded at least one hit. The two players with multihit games each had multi-homer games. While Bell’s home runs each had a piece of history, Ketel Marte tacked on two more to push his season total to 26. Since the All-Star break, Marte is hitting .383 with seven home runs and 17 RBI.
“I just to put my best swing every time,” Marte told Walsh. “See the good pitching and go out there and compete with everybody.”
While the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani is the clear frontrunner in the National League’s Most Valuable Player race, the Diamondbacks second baseman remains within spitting distance. Entering play August 2, Marte trailed Ohtani by just 0.3 bWAR. The key for Marte is to stay close then have a strong finish to the season, where voters will have to consider the value of playing a position into their votes.
At the end of his postgame interview, he joked about hosting a home run derby between him and Bell.
Geraldo Perdomo continues to make a difference for the Diamondbacks
Every contender has that one guy who doesn’t necessarily put up great numbers or is consistently in the conversation to be an All-Star every year, but always seems to find a way to succeed in the biggest moments in games. For the Diamondbacks, that player is shortstop Geraldo Perdomo. Perdomo had his thumb all over this game, as a hitter, defender, and the leader of the ball club. He made some big diving plays to get his pitchers out of innings, got the big hit that put Arizona on top for good, and even started a mound visit to help a struggling pitcher in a key moment in the game.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo raved about the performance of his young shortstop after the game.
“The two defensive plays he made, those are big outs, stopped potential big innings. Hits the ball of his knee, gets up, quality at-bat, hits the ball off the base of the wall in right field for the go-ahead run. Perdomo has that big hit and the game-winning RBI. Those are little things that this team does.”
Bullpen bends but doesn’t completely break
Even though the bullpen inherited a 6-3 lead, the Pirates remained stubborn. Kevin Ginkel, who had been lights out until his recent appearance vs. the Nationals on Wednesday, struggled again on the mound. After ringing up the first hitter he faced, Ginkel allowed the next three to reach on a walk, single, and a hit-by-pitch, before Perdomo made a diving stop on a ball in the hole and got a forceout at second. A.J. Puk came in to try to shut down the inning, but was greeted with three straight singles to put the Pirates up 7-6. While he eventually got out of the inning, it was a rough night for two otherwise very dependable relievers.
After the Diamondbacks came back to tie the score they got a couple huge zeros to allow them to get back ahead. Dylan Floro was the second ex-Marlin to make his Diamondbacks debut on the night, pitching a clean inning with the help of a well-positioned Eugenio Suárez on a hard-hit liner. Justin Martinez came on in the eighth, striking out the first two hitters of the inning before losing his rhythm on an unsuccessful catcher’s interference challenge by Pittsburgh. Following five straight balls, Perdomo went to the mound to calm down the young fireballer, who finished off Bryan Reynolds with the three nastiest pitches of his outing.
Arizona took a 9-7 lead into the ninth, with Ryan Thompson given first crack to close. While it was a bumpy ride, Thompson got the job done on the mound and secured the final out of the night on a comebacker. In two emergency situations, it’s been shaky but ultimately 2-for-2 in save opportunities for the sidearming right-hander.
Next Game
The Diamondbacks will play the second game of this series against the Pirates at PNC Park. Right-hander Mitch Keller (10-5, 3.30 ERA) goes for Pittsburgh while left-hander Jordan Montgomery (7-5, 6.51 ERA) goes for Arizona. First pitch will be at 6:40 P.M. MST.
