The opening game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cleveland Guardians did not disappoint, as the Diamondbacks outlasted the Guardians 7-6 in an extra-inning thriller. The game featured multiple lead changes, blown saves, and two of the nastiest relievers in baseball getting to show off. It had the feel of Game 1 of the World Series, featuring the best team in baseball and the hottest team.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo felt like a proud dad after seeing his team pull through in an emotionally exhausting game.
“I watched an entire team come together and rally around one another, this was a true team effort,” he told Dbacks TV reporter Todd Walsh. “We talk about the commitment, the sacrifice, the adaptability. On the fly, we were making quick decisions, didn’t surprise the guys, the effort. Nobody was standing up at the end of that game, we were exhausted. It was a great win.”
Here are some of the main takeaways from this big win.
Diamondbacks break through against Guardians’ lights-out bullpen
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was aggressive in his bullpen usage, using seven relievers behind Logan Allen. They capitalized with five runs against one of the best relief units in the game. Jack Sommers from Inside the Diamondbacks illustrated how tough it’s been to beat their bullpen when trailing late.
The #Dbacks need to come back NOW and not wait till later. I use what I call TRUE SAVE PERCENTAGE, to measure how good a team is at protecting leads.
Saves + Holds / Save Situations
Guardians Best in MLB with 90%. Lg. avg is 83%
D-backs 23rd with 80% pic.twitter.com/SHzZODKfp6— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) August 5, 2024
Despite the difficult challenge, the Diamondbacks embraced it. It started immediately against Cade Smith, as Eugenio Suárez’s double tied the game at 3-3 and Geraldo Perdomo legged out a slow bouncer to second base to take a 4-3 lead.
Trailing 5-4 going into the eighth, they put themselves in position to take the lead again. After Jake McCarthy was hit by a full-count fastball, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt brought in right-hander Scott Barlow. Lovullo immediately countered with Joc Pederson, who worked the count full as Barlow tried to pitch around him with an open base. But Barlow finally made a mistake with a curveball in the center of the zone and Pederson did not miss it, crushing his second go-ahead home run in as many days.
The Diamondbacks would have some trouble in the ninth, as a miscommunication between Jake McCarthy and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a ball hit off the center field wall resulted in Bo Naylor advancing to third. The younger Naylor scored on a sacrifice fly by the very next batter to send the game into extras.
Arizona took the lead in extra innings, with a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly scoring Corbin Carroll from second.
Justin Martinez nails closer audition in 10th
Ryan Thompson got the first save opportunity in the ninth but was unable to convert due to the miscues defensively behind him. That put Arizona in a tough position in the 10th, but they sent out Justin Martinez to try to see if the young fireballer can calm himself enough to get the job done.
After some wild warmup tosses, the entire infield came to the mound before the first pitch of the inning with Geraldo Perdomo leading the charge. Martinez’s first pitch to Lane Thomas missed high and away, but then the 23-year-old locked in from there. He did not allow the Guardians to advance beyond second base, striking out Josh Naylor with a 101 MPH fastball on the inside black then getting David Fry to chase his splitter for the final out.
With Arizona looking for quick answers with their closer situation, this outing by Martinez is a very encouraging sign.
Gabriel Moreno suffers groin injury
Adversity hit early for the Diamondbacks, losing starting catcher Gabriel Moreno to a left groin strain in the second. He’ll go back to Arizona and get it examined. The severity of the strain will determine if Moreno will come back at all this season.
“I think when you’re talking about what he can do on both sides, the impact offensively and defensively, we’re hoping it’ll be a quick turnaround,” said Lovullo. “We’ll get that information as soon as possible but we got to deal with it, we know he’s going to be down for a little while, and how long is yet to be determined. He has ingrained himself into this team, this organization with a year and a half’s time.”
While Moreno is out, expect to see catching prospect Adrian Del Castillo to get his first looks at the big leagues.
D-backs push Logan Allen to the brink, but can’t break through
The game got off to a hot start for the D-backs, as Ketel Marte and Gabriel Moreno connected for back-to-back homers to open the ballgame. Arizona was able to grind down left-hander Logan Allen in the inning, loading the bases and a three-ball count at the plate with two outs, but Kevin Newman flied out to let him wiggle off the hook.
That ended up not only allowing Allen to escape the inning with no further damage. From there, he went on a roll and allowed just one baserunner in his final four innings, an infield hit by Gabriel Moreno. It was an example of them letting their foot off the gas against a very good team, and it came back to bite them later.
Zac Gallen shaky but goes seven when his team needed a deep start
It was not a great game from Zac Gallen. He was handed two leads, both 2-0 and 4-3, but allowed Cleveland to answer. However, despite all of that, he was able to go seven innings against the Guardians. With uncertainty on how deep Eduardo RodrÃguez will pitch Tuesday, it was huge for him to take pressure off the bullpen.
The most frustrating inning came in the sixth inning. After it appeared Gallen had settled in, he gave up a hit to José RamÃrez and paid no attention to him on the bases. RamÃrez and Josh Naylor both stole their way into scoring position relatively unopposed, Andrés Giménez capitalized with a bouncer up the middle to plate both. However, like all frustrating moments in the game, the team overcame them.
“I think there were a couple mistakes and he paid for them,” said Lovullo. “The Guardians are a good team, they’re a pesky team, they put the ball in play, they’re active on the bases, so we knew that would take its toll on Zac. He managed his pitch count, there were a couple really big base hits that made that line score look a little bit off, but I think he had a really good night. When you complete your innings, that’s what I ask our starters to do, you give yourself a chance a ball game and that’s what happened for him.”
Next Game
The Diamondbacks go for their seventh straight series win. The Guardians are a tough team, so expect them to push back hard in the second game, much like Pittsburgh. Eduardo RodrÃguez will make his Diamondbacks debut while the Guardians will turn to right-hander Ben Lively (10-6, 3.42 ERA). First pitch at Progressive Field will be at 3:40 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
