The Diamondbacks take the first game of the doubleheader, defeating the Guardians in a hard-earned 7-3 win at Progressive Field. Arizona played solid baseball across the board, with good pitching, defense, and timely hits. They’ve now won seven straight series and 10 of their last 11. For the first time since July 21 last season, the Diamondbacks are 10 games over .500.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“It felt amazing,” Geraldo Perdomo told Todd Walsh on the postgame coverage on Dbacks TV. “It’s feel good to be 10 games over .500. This team is incredible, this is a special team we have, and we continue to play like that. Winning series, that’s what we need.”
Brandon Pfaadt looked sharp early. He got into a good rhythm early, setting down the first 12 hitters with five strikeouts. He was spotting his mid-90s fastball with good, sharp break on his sweeper and changeup.
Adversity hit in the fifth, as the Guardians got Pfaadt out of his early rhythm. Josh Naylor turned around a middle-middle sweeper to get Cleveland on the board. Following a strikeout of Lane Thomas, Pfaadt surrendered three straight hits that made it a 4-2 game. It was looking rough for the young right-hander, but Corbin Carroll turned a huge defensive play to get out of the inning. Running in from right field, he made a sliding catch then fired a perfect, one-hop throw to nail Daniel Schneeman at home plate for two huge outs.
Corbin Carroll turns a massive double play to end the 5th. pic.twitter.com/bL3TDkfDux
— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) August 7, 2024
Pfaadt recovered by retiring four of the next five hitters to finish his start with 6 1/3 solid innings. Outside of that fourth inning, the lone baserunner was a José Ramirez walk with two outs in the fifth. The solid start earned him his sixth win of the year.
The Diamondbacks set up some big innings, taking advantage of six walks. Four of their six walks came around to score, three of them coming on home runs on the next batter. Perdomo, Carroll, and Ketel Marte each homered on the day. Marte’s served as the parting shot of the game, crushing his 16th homer off a left-hander this season and his eighth in the ninth inning. He’s quickly closing ground on the National League’s Most Valuable Player Race as he’s gone on a home run binge, launching 10 since the All-Star break.
Ketel Marte is on an insane run. 10th homer since the All-Star break and his 29th on the season. Time to start talking about him possibly winning the NL MVP. pic.twitter.com/rU7ItSaZbe
— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) August 7, 2024
Following his second-inning homerun, Perdomo got the silent treatment. A tradition typically reserved for a player hitting his first career home run, it marked his first home run since Game 1 of the NLCS and his first regular season home run since August 13 last season. Perdomo was surprised to learn it was his first home run and wasn’t expecting the silent treatment.
The Guardians made their late surge in the eighth inning. Three straight two-out singles against Dylan Floro got them within two with Josh Naylor at the plate. Joe Mantiply came in and despite struggling with command got Naylor to bounce out to first base to end the last Cleveland threat of the game. Paul Sewald gave up an infield hit and walked a batter, but got some good defense behind him to secure the last three outs.
Next Game
The Diamondbacks (62-52) will go for the series sweep over the Guardians (67-46). Left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez will make his D-backs debut after missing the first 113 games of the season with a left lat strain while the Guardians will go with right-hander Carlos Carrasco (3-9, 5.53 ERA). Catcher Adrian Del Castillo is expected to make his major league debut in Game 2 as well. First pitch is right around the corner.
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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
