The Diamondbacks turned the tables on the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 14-3 victory at Chase Field. They unleashed two nights of frustration on Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski, scoring eight runs in the second inning, and Brandon Pfaadt stepped up when his team needed him most again.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“It’s huge, obviously this is a big series for postseason implications,” said Diamondbacks designated hitter Randal Grichuk, who finished 3-for-5 and a triple shy of the cycle, in the postgame interview on Roku TV. “First two didn’t go our way but we didn’t give up in either of those games, and we’re not going to give up. That showed today, guys were firing on all cylinders, and it’s fun to go get a W.”
After two heartbreaking losses to begin the series, Arizona batted around in the second. Sending 11 batters to the plate, the Diamondbacks established early control of the game. Grichuk had a pair of extra-base hits in the inning, leading off the inning with a double and crushing a three-run home run his second time up that made it 8-0.
Grichuk’s second XBH of the 2nd inning makes it 8-0 #Dbacks. pic.twitter.com/vqCb4yEZF8
— Michael McDermott (@MichaelMcDMLB) September 1, 2024
“You’re always looking for a response, we lost two very tough games.” said manager Torey Lovullo during “Our guys are hungry, they lay down their guard for one another, they go out there and perform together. It just a really good approach, base hit after base hit, and the long ball put us over the top.”
Armed with the big lead, Pfaadt responded with a big shutdown inning with strikeouts of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman.
Brandon Pfaadt, K'ing the Side in the 3rd.
7Ks thru 3. pic.twitter.com/QwEfWTcLyl
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 1, 2024
Pfaadt had it working early, as he was able to locate his four-seamer and sweeper to both sides of the plate keep the Dodgers off balance. Through four innings, he looked dominant. He had 13 swings and misses up to that point and was cruising towards a quality start.
However, the Dodgers started grinding him down in the sixth. A leadoff walk and a single put Pfaadt on the backfoot to start the inning. It looked like he would be able to limit the damage with a strikeout of Max Muncy and a groundout from Kevin Kiermaier, but Austin Barnes punched his 98th and final pitch of the day into right field that made it 9-3. Pfaadt finished with three runs on eight hits, two walks, and 10 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
At that point, the game got a bit dicey. Joe Mantiply was tasked with finishing off Shohei Ohtani for the third night in a row, ringing him up on a sinker on the low and outside corner of the zone. That ended up being a big out, as the Dodgers did not threaten much afterward. Paul Sewald and Dylan Floro combined for three scoreless innings to close out the game.
Next Game
The Diamondbacks will try to force a series split of this four-game series, which would also clinch the season series. Arizona will send left-hander Eduardo RodrÃguez (2-0, 5.06 ERA) to the mound while the Dodgers will go with right-hander Jack Flaherty (10-6, 3.07 ERA). First pitch at Chase Field will be at 1:10 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
