The Diamondbacks dropped the second game to the San Diego Padres 5-0 at Chase Field. Their offense was no-hit for the first five innings, then missed a golden score chance in the following inning. The Padres took advantage in the ninth with three home runs against Arizona’s best relievers.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!What made this game even more frustrating was they a missed opportunity for them to jump ahead of the New York Mets, who lost to the Milwaukee Brewers. With just one game to go in the season, they’ve got one more chance to pick up a win. Short of that, they’d need to rely on the Mets to lose their final three games to make the postseason.
The Diamondbacks were unable to build any offense for the first five innings against right-hander Randy Vasquez, who didn’t allow a hit. They broke through in the hit column in the sixth, when Corbin Carroll led off the frame with a double to right. However, they were unable to capitalize on that opportunity, as Manny Machado made a great catch to rob Randal Grichuk of a potential two-run double for the final out of the inning.
Manager Torey Lovullo treated this as a “do or die” game, pulling Eduardo RodrÃguez with two on and two outs in the fifth at just 62 pitches. Given the dire situation of the club and their dwindling postseason chances, Lovullo had to treat this as an elimination game. He summoned Kevin Ginkel with two outs in the fifth.
Arizona’s bullpen kept the game scoreless as long as they could. However, the Padres pulled ahead in the ninth. Going for his second inning of the night, Justin Martinez retired the one and only batter he faced on a groundout. A.J. Puk, who had been downright untouchable since getting traded to the Diamondbacks, served up back-to-back home runs to Kyle Higashioka and Brandon Lockridge. Another single chased Puk for Scott McGough, who allowed a two-run home run that made it 5-0.
Next Game
The Diamondbacks will be playing for their season in the final game of the year. For them to have any chance of making the postseason, they will likely need a win plus help from the Atlanta Braves on Monday. Left-hander MartÃn Pérez (5-5, 4.25 ERA) will pitch for the Padres while Arizona has not named a starter yet. First pitch at Chase Field will be at 12:10 P.M. MST.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports.
