It took a while for their bats to get going, but the Diamondbacks got the job done in their final two trips at the plate to defeat the Oakland Athletics 5-1 at Chase Field. With the win, they’ve won four of their last five home series and enter an important Southern California road trip with a little bit of momentum.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The late offense rewarded another excellent start from right-hander Brandon Pfaadt, who looked excellent from start to finish against the A’s. In six innings, he held them to one run on five hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts. He showed a willingness to mix more of his pitches, throwing all five of his pitches at least 10 times in the start. Pfaadt was jumping ahead in counts and keeping Oakland off balance all day.
“I felt like we executed pitches very well today compared to the last few starts, and that was the whole game plan,” said Pfaadt in the postgame coverage of Dbacks TV. “Me and Tucker talked before, and we’re like if we execute, regardless of what pitch it is, I think we have success today.”
More impressively, he showed the ability to buckle down and make pitches as the game was unraveling around him. In recent starts, Pfaadt would be cruising through the game before he loses a batter or two, then the start completely unravels. He made sure that would not happen, despite some defensive miscues. While Pfaadt was not rewarded with the win, he made it possible for the team to score the runs they needed to win the game.
“You look over the last year the offense has had my back plenty, so it was my turn to step up a little bit and have their back in those situations,” said Pfaadt. “As a starting pitcher, that’s all I can do. If there’s an error, don’t get upset about it, just get back on the mound and try to execute pitches.”
Through six innings it was frustrating game, as Arizona continued to strand runners on the bases. They had an opportunity to blow the game open in the fourth. The first three runners reached, with Christian Walker ripping a single to left field to get the Diamondbacks on the board. They loaded the bases later in the inning with one out, but a pair of shallow fly balls prevented them from tacking on.
The inability to build on the lead came back to bite them immediately in the fifth. Zack Gelof drove a ball to the fence in right field, where Jake McCarthy attempted to make a play but the ball deflected off the tip of his glove, then the top of the wall and out for a solo home run. A single and a walk had the A’s threatening in what may have been the game’s biggest turning point. Pfaadt induced a double play and a flyout to keep the game tied.
Pfaadt also worked around a sixth-inning jam, working around a miscommunication on a fly ball to shallow left field between Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Eugenio Suárez. He finished the inning with a three-pitch strikeout of Tyler Nevin and induced a foul pop-up from Zack Gelof.
The Diamondbacks would finally break through in the seventh. Arizona loaded the bases on a hit-by-pitch, double, and an intentional walk. With a left-hander on the mound, Diamondbacks manager Lovullo turned to Blaze Alexander to hit for Joc Pederson. A’s manager Mark Kotsay countered with former Diamondback Austin Adams. Adams, a heavy slider pitcher, left a fastball up and out over the plate to Alexander, who split the 5-6 hole past a drawn-in infield to put Arizona up 3-1.
Blaze Alexander comes off the bench in a tough matchup and comes through!
3-1 #Dbacks
pic.twitter.com/788VHmyIMA— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) June 30, 2024
“I knew he was a heavy slider guy, so I was sitting soft,” Alexander told analyst Brandon Webb on the postgame coverage on Dbacks TV. “Ended up getting a good heater to hit. I just reacted, used my hands, got it through the 5-6 hole, two runs in, and won a ballgame.”
Walker tacked on another RBI single later in the inning to push the lead to three. The Diamondbacks are now 12-0 when their first baseman records multiple RBI in a game this season. They also cashed in on a leadoff walk to Suárez in the eighth, as Geraldo Perdomo’s double down the left field line plated Arizona’s fifth and final run of the night.
The bullpen picked up right where Pfaadt left off. Joe Mantiply, Ryan Thompson, and Paul Sewald retired all nine batters they faced to close out the victory.
Next Game
Following a 16-1 June, The Diamondbacks will enjoy an off day to start the month of July. They’ll travel to Los Angeles to take on the first place Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. Right-hander Ryne Nelson (5-6, 5.69 ERA) will take the bump for Arizona while Bobby Miller (1-1, 6.75 ERA) goes for LA. First pitch will be at 7:10 P.M. MST.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
