Record: 45-45. Pace: 81-81. Change on 2025: +1.
The Diamondbacks jumped on Padres starter Walker Buehler early. They scored six runs in the first three innings, and despite this being a Brandon Pfaadt start, were just able to hold on for victory. The win put Arizona back in sole possession of second place in the NL West, and also brought them back to a .500 record for the fifteenth time this year. That stat is for ChefAZ.
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The D-backs took the lead while, I suspect, a sizeable number of fans were watching Team USA’s exit from the World Cup at the hands feet of Belgium. Yes, them again. Ketel Marte wasted little time, tripling on a misplayed ball off the wall in center at Petco. Geraldo Perdomo them wore the next pitch to put runners on the corner, and an errant pick off throw by Buehler allowed the D-backs to bypass the whole, tricky “hitting with RISP” thing. Two outs later, Max Kepler did the whole, tricky “hitting with RISP” thing, scoring Perdomo for a 2-0 Diamondbacks edge. But that was just an amuse bouche for the main course, delivered by Buehler in the fourth.
It was the epitome of the “That escalated quickly” meme from every San Diegan’s favorite movie, Anchorman. With one out, Corbin Carroll squirted one down the left-field line for a double. Five pitches later, it was 6-0 to Arizona. In short order, Gabriel Moreno singled, Lourdes Gurriel had an RBI knock and Max Kepler cranked his first home-run as a Diamondback, a three-run shot. It was a no-doubter, a 417 foot blast to right. Wasn’t the end of the fireworks for Arizona, as Geraldo Perdomo went deep (home-run #6 for him) in the fourth, and Nolan Arenado reached double-digits with his tenth of the year. All three homers are above.
Arenado joins Marte and Carroll in that club. After a rough June (196/.255/.299 for a .554 OPS), it’d be nice to get Nolan back on track. Speaking on “back on track”, Brandon Pfaadt delivered his best outing of the season. Indeed, the Game Score of 65 was his second-highest since July 18 last year. The only better was, of course, his incomplete game shutout against the Giants in September. Tonight, he pitched five scoreless, with no walks and six strikeouts. He did allow four hits, and just had a single clean inning. But all of the knocks were singles, and he didn’t face a single batter with a runner in scoring position. He could have gone longer, but is still being stretched back out. He threw 66 in his first game back and reached 72 tonight.
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Add to his previous outing, and Pfaadt has allowed one run over 10.1 innings since his return. Small sample size, to be sure, and tonight’s opposition aren’t exactly a challenge. Indeed, the Padres came in to this game, already with the lowest OPS+ in the National League, at just 87. But with the loss of Michael Soroka, and the continued absence of Corbin Burnes, the Arizona rotation needs all the help it can get. His next outing will be a bit tougher. That’ll be on Saturday against the Dodgers and their 117 OPS+, best in the majors by a full seven points. The results there should tell us whether this shiny new version of Brandon is genuine or an illusion.
Both starters tonight did the five and dive, though for Pfaadt it was understandable. The struggles of Buehler continue, his ERA now above five this year (5.07). I guess at least he’s cheap, a $1.5 million guaranteed contract from the Padres. He simply hasn’t been the same since he had Tommy John in August 2022, his ERA since then also above five (5.09), compared to just 3.02 before the procedure. It’s a bit of a sobering thought, and let’s hope our pitchers are able to come back strong. It must be said, it was Buehler’s second TJ. Then again, that’s also the case for Justin Martinez. We’ll see…
Anyway, the game pretty much was over with Kepler’s shot in the third inning. After Pfaadt, Ryan Thompson and Drew Jameson each tossed a pair of shutout frames, and Arizona completed the shutout with a K:BB ratio of 11:0. It’s the first time they’ve done that (or better) since September 21, 2024, when they beat the Brewers 5-0 with a K:BB of 13:0. It’s only the fourth time in franchise history they’ve done it, while also scoring 8+ runs. The last such game was also against San Diego, a 9-0 win on April 21, 2023, where Zac Gallen, Miguel Castro and Joe Mantiply combined on a two-hitter with a 13:0 K:BB. Yeah, can you tell I had lots of spare time for research in this one?
The Diamondbacks got eleven hits, with two apiece for Perdomo, Gabriel Moreno (who also drew the team’s only walk) and Kepler, the last-named also driving in four runs. Arizona were 4-for-9 with RISP, which is certainly better than they have been doing. The victory keeps them in touch for the wild-card, where they are 3.5 games back of the Marlins. Though of the six teams above them, only the Cardinals and Phillies lost.
Click here for details, at Fangraphs.com
Maximus Decimus Meridius: Max Kepler, +22%
Antonius Proximo: Pfaadt, +14%; Marte, +11%
Commodus: Nolan Arenado, -4%
A very enjoyable Gameday Thread, which was probably needed as a welcome palate cleanser after the football ended Belgium 4, Waffles 1. Conversation was wide-ranging, covering topics such as entertainment options in Ancient Rome, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and medieval German astronomers. Never say the SnakePit is not educational. Comment of the night to Dano, who has probably been awaiting a chance to make this comment, ever since the signing was announced…
A good start to this four game set, making at least a split very likely. Back at it from San Diego tomorrow night, with another 6:40 pm first pitch. Zac Gallen will be starting that one, so… Yeah. Not exactly getting my hopes up, but we’ll see!
