Diamondbacks 5, Phillies 1: A Series Win!

Record: 32-39. Pace: 73-89. Change on 2015: -3.

From the very beginning, Bradley pounded the strike zone, reaching an 0-2 count on five of the first seven hitters he faced. A two-out infield single by Odubel Herrera in the first inning was the only blemish until Cody Asche led off the fifth with a single, but Zac Eflin was perfect for the first two innings.

Bradley helped his own cause in the third. Brandon Drury led off the frame with a double, and advanced to third on a groundout by Nick Ahmed. Bradley’s fly ball into center field was shallow, but a poor throw from Herrera helped to make sure that Drury scored and Bradley got the RBI as the D-backs took a 1-0 lead.

Bradley finally ran into some trouble in the fifth. Asche’s single was followed by a one-out walk to Cameron Rupp, putting two on with only one out. But Freddy Galvis fouled out and Eflin grounded out to end the threat. Still, though, the game seemed likely to come down to which pitcher would crack first. With both orders coming up the third time in the sixth inning, the time was right for someone to break through.

Eflin retired the first two in the sixth, although it took him 14 pitches to do so. Goldy hit a single the other way, and, on the 24^th pitch of the inning, Jake Lamb lined a double to the left-center field wall to make it 2-0. Chris Herrmann was intentionally walked to get to Peter O’Brien, who has only hit home runs since being called up. David Hernandez was brought in to face O’Brien. However, O’Brien struck out to end the inning. He made the final out in the second, fourth, and sixth, but broke the pattern with a single in the eighth and instead made the final out in the ninth.

Meanwhile, Bradley had lost the strike zone in the fifth and couldn’t find it again in the sixth. A leadoff walk got the bullpen active, and a single followed, and then Nick Ahmed committed an error on what might have been a double play ball, loading the bases with no one out. A double play scored a run, but Bradley got Asche to fly out to end the inning, stranding one runner. Through six, the Diamondbacks held a 2-1 lead.

Bradley was pulled in the seventh for Rickie Weeks, Jr., to pinch hit. While Weeks struck out, a leadoff single by Brandon Drury and a walk by Phil Gosselin set things up for the Diamondbacks to get a two out run for the second consecutive inning. Michael Bourn’s single plated Drury to make it 3-1.

That meant that the Diamondbacks, who sported a 24-2 record when leading at the start of the seventh inning, held a two-run advantage with Clippard, Hudson, and Ziegler all ready to go. That didn’t mean it was smooth. Clippard fell behind on the first three hitters he faced, but got two of them out, walking the third. He then struck out Cesar Hernandez to end the seventh. Hudson set down the Phillies in order. Ziegler also set the D-backs down in order, including two strike outs, but not for the save. A pair of triples, including one by Phil Gosselin who went 2-for-4 playing in front of his father on Father’s Day, made it 5-1 entering the bottom of the ninth.

I was glad to recap a win! I'm not so good at coming up with fancy titles.

Best: Archie Bradley, 24% (plus 1.6% for his hitting!)

Still Pretty Good: Jake Lamb, 11.5%

When this is the worst, you know it was a pretty good game: Nick Ahmed, -9.2%

A surprisingly busy thread, with almost 400 comments. Jackwriter and AZDbackfanInDC tied for the lead in comments. Also present, to varying degrees, were DbacKid, GuruB, Jim McLennan, JoeCB1991, MichaelMcD831193, MrMrrbi, Oldenschoole, SongBird, Sprankton, coldblueAZ, hotclaws, noblevillain, onedotfive, and your recapper.

So the Diamondbacks guaranteed the series win, and will go for the series sweep tomorrow, with Shelby Miller making his return from the DL against former Diamondback Jeremy Hellickson.