Arizona Diamondbacks 4, Seattle Mariners 3: Bringing The Heat

I don’t know how well all of you are holding up with this heat, but I’ve got about as many air conditioning compressors on the injured list as the Arizona Diamondbacks do with starting pitchers. Like myself, the D’backs are limping along this month hoping their fortunes turn quickly before it is too late. Prior to July the team did not play a single full month of baseball below .500, but once the mercury began to climb the thermometer things seemingly broke down. As such, a team that once appeared to be heading into the trade deadline as buyers might now not be as aggressive as to not mortgage the future.

Brandon Pfaadt was on the bump for the eighth start in his Diamondbacks career looking for his first win. His last outing was a step in the right direction being the first that saw him go at least six innings but it still resulted in a loss. He retired the Mariners in order in the first inning but gave up one run in each of the next three frames. Seattle nickeled and dimed their runs in the second and third getting the job done with a handful of singles and a pair of sacrifice flies. The fourth inning brought Seattle’s first extra base hit of the game by way of a Tom Murphy solo blast to left field.

Arizona was able to get runners on in each of the first three innings but were kept off the scoreboard until the fourth. Ketel Marte was doubled home by Christian Walker after a leadoff walk, and then Dominic Canzone singled him home to make it a one run game. The Diamondbacks tied the game in the bottom of the fifth when Alek Thomas tripled to leadoff the inning and scored on a subsequent Carson Kelly single.

That score held until the bottom of the eighth inning. Kevin Ginkel had a dominant top of the eighth striking out the side in order. For the second time in three games, Dominic Canzone notched two RBI’s in a game, and this one could not have come at a better time. Corbin Carroll got the inning started with a walk and then became a menace on the bases as we have come to expect. Perhaps distracted by the steal threat of Carroll, Andres Munoz balked advancing Corbin to second. The paranoia was not unfounded as Carroll stole third still with no outs in the inning. With one out in the inning, Canzone repeated his earlier approach at the plate with another RBI single to centerfield scoring Corbin.

Andrew Chafin and Scott McGough tag teamed the ninth inning giving Arizona just their second victory all week.

FanGraphs