The Diamondbacks came into the game looking for a series win, and with a little bit of luck, putting some more space between their competition for the final NL Wild Card spot. Having Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound was a point in their favor, but the offense still RVSP’d maybe when invited to the game.
The Diamondbacks were quiet in the top of the first, with the only baserunner being a Geraldo Perdomo hit by pitch, and that allowed the Astros to strike first. E-Rod got Jeremy Pena to ground out, but
Yordan Alvarez absolutely clobbered one for a solo home run. That was the first indication that Rodriguez didn’t have his best stuff today, but the next few batters hammered that home, even if there wasn’t much damage done. He walked both Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker, but alternated those walks with a line out from Jose Altuve and got out of the jam with a Nelson Velasquez strike out. 0-1 Astros
This, of course, did raise some concerns amongst the faithful about the early need to score more than one run. That’s been a challenge for the Diamondbacks, last night’s four run outbreak aside. The offense decided to do some to assuage those fears, but did not manage to score multiple runs right away. Corbin Carroll started off the second inning with a double, advanced on a sac bunt from Tommy Troy, and then scored on a sac fly from James McCann. Illdemaro Vargas tried to keep things going with a two out single, but Lawler was unable to step up and ended the inning with a line out to third. Tied 1-1
Rodriguez issues with command continued right away in the bottom of the second, walking Dalton Varsho. Never a good idea to walk someone like him, as he showed when he stole second to get into scoring position two outs later. Too late for it to matter, though, as Jeremy Pena only saw three pitches and flew out to end the inning.
The third inning was… something. Perdomo singled to lead off the inning, bringing Ketel Marte to the plate. Marte got an 86 MPH changeup down and away and turned it around for what looked like an easy single. The only with that is the ball also acted as a heat seeking missel straight to Perdomo’s helmet. He hit the ground immediately and quickly found himself surrounded by trainers from both teams. Eventually he left under his own power to a nice ovation from the Houston crowd, as one does.
The official scoring on the play was a single for Marte, and Perdomo was out on runners interferrence. So one out, Marte at first. Gabi, playing as the DH today, popped out for the second out, bringing Nolan Arenado to the plate. A 2-2 count set the table, and the player with the second most home runs became tied for first. Arenado put one in the seats and just like that the Diamondbacks had scored more than one run for the second game in a row. 3-1 Diamondbacks
Great pitchers can make it work without their best stuff. Rodriguez clearly did not have his best stuff today, but frankly got better as the game went on, even with that limitation. The third inning saw him take the mound with a lead, and he did not waste it. He gave up a single in the third, but nothing else. He sat down the side in order in the fourth and fifth, while facing 1-5 of the Astros line up in the process. After throwing 25 pitches in the first, one would be forgiven for wondering how far Rodriguez would go in the game, but he went out for the sixth anyway. He didn’t quite have a third 1-2-3 inning, but worked around a one out single to end his day. Final line 6 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, and 1 HR.
Apologies if it seems like I’m moving through the game without talking much about the offense, but after that Arenado home run they took an extended break from the game. From the final out of the third, Peter Lambert sat down 12 in a row, including just a six pitch sixth inning, into the seventh inning. It took another hit by pitch for that streak to be broken (Naturally Jordan Lawler, because of course it was). Would of been nice if they had made something of that, and for a moment it looked like they might when it was followed by a Tim Tawa single.
The bottom of the seventh was interesting, especially if you like gamesmanship in your baseball. Juan Morillo came in to relieve Rodriguez, and ended up putting two on with two outs. Yordan Alvarez was due up, and Brandyn Garcia was trying to warm up in the bullpen to face him, but wasn’t quite ready. The entire team went into hard core buy time mode. First Kaplan came out for a mound visit, then when that finished they waited as long as would be allowed before a pitch clock violation before McCann went out for a second visit. They milked that as long as they could, and the Astros fans were loudly getting restless. That broke up, they waited some more, then Morillo took a disengagement. The Astro fans got very upset at that one. That finally bought enough time and Lovullo made the expected move.
That wasn’t the end of the drama, however. Brandyn Garcia still needed to face the presumptive AL MVP in a big situation for the second game in a row. As Josh Collmenter mentioned several times on the broadcast, Garcia is really blossoming into a great reliever for this team, and he showed it once again today. Alvarez only saw three pitches, then popped up harmlessly to end the inning, and the lead remained.
The Astros weren’t finished putting pressure on the Diamondbacks bullpen. Next up was Johnathan Loaisiga. He gave up a one out double to Altuve, his 2,499th career hit. He moved to third on a bloop single from friend-turned-enemy Christian Walker, putting runners on the corners. Another softly hit single, this time from LaMonte Wade Jr. brought Altuve home on another bloop single. Another friend-turned-enemy came to the plate, this time Dalton Varsho. Loaisiga struck him out on four pitches to get the second out, and so very close to getting out of the inning with a lead. Taylor Trammell hit the Astros’ third bloop hit, but this time Marte was able to chase it down in the outfield grass for the final out. 3-2 Diamondbacks
The bottom of the lineup was due up for the Dbacks in the top of the ninth. McCann lead things off with a single, and Vargas hit a very loud, very deep out to right center field. Lawler struck out, and then Tim Tawa flew out to Varsho in center to end the inning.
Kevin Ginkel got the call to close out the game. He would face Yanier Diaz as a pinch hitter to start, lead off hitter Pena, and then, once again, Yordan Alveraz. It started well with a strikeout… and then another strike out. It was the ideal situation, facing Alvarez with the bases empty, but I think I speak for all Diamondbacks fans when I say the nerves were there for sure. Ginkel, however, was unphased. He went right after Alvarez and struck out his third straight batter to end the game. Final
During the game, the team did give an update on Perdomo. They’re currently calling it a head contusion, but specified that he would continue to be monitored for the rest of today as well as tomorrow. That seems to rule him out for the first game of the Royals series, at the very least, and quite possibly more depending on what those evaluations show. Of course, we’re all sending good vibes his way, following a scary moment such as that.
I don’t think anyone will find it surprising that Eduardo Rodriguez lead the way with 25% WPA, nor that Nolan Arenado’s home run gave him the highest offensive WPA% at 15%. Marte was the other end of the spectrum at -12%, but no one else swung the needle too far in either direction.
COTD to gzimmern for accurately describing today’s game. They did, in fact, have to score more than one run
Great day looking up in the standings, with both the Cubs and Phillies losing. Below us, we aren’t getting much relief. The Marlins were the team that beat the Cubs. St. Louis is winning in Coors, and the Padres started their game off with three straight home runs off Gerrit Cole, not a sentence you hear often. Just need to keep winning.
Day game tomorrow, with the holiday. No word as of yet who will be the starter, and there is a good chance it ends up being a bullpen game. They’ll have high standards to live up to after their last outing. Until tomorrow!
