D-Backs 7, Atlanta 5: The return of the replicas

While there was hope that the D-Backs would continue their positive momentum after their road trip, the first two (or three) games of their final home series before the All-Star break didn’t exactly inspire confidence. On a night after a listless performance on both ends of the ball, the team looked noticeably sharper. They looked more energized, more focused, and more playful than they have last night and for much of the season. This is obviously a singular game and data point, but regardless of the outcome, I’d much rather see this type of momentum from the D-Backs moving forward than the gloom and doom they’ve displayed too often this season.

Just like last night, Atlanta took the lead in the second half of the game. Marcell Ozuna opened the scoring with a single up the middle before Eddie Rosario, who had just returned, hit a Slade Cecconi fastball into the right-center gap that fortunately jumped the short wall for a double. Travis d’Arnaud fought but was not put down as he took a hanging slider out of the zone to deep right field that completely fooled Corbin Carroll and scored both runners for a quick 2-0 lead.

The D-Backs, uncharacteristically this year, wasted no time in responding. After two quick outs, Geraldo Perdomo sent a Charlie Morton error into the right-field corner for a double past Eugenio Suarez, who did not disappoint. While the season hasn’t gone the way either team envisioned when Suarez was fired from Seattle last offseason, tonight was a showcase of the type of offensive prowess Suarez can bring to a team. After battling to a 3-2 count that included several great catches, he absolutely demolished a Morton curveball for the first two of his three RBIs of the night that tied the game. 2-2.

Unfortunately, Cecconi committed one of the cardinal sins of pitching: walking the leadoff batter — in this case Ozzie Albies. Atlanta then executed a perfect hit when Austin Riley dunked a fly ball into right field while Albies was moving to put runners on the corners for slugger Matt Olson. The veteran lefty, for his part, has had mixed moments during his tenure in Atlanta as he has been well above average but hasn’t quite been able to reach the unattainable heights of Freddie Freeman’s departure as a free agent. Still, he took advantage of the prime scoring opportunity and hit a fly ball to the warning track to score Albies and that damn walk to lead off the game for a 3-2 Atlanta leads. Regardless, the Answerbacks were in full swing when Ketel Marte hit Morton deep once again almost directly into the batter’s eye to tie the score at 3-3

Both offenses were then inactive until midway through the seventh inning, when a one-out single by Perdomo ended Morton’s night and Pierce Johnson was called in relief. Unfortunately for him, Suarez couldn’t be stopped tonight as he hit a beautiful double down the left-field line that bounced all the way to the wall and scored Perdomo for Arizona’s first lead of the night. 4-3. Jose Herrera, who got the start after Gabriel Moreno was pulled with a sore back, then singled past a diving Albies for another run before being hooked between first and second base to end the inning — but not before the D-Backs hung a crooked number and took a 5-3 lead.

After closing innings from Kevin Ginkel and Justin Martinez, Torey Lovullo called on Ryan Thompson to bridge the gap with slugger Paul Sewald. Infuriatingly, Thompson wasn’t in the best of shape and also immediately violated a pitching error by allowing a Riley double in the leadoff of the inning. Thompson managed to retire Olson on a groundout that advanced the runner, but couldn’t find the closing inning as Ozuna dropped a floating sinker into the centerfield porch to tie the game once again. 5-5It’s exactly the kind of late-inning mistake that recently doomed the D-Backs. But not tonight.

Fortunately, the D-Backs had one last rally up their sleeve, and it started in a most unlikely way this year: a leadoff double by Carroll. A regular occurrence last year, it has been far too rare this campaign, but it proved fortuitous tonight. Marte followed with a hard-hit ball that nearly eluded the infield if not for an excellent diving catch by Albies to put runners on the corners for the sloppy Joc Pederson (who is hitting just .192/.296/.447 over his last 15 games). Surprisingly, Pederson was sent in to load the bases for one of the team’s best hitters, Christian Walker, who got his 66th RBI on a walk to retake the lead. 6-5. Perdomo put the finishing touches on the play with a hard-hit sacrifice fly that nearly fell for the 7-5 final score.

The perennial Charlie Morton (I think you’re contractually obligated to introduce him as such) followed up a good but lackluster season with an equally solid start. As you might expect for a groundball pitcher (a career GB rate of 50%), Morton hasn’t allowed many home runs in his career or this year. Surprisingly, though, the D-Backs turned things around with Suarez’s two-run home run and an equally impressive solo shot from Marte. It’s the first time the righy veteran has allowed multiple home runs in consecutive starts since the end of the 2022 season, when he did so in his last two regular-season starts. Meanwhile, it was another mixed bag from Slade Cecconi. He was able to avoid being exposed to an opposing lineup for the third time, but failed to be as effective with his pitches as he could have been.

Sewald, just two days removed from his third straight save, and just a day after Lovullo reiterated his confidence in his stopper, threw a perfect, stress-free ninth inning for his 12th save of the year. It’s anecdotal evidence, to say the least, but he certainly looked a lot more confident than he has in his last few appearances. While he still has Torey’s confidence, I’ll probably hold my breath for his next few appearances before I feel fully comfortable with him as a stopper. But that’s the luxury of being a fan rather than a manager or front office. It was a desperately needed win. To be fair, they’re all desperately needed after the hole they dug themselves, but given the way the first two games went, it was another cathartic victory.