Timely hitting nearly got the job done for the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night in Philadelphia.
D-backs batters had only six hits and two walks off the Philadelphia Phillies but they got six runs out of them, and two were homers with a runner on. One by Christian Walker in the ninth tied the game up, and the next via Ketel Marte in the 10th, the second of which made it a 6-4 D-backs lead.
But Arizona closer Tyler Clippard gave up a two-run homer of his own in the bottom-half of the inning, tying the game again before the Phillies’ Jean Segura hit a walk-off single in the 11th for a 7-6 final.
“We did enough offensively to win this game, we just couldn’t close the deal,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said.
D-backs relievers gave up five runs on the night, three of which were unearned, as their struggle through this season continued.
The D-backs’ Matt Peacock ran into trouble at a 2-2 scoreline in the seventh inning, walking Andrew McCutchen to start before Nick Ahmed’s throwing error on a ball hit by Odubel Herrera left two runners on with no outs.
The D-backs chose to intentionally walk Bryce Harper at that point, with the star outfielder 2-for-3 on the evening, including a two-run dinger in the second inning.
That gamble didn’t pay off. Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto was next up and hit a two-RBI single, making it a 4-2 deficit for the D-backs before those two clutch long balls.
The Phillies’ Brad Miller delivered the two-run homer off Clippard in the 10th inning, and the D-backs’ Taylor Clarke took on the 11th.
Clarke did some nice work to start the inning, throwing out the free runner on second base at third after a bunt by Philadelphia’s Ronald Torreyes was hit too hard right to the grass in front of Clarke.
But Herrera for Philly immediately singled off Clarke after that, which led to Segura’s walk-off.
Philadelphia starting pitcher Aaron Nola had a solid night, giving up just three hits across 5.1 innings, with seven strikeouts.
The D-backs, to their credit, got two runs out of that and Nola’s pitch count in the 90s before the seventh inning, something Lovullo saw as another positive in a good offensive night for his ball club.
“We drove up that pitch count quickly in a couple different spots and it translated into some good moments for us,” he said.
Ahmed singled to lead off the top of the sixth inning, and after pinch-hitter Bryan Holaday fouled out, second baseman Josh Rojas tripled to score Ahmed. On the next at-bat, third baseman Josh VanMeter brought home Rojas with a sacrifice fly, which made it 2-2.
“The game’s tied with three batters, that’s how potent this offense can be,” Lovullo said.
D-backs starter Taylor Widener had the same earned run total on his record as Nola, two, despite allowing five hits and walking three across 5.0 innings. Even though Widener let the Phillies have multiple baserunners in three of those five innings, Harper’s homer was the only run producer.
UP NEXT
The D-backs’ series in Philadelphia runs through the weekend, with the third game taking place on Saturday. First pitch is at 3:05 p.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.