Blaze hit a grand slam, Marte had 4 hits. Montgomery made an IMPRESSION. Great game all around (not you Martinez)
Record: 10-11, 141 Games Left, 3rd in NL West
Both teams came into this series looking to make a statement in the NL West. Neither felt like they were playing to their potential. Personally, I think that’s more true for Arizona than San Francisco, but even Bay Area teams win sometimes. Arizona brought two new players to game two: Jordan Montgomery and Pavin Smith, both technically recalled from Reno. Ryne Nelson unfortunately took a trip to the Injured List, while Jace Peterson reaped the reward of his early season play… He was designated for assignment – it’s unlikely anyone takes him willingly when they can wait and let Arizona pay most of his paycheck.
Marte led off the game with a single, but nothing of note happened after. Luckily Montgomery came to play and retired the top of the Giants’ lineup in order for his first Arizona impression. Snell blew through the second without issue while Chapman led the bottom half off with a double. He advanced to third on a ground out and stayed there as Montgomery successfully navigated the minor threat. Blaze doubled (nearly a homer) and advanced to third on a fly out and then scored on Marte’s single (AZ 1-0)! He was left stranded. Nothing in the third at all.
Arizona greeted Snell for the fourth when Suarez scored on a Blaze double (AZ 2-0)! But the shut down inning was not to be as SOLER HOMERED TO LEFT FIELD (AZ 2-1) in the bottom half. Montgomery responded well though, sending batters 2-4 of the inning down in order. Marte then blooped a double into right, and eventually scored via small when Walker singled to right (AZ 3-1)! Suarez also singled and Grichuk doubled as well, plating both (AZ 5-1)! This chased the reigning Cy Young Winner from the game with an ERA of 11.57 which is actually a tad lower than it was coming into the game! Roupp took over and got Moreno to ground out, ending the fun. Ahmed managed to sneak a single in the fifth, but Grichuk made an awkward sliding catch to end the inning (no injury or anything, just not a pretty slide that resulted in an out). Marte knocked his 4th hit in 4 at bats in the sixth (3rd single), but the bottom of the order and Carroll made outs around it. The sixth was easy for Montgomery as he got two first pitch outs and only threw 6 total.
Gurriel, Walker and Suarez loaded the bases with no one out in the seventh going single, double and walk. Grichuk did his best to scorch a ball passed Chapman at third, but he is the definition of excellence in third base defense so instead it ended up being a force out at home… Sometimes the bloop falls in and sometimes the liner results in an out at the plate. Gabi made up for it with a two-run double to center field (AZ 7-1)! This chased Roupp in favor of Kai-Wei Teng, who immediately reloaded the bases by walking Alexander on four pitches. Newman singled just over the second baseman’s glove and the centerfielder bobbled the ball so two runs scored (AZ 9-1)! Sadly Marte’s streak ended with a double play…
McGough took the seventh for the Diamondbacks. It took 9 pitches to retire the side in order. Carroll snuck a single into right/center to lead off the eighth. He advanced to second a wild pitch. He then scored on a Gurriel single to deep left (AZ 10-1)! McCarthy ran for Gurriel and Walker singled as well before Suarez walked to load the bases, once again without an out. Pavin then pinch hit for Grichuk and grounded to first, resulting in both Suraez being out at second and McCarthy scoring (AZ 11-1)! Moreno worked a nice walk to reload the bases. Nick Avila took over at this point, allowing BLAZE ALEXANDER TO HIT A GRAND SLAM (AZ 15-1)! Newman and Marte ended the fun at 9 batters, but damage done.
For the bottom of the eighth, McGough stayed in and the defense looked very different: McCarthy in left, Smith in right, Newman to second, Blaze to SS and Arizona gave up the DH with the pitcher now in the leadoff spot. After two batters, Justin Martinez came into the game. He walked his first two batters. Thankfully Soler grounded out to third, ending the inning. Outfielder Fitzgerald pitched the ninth. Carroll, McCarthy, Suarez, and Moreno all singled, scoring 2 runs (AZ 17-1). Martinez was trusted to handle the bottom of the ninth. He only walked 1 more batter…
ARIZONA 17 – SAN FRANCISCO 1 DIAMONDBACKS WIN
Conclusion
Well. The offense showed up. So did Montgomery! Even the bullpen kept the Giants scoreless! Although Martinez did not look good. At. All. Marte and Blaze had days with the bat! Not much else to say here: it was a fun game presented with a beautifully crisp picture locked behind the AppleTV+ paywall.
FanGraphs
Comment of the Night
Up Next
Zac Gallen will take the mound against young gun Kyle Harrison in San Francisco at 1:05 Arizona Time.