TL;DR: The offense sparkled, Eduardo Rodriguez shone, but the bullpen finally relented as the D-Backs lost an absolute heartbreaker.
The Diamondbacks may have lost (for a time) their previous MVP candidate in Ketel Marte, but they’ve gained another one as Corbin Carroll looks like the complete opposite of the player he was at this time last season. He once again led an impressive Arizona offense that featured plenty of power but failed to find the clutch hit in a topsy-turvy matchup with more momentum swings than a sidewinder. In essence, there were two distinct games within the matchup: a taut pitcher’s duel through the first six innings and a messy offensive show through the final five innings once the bullpens got involved. That first game featured just five combined runs compared to the eight combined runs that crossed the plate in the second.
I’ve always loved Earl Weaver’s quote: “Momentum? Momentum is the next day’s starting pitcher.” It hints at some of the magical uniqueness inherent to baseball that an embarrassing or heartbreaking loss can be quickly erased by a good performance from your starting pitcher. Of course, the opposite is also true as well and it’s no secret that Eduardo Rodriguez has struggled to find the kind of consistency the team was hoping for when they signed him during the 2024 offseason. So that’s why it was so refreshing to see Rodriguez look much closer to that expected form through the first six-plus innings of his start on Wednesday night. If you didn’t get a chance to watch, you should also discount the lackluster line (6.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER) as it includes a couple inherited runners from the normally stout Shelby Miller.
Still, this game started with plenty of fireworks as Carroll continued his absurd start to the season with a no-doubter that he golfed to right field on the third pitch from Taj Bradley for a quick 1-0 D-Backs lead. However, the first of many momentum changes took little time to come as Christopher Morel would knot the score on the second pitch of the next inning before three straight two-out baserunners gave the Rays their first lead 2-1. Evidently though, that score was unacceptable for the D-Backs as back-to-back singles from Alek Thomas and Tim Tawa set up Jose Herrera’s sacrifice groundout to again tie the game at 2-2. The D-Backs would tack on one more run against Bradley in the home half of the fourth when Thomas beat out a would-be double play to replace a still-slumping Eugenio Suarez before scoring on Tim Tawa’s sinking line drive that uber-prospect Chandler Simpson nearly pulled off the ground for a 3-2 lead.
That score held through the middle innings as both teams squandered scoring opportunities until the seventh. Rodriguez, at one point having retired nine straight Rays, began the seventh with a harmless lineout before a fluky bunt single and ground-rule double put two runners into scoring position for the bottom of the order in Jose Caballero who promptly struck out to end Rodriguez’s night. Torey Lovullo, understandably hesitant to allow Rodriguez to face the Tampa Bay lineup for a fourth time, opted for Shelby Miller who has been resurgent through the early goings out of the bullpen. Sadly, tonight was not Miller’s night as Yandy Diaz plated both runners by roping a poorly-placed fastball into center field for a 4-3 Tampa Bay lead. The second, messier game was just getting started though as Herrera wonderfully worked a walk ahead of Carroll who absolutely crushed a Mason Montgomery slider to dead center to reclaim the lead 5-4.
It was not the Arizona bullpen’s night as Ryan Thompson entered in the eighth and was lucky to emerge as scathed as he was. A leadoff double from Morel and consecutive singles from Taylor Walls and Simpson once again tied the score 5-5 before Kameron Misner rocketed a ball to Josh Naylor with a contact play on for Walls from third. Naylor alertly threw home to prevent the run scoring, but Herrera failed to corral the throw in time to nab Walls at third to load the bases with no outs. Amazingly, Thompson wriggled his way free from the jam with a pair of strikeouts and a harmless flyout. The offense had a chance to take a late lead in the home half of the eighth with a leadoff walk to Naylor and a single from Lourdes Gurriel Jr, but a pinch-hitting Gabriel Moreno failed to come through with the bases loaded to keep the tie intact and eventually send us to extra innings.
Neither team was able to advance the ghost runner let alone score in the 10th and Torey opted for Drey Jameson for the 11th, maybe hedging against the idea that he might need multiple innings of relief. Unhappily, Jameson was not sharp, allowing the ghost runner to immediately score on a deep drive over Thomas’ head that was initially ruled a triple until an Arizona challenge revealed that Kameron Misner had “popped” off the base while Suarez held the tag for an out. He then allowed a four-pitch walk to the number eight hitter Jonathan Aranda who came around to score on Diaz’s second double of the night for a 7-5 lead. Meanwhile, the D-Backs would attempt one final comeback as Thomas created some chaos with his speed to induce an error from Walls that scored Suarez from second. Even worse, they loaded the bases on walks to Tawa and Carroll sandwiched around a Moreno lineout, but a maddening double play groundout from Geraldo Perdomo squashed the rally and ended the ballgame.
Through the first three weeks of the season, the D-Backs have found success through their bullpen and offense. Tonight, both of those slipped just enough to allow a victory to slip away. For the former, allowing three inherited runners to score is unusual compared to their 78% stranded rate so far while the latter went a woeful 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position. Thankfully, it’s just one game and the team can quickly erase any lingering poor feelings by finding ways to be sharper tomorrow, but that holds little relief tonight.
