Diamondbacks 8, Phillies 4
PHOENIX, Aug. 6th – Despite errors, baserunning miscues, and an early deficit, the Arizona Diamondbacks took advantage of an ineffective Philadelphia Phillies bullpen to win, 8-4, Tuesday night. New acquisition Mike Leake started his first game since joining the Diamondbacks. He scattered 11 hits across 5 1/3 innings to somehow only allow two earned runs. Phillies starter Jake Arrieta gave up five hits in five innings, allowing two earned runs before an early exit.
Phillies Jump to Early Lead
Left fielder Corey Dickerson hit a home run to the picnic area in right-center field on the third pitch of the game to spoil Leake’s Diamondbacks debut. After two groundouts, catcher J.T. Realmuto singled to right, then shortstop Jean Segura singled to center. Second baseman Cesar Hernandez, however, did not take advantage of the RBI opportunity, grounding to second and ending the half-inning.
The Diamondbacks only managed a harmless two-out walk by second baseman Eduardo Escobar in the bottom of the first. Leake gave up a leadoff single to third baseman Scott Kingery in the top of the second, but a 6-3 double play grounder by center fielder Adam Haseley wiped that out. Arrieta then struck out, bringing the Diamondbacks to the plate. He sat them down in order, sending the game to the third.
Double plays involving the pitcher highlighted the third inning. In the top of the third, Dickerson led off with a broken-bat single to center. Hoskins then smashed a 2-0 pitch back to Leake, who fired to second, starting a 1-4-3 double play. Next, Harper singled to right, but Realmuto hit into a 6-4 force play that retired Harper and ended the half-inning. In the bottom of the third, catcher Alex Avila drew a leadoff walk. After Leake struck out, Dyson ripped a liner back to the mound that Arrieta caught. He threw to first, where Avila had no chance to get back in time to avoid the double play.
Phillies, Diamondbacks Exchange Runs
Shortstop Jean Segura led off the fourth with a high bouncer to short. Nick Ahmed barehanded the ball and threw in desperation to first. It would not have been in time to get Segura, so it went down as a single, but it also sailed over first and into the Phillies dugout, advancing Segura to second. Second baseman Cesar Hernandez then hit a grounder to first baseman Christian Walker, who flipped to Leake, covering first, in time for the first out. On the play, Segura advanced to third. Kingery followed with a walk, and then Haseley singled, scoring Segura and putting runners on first and second for Arrieta. He tried to bunt the runners to second and third, but he popped it up to Jake Lamb at third. Dickerson then struck out, bringing the Diamondbacks to the plate while trailing, 2-0.
Center fielder Ketel Marte, the National League leader in hits, singled to left to start the bottom of the fourth, giving the Diamondbacks their first hit of the game. Escobar – the National League RBI leader – then hit a fly to deep right-center. Harper tracked it to the fence and leapt, but the ball snuck over his glove for a game-tying home run. Next, left fielder David Peralta flied to center, then Walker struck out. Up came Lamb, who singled to right on the first pitch, but Ahmed’s strike out ended the threat.
The Starters Exit
First baseman Rhys Hoskins led off the fifth with a deep fly to left center that clanged off the frame of the picnic area for a double. A comedy of errors ensued when Harper – the subsequent hitter – hit a grounder to Walker. He tried to throw to Leake covering first, but the throw went several feet to the home plate side of first. It ricocheted off the fence and settled near the backstop. Hoskins rounded third and headed home. Avila fetched the ball and threw to the plate, but no one was there. Hoskins scored easily while Harper took second. Leake shook it off and retired the next three hitters, limiting the damage to one unearned run.
Avila led off the bottom of the fifth with a strikeout. Leake then singled sharply to left, and Dyson followed with one to right. Nothing came of the hits, though, as Marte flied to right and Escobar fouled to third. In the top of the sixth, Kingery began by being called out on strikes. Haseley then singled, bringing up the pitcher’s spot. Roman Quinn hit for Arrieta and singled to center, bringing up Dickerson.
Lefty Andrew Chafin entered the game and induced a ground ball to first. Walker threw to second, but his throw was several feet to the third base side of second. The error loaded the bases, but Chafin struck out both Hoskins and Harper to keep his team from falling farther behind.
Diamondbacks Rally, Phillies Bullpen Implodes
Peralta led off the bottom of the sixth against new pitcher Ranger Suarez with a strikeout, but the next three hitters all reached base, as Walker singled to left and Lamb and Ahmed both walked. Avila then stroked a single to right, bringing Walker and Lamb across with the tying and go-ahead runs. Into the game came relief pitcher Blake Parker. To counter, Wilmer Flores hit for Leake. He struck out as the Diamondbacks attempted a double steal that almost worked but went down as a 2-4-2-5 caught stealing play.
Rookie stopper Yoan Lopez pitched a perfect seventh while facing the heart of the Phillies order. In the bottom of the seventh, Dyson led off with a single to short and advanced to second when Segura’s ill-fated throw to first went wild. Marte then moved Dyson to third with a groundout to second. Escobar was next, and he extended his team’s lead to 5-3 with a single to left – his 92nd RBI of the season. Up came Peralta, who blasted a tape-measure home run to the top third of the right field bleachers – his first since June 10th in Philadelphia. Zach Eflin came into the game to stop the bleeding and started well, striking out Lamb on a disputed called strike and getting Ahmed to ground to short.
Phillies Inch Closer, Diamondbacks Put Game Away, Dyson Gets Ejected
Lefty Robby Scott took the hill in the top of the eighth and surrendered a double to the first hitter, Kingery. Haseley followed with another double, narrowing the gap to 7-4, then struck out pinch hitter Brad Miller looking. Next came Dickerson, whom Scott also struck out. Yoshihisa Hirano then came into the game and got Hoskins to ground to third, preserving the three-run lead.
Avila led off the bottom of the eighth with a tall home run over the 25-foot wall in dead center to make the score 8-4. Locastro, who entered the game in the top of the eighth as the new left fielder, then grounded to short for the first out. Dyson came up next and took two pitches. The first was a strike over the outer half, while the second appeared to miss away by about four inches. Plate umpire Tom Hallion also called that one a strike, and Dyson’s ensuing argument ended with his first career ejection. Adam Jones finished the at-bat with a foul ball and swinging strike, making the second out of the inning. Marte then grounded to first (pitcher covering) for the last out of the eighth.
Archie Bradley, who recently took over fireman/closer duties, pitched the ninth. Although he gave up consecutive two-out singles, he still pitched a strong inning to close the game and give the Diamondbacks a crucial 8-4 win. Chafin (1-2) earned the win in relief, while Suarez (3-1) received the loss.
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