PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said he did not sleep well after his club’s sloppy loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, but Saturday’s bounce-back effort was more reminiscent of the club’s form going into the All-Star break.
Perhaps the quick turnaround worked in Arizona’s favor or Friday’s loss was a wake-up call, as the Diamondbacks jumped on the Cardinals for a 5-0 lead early in a 5-3 win at Chase Field.
Brandon Pfaadt shut out the Cardinals through his first five innings in another strong effort since he came back up from the minor leagues, and the D-backs built innings in the second, third and fourth frames against pitcher Dustin May to break the game open.
James McCann, Nolan Arenado and Ketel Marte drove in the runs, while Marte scored from third on a great read of a wild pitch that did not get too far from catcher Pedro Pages.
Marte and Gabriel Moreno both reached base three times with two hits and a walk each. Moreno has seven multi-hit efforts in his last nine games. He has reached base in 15 straight games, raising his average to .309.
Arizona went 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Several players who experienced lowlights on Friday rebounded, such as Marte, Jorge Barrosa with a terrific running catch in center field, and Arenado with two hits as he nears 2,000 (1,998).
Closer Paul Sewald, who earned the loss on Saturday in a non-save situation, allowed a home run to Jimmy Crooks on Saturday but picked up his 23rd save.
Overall, Diamondbacks pitchers walked two batters after five on Friday.
Even though Friday’s loss was by one run and Saturday’s win was by merely two, the operation was a lot cleaner for the Diamondbacks, who can secure the season series over St. Louis with a win on Sunday.
The Diamondbacks (50-48) entered Saturday 2.5 games behind the Cardinals (51-46) for the third NL Wild Card spot.
Brandon Pfaadt has been invaluable since coming back
Pfaadt ended his outing with 5.1 innings and two earned runs, as the D-backs have won all four of his starts since he came back up from Triple-A. It is a stretch in which he has pitched 21 innings with five earned runs and one measly walk.
His ERA when the Diamondbacks sent him down to stretch back out with 5.92. That has dropped by more than a full run to 4.58.
During a time when the rotation has taken on numerous injuries, Pfaadt has provided a level of stability when he has taken the mound, showing off new mechanics without his overhead motion and a relentless attack of the strike zone.
There is such a thing as throwing too many strikes, but Pfaadt was able to mix speeds and dot corners to avoid giving up slug. The Cardinals racked up six hits off him, four in the sixth inning, but all of them were singles. Four of them were not considered hard-hit balls (95 mph-plus).
Saturday attendance
38,244
Sunday’s finale
Eduardo Rodriguez (8-3, 2.29 ERA) will make his first appearance since the All-Star Game on Sunday in the series finale against St. Louis. Rodriguez threw a 1-2-3 inning during his first career Midsummer Classic.
The Cardinals will start right-hander Andre Pallante (10-6, 3.96 ERA).
First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. MST on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.