The Arizona Diamondbacks completed a successful first half of their opening homestand, taking three of four games from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Arizona fell in the opening game 5-2 but then won the next three games by scores of 6-3, 12-8, and 11-6. In the first victory of the series, Arizona doubled Los Angeles in hits 10-5, and the runs showed that with them putting up six. Drey Jameson came on in relief of Madison Bumgarner and didn’t give up any hits or runs in 2.1 innings of work. Miguel Castro then came in for 1.1 innings and did the same before Andrew Chafin came in to lock it down for 0.2 innings, doing the same as the two prior pitchers.
In the 12-8 victory, the Diamondbacks once again outhit the Dodgers, this time 17-11. The bats came live on those 17 hits, with Arizona putting up those 12 runs. The Dodgers didn’t falter much either, putting up eight runs on 11 hits. In the 12-8 victory, Ketel Marte once again led the offensive charge with three runs scored, three hits, and two RBIs. Kyle Nelson came on in relief of Zach Davies and didn’t allow a single hit or run.
In the third game of the series, Arizona managed 11 runs on 16 hits. The Dodgers had just six runs on seven hits. Josh Rojas had two runs scored and three hits. Pavin Smith, a recent call-up, contributed to the offensive onslaught with two runs scored, two hits, and three RBIs. Geraldo Perdomo had one run scored, two hits, and one RBI. Carlos Vargas came in for an inning of relief work for Ryne Nelson and didn’t allow a single hit or run.
On Monday night, the Diamondbacks defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in the first game of a three game set to close out the homestand. On Monday night, it was Ketel Marte leading the offense with two runs scored and two hits. Christian Walker, who has also been a solid contributor on offense, had a home run and two RBIs. On the pitching side of things, Zac Gallen spun seven scoreless innings and only gave up three hits. Scott McGough and then Chafin came on in relief, and each had a scoreless inning where they didn’t allow a single hit or run. Arizona has shown that they can produce solid offense and have solid pitching.
If they can continue to do so throughout the season, they could certainly be a threat to stay atop the loaded National League West. Monday night’s win against Milwaukee kept Arizona atop the NL West with a 7-4 record.
