Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt threw his fifth consecutive quality start Tuesday night in a 7-3 win at the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Pfaadt gave the D-backs six innings with three runs (two earned) on four hits, striking out seven batters against the top offense in baseball.
The Diamondbacks (23-26) took a 2-0 lead with four straight singles in the second inning off Dodgers starter Gavin Stone, and home runs by Christian Walker and Joc Pederson gave Arizona breathing room.
Ryan Thompson, Joe Mantiply and Paul Sewald finished the job out of the bullpen to even the series.
Pfaadt retired nine hitters in a row after a lead-off walk to Mookie Betts and 15 of the first 17 batters to start the ballgame.
It was reminiscent of his outing last Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds in which he started with 4.2 no-hit innings. The first Dodgers knock did not come until the fourth inning on a Shohei Ohtani double. Ohtani scored on an errant throw by catcher Gabriel Moreno while attempting to steal third.
The Diamondbacks scored first on a play at the plate, as Lourdes Gurriel Jr. slid in safely on an Eugenio Suarez single to right after the ball kicked off Smith’s glove. Moreno singled in the second run.
Christian Walker continues to haunt Dodgers
Walker hooked a changeup from Stone around the left-field foul pole to take a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning. That was his 19th home run against the Dodgers since 2019, tied with Manny Machado for the most against Los Angeles in that span, per the D-backs.
Walker hit a walk-off home run to beat the Dodgers after the bees delay at Chase Field on April 30 and has reached base safely in seven of his last eight games in the matchup.
Christian Walker keeps it fair for his 9th home run of the season. pic.twitter.com/lypo7qM1EM
— MLB (@MLB) May 22, 2024
Ohtani drove in L.A.’s second run in the sixth inning and scored on a Will Smith double to cut L.A.’s deficit to 4-3. That was as close as it got.
Ketel Marte extends hitting streak, Joc Pederson hits milestone
The Diamondbacks responded to the Dodgers’ comeback bid with three runs in the seventh. Kevin Newman walked, and Ketel Marte singled to set up Pederson.
Marte’s single extended his hitting streak to 20 games, the fifth-longest hitting streak in franchise history. Luis Gonzalez owns the team record with 30 games in 1999.
Pederson roped a slider at the knees 409 feet, flipping his bat and skipping out of the batter’s box as he reached a new milestone.
Pederson picked up his 500th career RBI with the blast.
Joc Pederson gives the @DBacks some breathing room. pic.twitter.com/wMOLQo8BL0
— MLB (@MLB) May 22, 2024
Every Diamondbacks starter in the lineup picked up a hit, while Pederson, Gurriel and Suarez had two each.
When is the Diamondbacks’ next game?
The series finale and rubber match is Wednesday at 7:10 p.m.
