Diamondbacks get narrow win over Cubs in first game of crucial series
The words Torey Lovullo said before the game worked.
After surrendering a precious lead in the wild-card race in New York, the Diamondbacks sat through a delayed flight back to Phoenix and stewed in disappointment on the tarmac. But once the team landed, the past mistakes weren’t carried with them as the bats helped with a crucial 6-4 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Looking to buck the trend of the previous five games, Lovullo met with the team before the game to light a fire. The slumping Diamondbacks have averaged 2.4 runs over a 1-4 stretch.
“I just told them, give me everything you got for 14 days. Give me your best 14 days,” Lovullo said. “Do it for me, do it for the coaches that are training you, do it for your brother that’s sitting next to you. At the end of 14, you can’t lose if you did your absolute best. Everybody’s tired, everybody’s cranky, but that fatigue is easy to overcome if you want it bad enough. We’ll see how it goes. Sometimes I say things that inspire them and sometimes I don’t. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”
The Diamondbacks had previous success against the Cubs last week at Wrigley Field when the team took three of the four games.
After winning Friday against the team occupying the second wild-card spot, the Diamondbacks now share the lead with the Cincinnati Reds for the final spot.
“That was not an easy situation for us to walk through in New York. We were all frustrated and I looked down the bench and could see the frustration on the players’ faces,” Lovullo said. “For us to reverse that, we got on a plane very late last night and got in late. We came out and played baseball and that was a big statement by this team. I’m very proud of us for that reason.”
Although early, Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s three-run home run in the first inning was the defining moment for the struggling offense. Not only did it prove that the team could come through on two outs, but it was also against Justin Steele, a Cy Young candidate.
Steele held the Diamondbacks off following Gurriel’s home run until Alek Thomas took him deep in the sixth inning for a 6-0 lead.
Starter Brandon Pfaadt has gone through his ups and downs in his first big league season, but he came through in a high-pressure situation to deliver one of his best outings.
Pfaadt kept a tight leash on the potentially dangerous Cubs offense and held the Cubs scoreless with just four hits and six strikeouts through 5.1 innings of work.
“It’s pretty cool. Everybody is here together, everybody is here for one reason to win games down the stretch, and everybody is here to do their part in it. It’s really cool,” Pfaadt said.
Up until the ninth, relief pitching was lights out to keep up with the pace Pfaadt set. Andrew Saalfrank, Ryan Thompson, and Kevin Ginkel all blanked the Cubs, but it was in the ninth when the Diamondbacks nearly lost the game.
With Kyle Nelson on the mound, Ian Happ broke the shutout on the third pitch for the Cubs with a solo shot. Cody Bellinger drew a walk in the following at-bat, garnering a mound visit to Nelson. Nelson struck out Dansby Swanson, but then gave up a two-run home run to Seiya Suzuki to cut the lead to 6-3 with one out.
Sewald struggled right away with Christopher Morel sending his first pitch to left field, but he eventually settled down and earned the much-needed save.
“You look up there and it’s 6-0 after eight innings and you feel like you’ve done your job,” Lovullo said. “We just got to finish. We’ll get better tomorrow and I want these guys to go out with the same intensity and same passion and have some fun.”
Cubs get on the board in the ninth
The game was broken open by the Cubs in the ninth inning after Christopher Morel went deep on the first pitch against Paul Sewald to cut the lead to 6-4.
Cubs left fielder Ian Happ broke the shutout on the third pitch with a solo shot in the ninth off reliever Kyle Nelson.
Cody Bellinger drew a walk in the following at-bat, garnering a mound visit to Nelson. Nelson struck out Dansby Swanson, but then gave up a two-run home run to Seiya Suzuki to cut the lead to 6-3 with one out.
Alek Thomas extends lead with three-run home run
The Diamondbacks have delivered spurts of offense against the Cubs and once again were relieved from the longball.
Alek Thomas snapped his seven-game drought with a three-run home run for a 6-0 lead in the sixth inning.
The Diamondbacks have recorded seven hits and have held the Cubs scoreless through seven innings.
Brandon Pfaadt carries on the mound with scoreless performance
Starting pitching had been hit-or-miss for the Diamondbacks, but starter Brandon Pfaadt tossed a solid outing with four hits and six strikeouts.
The offense gave him early support with a 3-0 lead in the first and he held the Cubs off without giving up any extra base hits.
Pfaadt kept the intensity near the end of his outing and delivered back-to-back strikeouts to end the fifth inning. He was relieved in the sixth inning after 73 pitches.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.'s three-run blast gives Diamondbacks an early lead
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. got the Diamondbacks bats going early with a three-run home run in the first inning. The Diamondbacks applied early pressure to Justin Steele when Ketel Marte had a leadoff single and Christian Walker drew a walk.
Gurriel Jr. has 24 home runs and is tied for the second-most on the team.
Starter Brandon Pfaadt has allowed one hit and has struck out one batter through two innings.
Drey Jameson suffers setback in recovery
Torey Lovullo said that he received "not the greatest news" about reliever Drey Jameson's return. Jameson felt arm tenderness during his throwing program and had to be pulled back three days ago.
Jameson chose a rehab approach to his UCL injury rather than undergoing Tommy John surgery that would have kept him out until 2025. He was progressing through his program and looked hopeful for a potential return this season.
"We’re not sure, we’re in the evaluation process, but his progress has been stopped and pulled back," Lovullo said.
Lovullo did add that all injured pitchers are progressing. Reliever Mark Melancon has been throwing in camp games and isn't close to the velocity he's expecting, but has been feeling well.
Cubs at Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m., Chase Field
Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (1-8, 6.25) vs. Cubs LHP Justin Steele (16-3, 2.49).
Pfaadt gave up four runs in six innings against the Cubs on Sunday in a game in which he entered in the bottom of the third inning. It was the first time the Diamondbacks had used an opener ahead of him. … Pfaadt seems to have hit a bit of a speed bump in recent outings, posting a 7.90 ERA (12 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings) over his past three starts. He has allowed five homers in that stretch; he allowed only three homers in his previous six starts combined. … Steele gave up one run in seven innings against the Diamondbacks on Saturday at Wrigley Field, walking none and striking out six. … He has logged at least six innings in 21 of his 27 starts this year. … He is among the frontrunners for the National League Cy Young Award. … Steele generates a majority of his whiffs on his slider, a pitch that has held opposing hitters to a .207 average while getting swings and misses 30.9 percent of the time.
Coming up
Saturday: At Chase Field, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zach Davies (2-5, 6.81) vs. Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (6-7, 3.71).
Sunday: At Chase Field, 4:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (7-8, 5.53) vs. Cubs LHP Jordan Wicks (3-0, 1.99).
Monday: Off.
Tuesday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (15-8, 3.50) vs. Giants TBA.
What to know about the Chicago Cubs
After dropping three of four to the Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field last weekend, the Cubs continued to struggle this week in Denver, where they dropped two of three to the Rockies. They entered Thursday four games back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central but still had a hold on the second wild-card spot, two games ahead of the Diamondbacks and Reds. The Cubs’ offense was shut down by the Diamondbacks in those four games, going a combined 25 for 126 (.198) while averaging just 2.2 runs per game. They hit three home runs, all of them coming off RHP Brandon Pfaadt, who will start Friday’s series opener, in the finale at Wrigley. Cubs RHP Adbert Alzolay landed on the injured list with a forearm strain, an injury that would seem to elevate RHP Julian Merryweather into ninth-inning duties. The Cubs promoted top prospect CF Pete Crow-Armstrong to the majors earlier this week. He hit .283/.365/.511 with 26 doubles, seven triples and 20 homers this year between Double-A and Triple-A.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Diamondbacks hang on to beat Chicago Cubs
