Gabriel Moreno's grand slam highlights Diamondbacks' double-header sweep of Padres
SAN DIEGO – Gabriel Moreno squared up the ball, watched its flight and flipped his bat like he were flinging a baton. The shot landed in the left-field seats for a grand slam, putting an exclamation point not just on the Diamondbacks’ day or this series or their road trip, but on their past week of baseball.
Exactly a week earlier, the Diamondbacks woke up riding a nine-game losing streak. They had not won in the month of August. Their season was collapsing. But after Saturday night’s emphatic 8-1 win over the San Diego Padres completed a rare doubleheader sweep, the Diamondbacks have resuscitated their playoff hopes.
"I think the entire team took a big exhale," manager Torey Lovullo said of Moreno's slam. "We’ve played some really grinding games. We are a gritty team; we like that. But to be able to say we’re up (8-1) in a visiting ballpark on a getaway day, I think everyone was very refreshed and Gabi was a big reason for that."
Moreno smiled widely when asked how he felt in the moment.
“It was an unbelievable feeling,” Moreno said through interpreter Rolando Valles. “It was hard to describe. I was super happy. I was breaking into a smile as I was rounding the bases.”
The win was the Diamondbacks’ seventh in those eight days. It was their third out of four this weekend against the Padres after taking two of three from them when this stretch began at Chase Field. They also took two of three from the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in the interim.
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In the process, they put themselves squarely back in the chase for a wild card, though, in reality, they were never all that far out given the lackluster play of the various contenders. On the night of Aug. 11, they were two games under .500 and three games out of a playoff spot. They were given just a 13.4 percent chance to play in October, per FanGraphs’ playoff odds.
But after Saturday night, they are 64-61, they are just a half-game back of a wild card and their odds have moved above 38.9 percent. Still not bet-the-farm odds, but the numbers at least are moving in the right direction.
In the early game, they got a huge performance from Tommy Pham, who homered and tripled in a 6-4 victory. Their offense handed the bullpen a lead and the bullpen held on. In the nightcap, the offense erupted again, both taking advantage of a mistake-prone Padres team but also delivering key hits that followed patient, rally-building plate appearances.
In the seventh, already leading 4-1, they got another extra-base hit from Pham, a double, to start the inning, then loaded the bases with a pair of walks. Moreno unloaded them, blasting a 2-2 change-up from Padres reliever Nick Martinez for his first career grand slam.
The offense came in support of a patchwork night from the pitching staff. Right-hander Scott McGough covered the first 2 1/3 innings without allowing a run. Rookie Bryce Jarvis, making his second career appearance, gave up one run in 3 2/3 innings and was credited with his first career victory.
Tommy Pham homers, triples to lead DBacks past Padres
SAN DIEGO — For three days here, the boos have rained down on Diamondbacks outfielder Tommy Pham. But to hear Pham tell it, San Diego Padres fans have done much more than just boo.
After an altercation with a fan near the on-deck circle early in the game, Pham proceeded to turn in his most impactful performance yet with his new team, hitting the go-ahead homer and a triple that led to another run in the
Diamondbacks’ 6-4 win over the Padres in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Petco Park.
Pham spoke briefly with reporters after the game, recounting a pair of incidents that took place this week. He said that in the top of the first inning on Saturday, a fan called him a “piece of s---,” which ostensibly prompted him to call security and ask for the fan to be removed. The fan was escorted by a security guard out of the area but a Padres spokesperson said he was not ejected.
“I’m all about good banter,” Pham said. “He stepped out of line and said something that got him kicked out. The fans here, man, I just don’t get it. Not even at the field, even away from the field. It’s completely disrespectful. I don’t know. Maybe they weren’t raised right. I was always taught respect until someone doesn’t give you it. It is what it is.”
Partial video of the incident circulated on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, in which a fan could be heard denying having said what Pham accused him of saying. Rather than calling Pham names, the fan was said to have been talking about an incident that occurred the night before, according to another fan. Pham heard things differently.
“Older, white gentleman called me a piece of s---,” Pham said. “So, I don’t think that’s acceptable, especially when you’re so close to the on-deck circle. Neither do the security (guards) and, I’m sure, Pete (Peter Seidler) doesn’t think it’s acceptable, too, the owner of the Padres.”
Pham, 35, played two seasons with the Padres in 2020 and 2021, a stint that overlapped with an incident in which he was stabbed in the back outside a San Diego strip club.
Pham did not play well during his Padres tenure, hitting just .226 with a .705 OPS, and since departing he has done nothing but punish the Padres. He has hit .317 against them the past two seasons and his homer on Saturday was his sixth in that span.
He also had a notable run-in last year with former Padres slugger Luke Voit, whom he challenged to a fight. Whatever the cause, Pham, whom the Diamondbacks acquired from the New York Mets at the Aug. 1 trade deadline, clearly not popular here — and, he said, it extends beyond Petco Park. He said he was confronted by a woman outside the team hotel this week.
“A lady, she’s just not really educated in a baseball sense, she told me — she was drunk — just, ‘F you, Tommy Pham. That’s why we got rid of you,’” Pham said. “I’m like, ‘Lady, I reached free agency. They didn’t get rid of me. In fact, they tried to re-sign me in free agency.’ Just people, man.”
Pham abruptly cut the interview short after only a few questions on the subject.
So whether his big day at the plate felt that much sweeter given what has happened this weekend can only be assumed. It certainly seemed to mean something to teammates.
“I don’t know the backstory, but they’ve been putting it on him,” center fielder Alek Thomas said. “I’m sure it fuels him a little bit. In baseball, it’s kind of hard to — you’ve got to get good pitches to do good — but he’s been doing his thing and it’s pretty cool to see him silence haters out here. It’s pretty dope. I like it.”
Said manager Torey Lovullo: “These fans are awful to Tommy. I hear some terrible things coming from the stands. It’s not just the normal, ‘You’re a bum’ stuff. It’s deeper. It’s ugly. I’ve been uncomfortable with it from my vantage point.”
DBacks lefty Tommy Henry shifted to 60-day injured list
SAN DIEGO – The Diamondbacks shifted left-hander Tommy Henry to the 60-day injured list on Saturday, a move that means the club’s young starter will not be eligible to return until the final days of the regular season.
Henry, who last pitched on July 28, initially was placed on the 15-day injured list on July 30 with what the team called left elbow inflammation. At the time, the team viewed the injury as minor and hoped he would be able to rejoin the starting rotation some time in August.
However, the issue has been slow to resolve itself. The last time the team provided an update on Henry’s condition he was still in what manager Torey Lovullo called the “treatment phase” of the rehab process.
By shifting him to the 60-day, the Diamondbacks will not be able to reinstate him until Sept. 27 at the earliest, the day of their 159th game of the season.
The Diamondbacks moved Henry in order to free up a 40-man spot. They called up right-hander Nabil Crismatt, giving them another pitcher capable of providing length out of the bullpen. Crismatt, whom the Diamondbacks signed to a minor league deal earlier this season, has been starting games for Triple-A Reno.
DBacks add RHP Peter Strzelecki to roster for doubleheader
SAN DIEGO — The Diamondbacks added right-hander Peter Strzelecki to their roster as the 27th man for Saturday’s doubleheader, giving them an extra bullpen arm as they look to cover the day’s innings.
The Diamondbacks acquired Strzelecki, 28, at the trade deadline from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for left-hander Andrew Chafin. He has made five appearances in Triple-A Reno since the deal, turning in scoreless appearances in four of them. He gave up three runs in one-third of an inning in the other outing.
It is possible the Diamondbacks make another roster move involving a pitcher between games, though it is not clear if that is the plan or if it is dependent on how Game 1 goes. They still have not announced a starter for Game 2.
With right-hander Merrill Kelly scheduled to start the first game, the Diamondbacks’ bullpen likely won’t be too overworked. Kelly has worked at least six innings in 15 of his 21 starts and at least five in 20 starts, the lone exception being his first outing of the year, when he was still not built up due to his World Baseball Classic participation.
Saturday's Diamondbacks-Padres Game 1 pitching matchup
Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (9-5, 3.05) vs. Padres RHP Matt Waldron (0-1, 3.86)
Kelly gave up two runs in six innings at Coors Field on Monday, striking out a season-high 11. … In five starts since returning from the injured list in late July, he has logged a 2.48 ERA in 29 innings, walking eight and striking out 33. … Kelly has faced the Padres once this season, giving up four runs in five innings, walking a season-high five, in a start in April. … Waldron will be making his second career start. He gave up two runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Nationals in a start in June. ... In 85 1/3 innings in Triple-A El Paso, Waldron logged a 7.28 ERA with 30 walks and 95 strikeouts. ... He throws a 92 mph fastball but is best known for being one of the few pitchers in professional baseball who throws a knuckleball. In his start against the Nationals, he also threw sliders and cutters.
Saturday's Diamondbacks-Padres Game 2 pitching matchup
Diamondbacks TBA vs. Padres RHP Yu Darvish (8-8, 4.24)
Coming up
Sunday: Off day
Monday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m. vs. Texas Rangers, pitching matchup TBD.
Tuesday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m. vs. Texas Rangers, pitching matchup TBD.
Wednesday: Off day.
Thursday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m. vs. Cincinnati Reds, pitching matchup TBD.
Diamondbacks doubleheader notes
—Today is the second doubleheader between the Diamondbacks and Padres. They split a twin bill on Aug. 31, 2001 at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. Arizona won the first game 4-1 backed by Curt Schilling's 8 1/3-inning, 11-strikeout performance to earn his 19th win. San Diego came back to win the nightcap 6-5, and the Padres' starting pitcher was Kevin Jarvis, father of current Diamondbacks reliever Bryce.
—Cincinnati and Milwaukee are the only 2 National League teams the Diamondbacks have not played in a doubleheader.
—Arizona has swept four of its past seven doubleheaders: April 25, 2021 at Atlanta (5-0 and 7-0), May 6, 2015 at Colorado (13-7 and 5-1), Sept. 15, 2015 at Colorado (6-4 and 5-3) and Sept. 25, 2020 at Colorado (4-0 and 11-5). The Diamondbacks' last doubleheader split was Sept. 20, 2022 at the Dodgers (W 5-2 and L 5-6). The two sweeps by opponents came last season, on April 19 at Washington (1-6 and 0-1) and May 17 at the Dodgers (6-7 and 3-12).
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gabriel Moreno's grand slam highlights Diamondbacks' double-header sweep of Padres
