Game updates, notes: Diamondbacks down Phillies; Lawlar's struggles aren't causing concern

The Arizona Diamondbacks conclude their three-city road trip in Philadelphia this week, with the series middle game set for 3:40 p.m. on Tuesday. The game can be seen on Bally Sports Arizona. Follow this page for updates before, during and after this game.

Diamondbacks down Phillies for fourth straight win

PHILADELPHIA — The Diamondbacks won a game on Tuesday night with a collection of heroes, each of whom seemed to complement, if not outshine, the other.

Their 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park might not have been their most dramatic victory or their sharpest or most complete of the year. But it ranks up there with their best team victories, a night in which different contributors seemed to emerge with each passing inning.

Gabriel Moreno blasted a home run. Dominic Fletcher made a game-saving catch. Corbin Carroll had three hits, including the go-ahead single. Ryne Nelson fired six strong innings. The bullpen made pitches when it had to.

The Diamondbacks won their fourth in a row and their ninth in their past 11 games. They secured a fourth consecutive series victory — and have a chance to sweep with their ace on the mound. And they pulled themselves nine games over .500 for the first time in nearly five years.

“I think we’re in a really good spot,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “We had a lot of energy, a lot of positive energy, and a belief that we’re going to go out and get the job done. If things get a little tense, whether it’s a tie score or a big at-bat, we relax in the moment and we expect to execute.”

After the Phillies scored in the bottom of the second, the Diamondbacks needed all of two batters to score a run of their own in the next half-inning. When the Phillies scored again in the seventh, the Diamondbacks answered in the eighth. The Diamondbacks did the same thing in both innings in which the Phillies scored on Monday night, as well, seemingly stunting any effort by the opposition to create momentum.

“I think that’s a good quality of this team,” Lovullo said. “They compete. They don’t shut down. That’s become very apparent. It’s happened a lot. You look at the shutdown opportunities the opposing teams have had, I don’t think we waste a lot of time. We come in energized and focused and score some runs, and that’s pretty powerful.”

Said Carroll: “I think it just happens. I don’t think that we try to score runs when other teams score runs. I think we stick with our approach. I think it more speaks to our ability to take them out of it and be level-headed and just continue to compete regardless of what happens out there.”

It was Carroll who put the Diamondbacks ahead for good in the eighth, lining a single into left to drive home Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who had doubled to open the inning. But it was Fletcher who kept them in the lead a half-inning later.

With the two out and the tying run on second, the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber hit a liner into shallow center field. Fletcher immediately broke in and made a sliding catch.

“It was a hell of a catch,” Carroll said. “Great jump. He took the game into his hands right there. If he misses that one, we’re probably chasing a run. I love it. I’ve got all the confidence in the world in him. He makes that catch 10 out of 10 times.”

The late-game back-and-forth overshadowed both Nelson’s outing, which might have been his best of the year, and Moreno’s performance, which included a towering home run in the second and a strong throw to cut down Bryce Harper trying to steal in the fourth.

Nelson gave up just one run on three hits, with no walks and four strikeouts. In his past two starts, he allowed just one run on four hits in 11⅓ innings, walking four and striking out 10. After lefty Tommy Henry did the same the night before, Nelson seemed to make a case of his own to remain in the rotation when Zach Davies is expected to return from the injured list this weekend.

“I felt good,” Nelson said. “I think I got better as the game went on and executed some good pitches in big spots. I think it was a good one to build off of and get some momentum going.”

Moreno, who has been hitting around .300 with limited power production all year, showed in the second he has more juice in his bat than his stat line might suggest. Ahead in the count 3-1, he blasted a fastball from the Phillies’ Matt Strahm out to left-center field, a shot that left his bat at 107.6 mph and traveled 417 feet.

Diamondbacks don’t mind seeing top prospect Jordan Lawlar struggling

PHILADELPHIA — The Diamondbacks would prefer shortstop prospect Jordan Lawlar weren’t struggling in Double-A Amarillo, but General Manager Mike Hazen doesn’t sound too bothered by the fact that he is.

“I think having some struggles in the minor leagues,” Hazen said, “as much as we want the Corbin Carroll rocket ship to happen over and over again, I think it’s good for young players to have to go through this now and figure it out, figure out where the adjustments have to be made before they get up here.”

With Carroll’s graduation to the majors, Lawlar, 20, is now the organization’s top prospect. Though he raced through the minors last season, twice earning promotions and finishing in Double-A, he has hit a speed bump this year.

Entering Tuesday, Lawlar was hitting .162/.296/.342 with five homers in 142 plate appearances. He was just 5 for 51 (.098) through 14 games in May. The struggles are surprising not just because of how well Lawlar played last year, but because they are coming in a friendly offensive environment in Amarillo.

Hazen said the organization as a whole and the coaching staff in Amarillo are “spending a lot of time and energy” working to get Lawlar back on track. He said the prevailing thought is that the issues are not related to his swing mechanics.

“It’s probably more approach, pitch selection, how he’s being pitched,” Hazen said. “Some level of reaction to the inner half of the plate and trying to keep the ball out away from him, using the entire field. That’s kind of where our focus has been.”

Lawlar’s defense this year has been a bright spot, Hazen said. His play at shortstop last year raised questions from evaluators about his ability to stick at the position, but he might be quieting those concerns by being what Hazen described as “way more consistent” in the field.

“All of the reports defensively have been exceptional, which is awesome,” Hazen said. “He has been really working at that, which he really needed to do. Doing that is a big positive.”

The Diamondbacks were aggressive with Lawlar, moving him to Double-A last year at age 19, but Hazen doesn’t have any second thoughts about the assignment.

“I think if he had gone to High-A (to open this year) and gone off in the first two weeks to a month, we would have sent him up there anyway,” Hazen said. “And, look, we want these guys to hit a level where they’ve got to figure it out.”

Hazen compared Lawlar’s struggles at the plate to those of shortstop Geraldo Perdomo two years ago. Perdomo was slumping badly in Double-A when the Diamondbacks sent him back to Arizona midseason to rework his swing. Perdomo got back on track that year, and he has said those changes prepared him for the major leagues.

“Look at where he has come since then,” Hazen said. “The key to struggling is learning from the struggles. We’ll see what happens.”

Zac Gallen hoping for improvement in his return to Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — Right-hander Zac Gallen not only will be looking to bounce back from perhaps the worst start of his career last week in Pittsburgh, he will be looking to turn in a better performance in his “home” ballpark than he had last year.

Gallen, a native of nearby New Jersey who grew up attending Phillies games, was clobbered in this ballpark last year, giving up six runs (four earned) in 1⅔ innings. He did it with loads of family and friends in attendance.

He figures that experience will only help when he faces the Phillies again on Wednesday.

“I think every time you go home you have that thought in the back of your mind that you want to play well,” Gallen said. “If it doesn’t happen, you’re not really sure how you’ll deal with it. I’ve already kind of experienced that. So it’s all gravy for me. I get to come home, spend three days in a ballpark I grew up coming to as a kid and see a bunch of family. That’s the bigger picture for me.”

Gallen struggled on Friday in Pittsburgh, giving up a career-high eight runs (five earned) while issuing a season-worst four walks.

“I’m just working on getting that feel back,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing for me. Just making sure everything is in sync. I felt pretty good with my bullpen yesterday.”

Tuesday's Diamondbacks-Phillies pitching matchup

Diamondbacks at Phillies, 3:40 p.m., Citizens Bank Park

Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (1-2, 5.48) vs. Phillies TBA.

Nelson had one of his best outings of the season last week in Oakland, firing 5 1/3 innings of one-hit ball, though he did walk four batters, including three in the sixth inning before departing. It was the closest thing to a quality start Nelson has posted since April 15. … Nelson’s fastball velocity remained up in that start, averaging 94.5 mph, which is a tick above average for major league starting pitchers. … Nelson will be facing the Phillies for the first time. … The Phillies have not announced a starting pitcher, but they are expected to go with a reliever for a short outing before handing the ball to RHP Dylan Covey for bulk innings. … The Phillies optioned LHP Bailey Falter to the minors last week and pushed his old rotation spot back to this game by asking RHP Taijuan Walker to pitch on short rest on Sunday.

Monday game recap: Tommy Henry makes case to stay in Diamondbacks' win over Phillies

Coming up

Wednesday: At Philadelphia, 10:05 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (6-2, 2.95) vs. Phillies LHP Ranger Suarez (0-1, 10.50).

Thursday: Off.

Friday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zach Davies (0-0, 5.79) vs. Red Sox LHP Chris Sale (4-2, 5.01).

Saturday: At Chase Field, 4:15 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (0-1, 7.56) vs. Red Sox RHP Garrett Whitlock (1-2, 6.19).

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Diamondbacks win second game in Philadelphia Phillies series