ATLANTA — The Arizona Diamondbacks took a series from the National League East-leading Atlanta Braves with a 10-3 victory Saturday, bolstering their position in the NL Wild Card race.
Arizona (66-58 entering Sunday) is tied for the second NL Wild Card spot and has compiled an 8-6 record in August against three of the league’s toughest opponents.
Nolan Arenado powered the Saturday win, going 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs. The 35-year-old third baseman hit his 19th and 20th home runs, marking the ninth time in his career he has reached the 20-homer plateau in a season.
“I think we can be really good [down the final stretch of the season]. Our pitching and our bullpen has been phenomenal. Our defense is phenomenal. It sounds crazy, but I still feel like we haven’t clicked together as a group as often as we’d like — like we did today.”
— Nolan Arenado
Starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez delivered six innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and no walks. His 2.71 ERA ranks ninth-lowest among qualified starters.
“Right now, we just go up there and play the game,” Rodriguez said. “We believe in each other. Somebody is going to be a hero.”
The series win followed a similar pattern of competitiveness against elite teams. The D-backs split a four-game series with the Padres, who are tied with Arizona in the Wild Card standings, and won a series against the Dodgers earlier in August.
On Friday, Brandon Pfaadt tossed seven innings of two-hit ball in a 2-0 shutout. It was just the eighth time Atlanta had been blanked this season. The combination of Pfaadt and Rodriguez held the Braves — who average 4.83 runs per game, sixth-most in MLB — to three runs over 18 innings.
Manager Torey Lovullo credited his team’s resilience despite a rash of injuries throughout the season.
“Everybody in that room believes we can tell a really good story and our journey is very incomplete,” Lovullo said. “At our core in this organization are pitching and defense, and we believe in that. When we combine that with a little bit of slug, it’s a complete effort.”
Arizona went 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position Saturday after managing just 2-for-30 in the three previous games.
Reinforcements could arrive soon. Outfielder Jordan Lawlar has blasted five home runs in four rehab games with Double-A Amarillo. Right-hander Justin Martinez could be activated in the coming days after a rehab assignment with Triple-A Reno.
“We know we are going to layer in some new athletes here who are getting healthy,” Lovullo said. “We focus on us. We’re a good team, and we know it.”
The D-backs open a three-game series at Boston on Monday.
Source: MLB.com/D-backs News