Arizona's Ryan Waldschmidt hits a pinch-hit, walk-off, two-run home run in the 9th inning to give the Dbacks a thrilling 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs at Chase Field.
The Dbacks' offense finally woke up in the 8th inning, scoring 3 runs due to linked up at bats with a couple of walks and a huge double from Gabi Moreno and a single from Geraldo Perdomo. This was a crucial moment in the game, as it brought the Dbacks within one run of the Cubs.
The Cubs' offense is one of the best in the league, and the Dbacks' pitching staff has been struggling to contain them. However, Brandon Pfaadt did a decent enough job of keeping them in check, pitching into the 7th inning and allowing 4 runs.
Pfaadt's first 3 innings were pretty easy, getting lots of soft contact. However, he gave up a 3-run HR in the 4th inning on a hanging curveball to Ian Happ. Despite this setback, Pfaadt was able to settle back in and give his team 6.2 innings against a red-hot offense.
Clay Holmes, who was almost a Dback due to a deal that fell through at the last minute, shut down the Dbacks' offense for 7 innings. This made the first 7 innings of the game particularly tough for the Dbacks, especially given the current status of their rotation.
The story of the game, however, was Ryan Waldschmidt. For the second time this season, he hit a walk-off home run off of a contending team's closer. This time it came as a pinch hitter with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, with Jose Fernandez pinch running at first base for Tim Tawa.
Waldschmidt got a hanging slider and did not miss it. What an electric moment, and perhaps the biggest swing of the season thus far. The Dbacks were able to gain a game on both the Padres and the Phillies tonight on one single swing.
The Dbacks will look to win the series tomorrow night. In the postgame interview, Torey Lovullo insisted that Jordan Lawlar will be in the lineup tomorrow, which is tremendous news for this team and for a guy that has had such unfortunate injury luck in his early career.
The win is a tremendous boost for the Dbacks, who will go into tomorrow 1 game out of a wild card spot. It's a moment that will be remembered for a long time, and one that could potentially change the course of the season for the Dbacks.
Source: Yahoo Sports