After splitting a 4-game set in LA to kick off the season, the Diamondbacks headed south to take on the Padres in a short two-game series. Last night was game 1, and let me tell ya, it was a true heartbreaker.
In the bottom of the 1st, Juan Soto scorched a 2-run bomb to deep center field to give the Padres a very early lead. The D-backs then answered back with two of their own in the top of the 2nd but the Padres stayed persistent and took the lead back in the bottom of that inning. 3-2 Padres after two innings.
Both offenses were held scoreless from innings 3-6, as both starting pitchers seemed to settle down. Then the 7th saw some Corbin Carroll magic happen. After quickly falling behind in the count 0-2, Carroll worked it back to 2-2, and on the 6th pitch of his at-bat, Corbin got a changeup high in the zone (probably not where the pitcher wanted it), and he did not miss it. When I say he smoked it, I mean it. His first home run of the season was 105.7 MPH off the bat. Almost 106 MPH?! Quite the way to tie the game; 3-3.
LONGO FOR THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/HojIsQcXIk
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) April 4, 2023
One clutch home run would have been enough to suffice us D-backs fans, but in the top of the 9th, newly acquired third basemen Evan Longoria launched a home run to left field (108 MPH and 418 feet), giving Arizona its first lead of the game; 4-3. Did someone say they wanted a dramatic baseball game? Well unfortunately for the D-backs, it would get more dramatic; not in their favor, however.
Diamondbacks lose in heartbreaking fashion
In the bottom of the 9th, Scott McGough was called upon to close the door. Unfortunately, the Padres had a two-headed battery ram called David Dahl and Ha-Seong Kim. David Dahl led the inning off with a solo home run to tie the game. Then the very next batter Ha-Seong Kim got ahead in the count 3-1 and did the same thing Dahl did; blasted a solo home run into the seats. The crowd went crazy, the game was over. San Diego won 5-4. McGough was credited with the loss and a blown save.
Looking at the positives, Corbin Carroll racked up 3 hits, 2 runs, and an RBI. Evan Longoria recorded 2 hits, 2 runs, and an RBI. After a shaky start, Ryne Nelson settled down and pitched 5 solid innings (3 ER), and up until the final inning, the bullpen was tremendous going 3 innings without giving up any runs as well as adding 3 strikeouts. Even in a heartbreaking loss, the Diamondbacks can hold their heads up knowing that certain players had solid performances last night. Arizona is back at it again today as they will finish the series with the Padres. First pitch will be at 1:10 MST.