Arizona Diamondbacks Gets Walk-Off Win Against the Cubs
Last night, the Arizona Diamondbacks went out to prove a statement. After trailing 11-8 to the Chicago Cubs at one point, the D-Backs came back in the bottom of the tenth inning to get the 12-11 walk-off win. Arizona lost the first game of this three-game series 3-2, and with the win last night, one final game will decide the winner of this three-game encounter. With the win, the Diamondbacks now have a 9-9 record. They’ve struggled since pulling out a ridiculous 16-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Opening Day. They’re in third place in the NL West division, two games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot, and a game behind the 11-9 San Diego Padres for second place in the division.
The first run of the game came across in the bottom of the second inning when D-Backs designated hitter Joc Pederson got the RBI off of a force out. During the next half inning, Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya tied the game up by ripping an RBI double near the left field corner. A half inning later, Diamondbacks left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. crushed his fifth home run of the year, a two-run shot to left field to give his team a 3-1 lead. Just two batters later, Pederson hit his first home run as a Diamondback, a solo shot right near the right field foul pole.
During the top of the fifth, Amaya slapped a triple down the left field line, cutting the Cubs deficit to 4-2. The next batter, Chicago’s right fielder Alexander Canario thrashed an RBI double into left field, making this a one-run ballgame. The rally would continue for the Cubs, as second baseman Nico Hoerner hit an RBI double out into left field. Chicago would then take a 5-4 lead after center fielder Cody Bellinger's RBI triple. In the bottom of the fifth inning, with Pederson at the plate for the D-Backs, Cubs reliever Luke Little threw a wild pitch, which allowed Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte to score. During the same at-bat, Little threw another wild pitch, allowing Gurriel Jr to score. Two batters later, Arizona’s third baseman Eugenio Suárez got an RBI off of a sacrifice fly. The next batter, shortstop Blaze Alexander, hit an RBI single which rolled past Hoerner and into right field. After this D-Backs rally, the team now had an 8-5 lead.
In the top of the seventh inning, Cubs third baseman Christopher Morel got an RBI off of a sacrifice fly. Two batters later, Chicago’s designated hitter Garrett Cooper hammered out an RBI single. Another two batters later, Cubs left fielder Ian Happ crushed a three-run home run to left field, giving the Cubs an 11-8 lead. A half inning later, Alexander hit an RBI double to no man’s land out in left-center field. An inning later, during the bottom of the eighth Pederson hit a sacrifice fly. Then, in the bottom of the ninth inning, Marte hit his fourth home run of the year, a solo shot to right field to tie this game up at 11 and push extra innings. With a runner on second base, pinch-hitting designated hitter Randal Grichuk got the comeback extra-inning victory over the Cubs by crushing the ball out to left-center field.
Diamondbacks starting pitcher Tommy Henry pitched four and one-third innings allowing five runs on nine hits, and a walk while striking out three batters. While Pederson, and Gurriel Jr. both finished this game with two RBIs a piece, Blaze Alexander went two for five with three RBIs in the win. Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks pitched four and one third innings allowing seven runs off of five hits, and three walks while striking out three in the loss. Ian Happ finished the game with four RBIs.
