D-backs' Defense Props Up Undermanned Lineup in Win vs White Sox

The Arizona Diamondbacks took the second game of the series against the White Sox by a score of 4-1 on Tuesday, winning the series and pulling three games above .500 at 41-38. But the win once again came with an asterisk.

In yet another blow to an already-battered group of hitters, infielder Ildemaro Vargas was forced to exit the game early after being hit directly on the side of the foot by a curveball.

It's a fractured fifth metatarsal for Vargas, and he'll be down significant time. Infielder Blaze Alexander was pulled from his start with the Reno Aces, and will be headed to Chicago.

"We've just got to push through [the injuries]," outfielder and Chicago native Alek Thomas told Dbacks.TV's Todd Walsh postgame. "You can tell the vibe in the clubhouse, we're still high, the vibes are high, we still come every day to the field with our chin up and smiles on our faces and we have guys who lead this team by example."

"Having each other's back and picking each other up is really huge and having someone like Geno [Suárez] and Naylor, always smiling and happy, and Perdomo being as loud as he is, you can't really get down, so to have those guys by our sides and then the Ketel [Marte] as well, always high energy, it's just really cool to be around," Thomas said.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Ryne Nelson Has Successful Outing

Right-hander Ryne Nelson didn't have his most efficient outing of the season, but it was ultimately effective. Held to just 87 pitches, Nelson completed five innings. He allowed only one hit for one earned run — a solo homer by Luis Robert Jr. — and punched out seven.

He was helped out by his defense, as recently-recalled Jake McCarthy made an impressive play to rob a home run, and Alek Thomas made two nice plays in center field to prevent extra bases and potential runs on Nelson's line.

Nelson began to lose his command in the fifth inning. He issued a pair of walks, totaling an uncharacteristic three on the night. Regardless, he finished the inning without damage and lowered his season ERA to 3.71.

Arizona's bullpen followed up with four impressive innings of scoreless relief.

Kyle Backhus, Ryan Thompson, Jalen Beeks and Juan Morillo carried the load over to Shelby Miller in the ninth. Beeks was aided by a second stellar catch from McCarthy, and a brilliant double play by Tawa at third helped Morillo escape a two-on, one-out jam.

Miller recorded a stress-free 1-2-3 save, his ninth of the season.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Offense Does Just Enough

Arizona was already down three of its best hitters. Corbin Carroll, Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor were all out with injuries of their own.

With that in mind, it was an exceptionally thin lineup (and bench) for manager Torey Lovullo. After a Ketel Marte first-inning homer, the D-backs struggled to get base traffic, going without another run until the seventh.