After taking a sturdy 9-5 win in game one, the Arizona Diamondbacks were the victim of a walk-off loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, losing by a score of 4-3. Gabriel Moreno and Corbin Caroll both homered late, but Arizona couldn't hold an extra-inning lead.
The last time Arizona saw right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto on May 8, they doubled his ERA from 0.90 to 1.80, after belting out five runs in five innings. Gabriel Moreno hit a grand slam, and Ketel Marte hit a solo homer in that game.
But on Tuesday night, Yamamoto got his revenge on the Diamondbacks, twirling a seven-inning gem. It took him an immense 110 pitches, 62 for strikes, but the Japanese right-hander punched out nine in his smooth lengthy outing.
Marte ended Yamamoto's no-hit bid to lead off the seventh, ripping a 110 MPH single off the wall in right center field. Yamamoto ended the threat without damage, despite laboring through his last inning.
Arizona did see a solid effort from their own starting pitcher, as right-hander Ryne Nelson made his second start of the season, back in the rotation due to struggling left-hander Eduardo RodrÃguez's recent appearance on the 15-day IL.
Nelson has primarily worked as a long reliever, and was therefore limited to just five innings, but the right-hander once again was able to suppress the high-powered Dodgers offense, for the most part.
Nelson allowed only one earned run on three base hits and a walk. He struck out two, and only needed 71 pitches to get through those five innings.
Due to his recent usage, Nelson is likely not sufficiently ramped up to see a significantly deep start at this juncture, but he was certainly able to execute against a tough opponent Tuesday. He did give up some hard contact, but the defense behind him was sharp, for the most part.
His lone blemish came on a mistake pitch to Freddie Freeman and a poor defensive play by center fielder Alek Thomas. Thomas struggled to get the ball to second base quickly, and Freeman stretched a potential hard-hit single into a double. Another double off the bat of Will Smith on a fastball way inside spotted the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning.
The D-backs threatened in the eighth facing the Dodger bullpen. Geraldo Perdomo ripped a ball down the line and stretched into a double, and Tim Tawa laid down a perfect bunt, but those runners were ultimately stranded.
But, once again, Gabriel Moreno turned on a high, inside fastball, sending it just far enough to clear the left-field wall, tying the contest at one apiece. Moreno entered the contest slashing .312/.349/.545 for his career against the Dodgers, and all three of his 2025 home runs have come at LA's expense.
Kevin Ginkel stranded two runners in the home half to give the D-backs a chance. Then, in the 10th, Carroll clubbed his 15th home run of the season, an impressive blast off tough left-hander Tanner Scott to give Arizona their first lead, a 3-1 figure.
Unfortunately, working for the third consecutive game, Shelby Miller failed to convert the save. The inning started by serving up a leadoff double to Tommy Edman. He intentionally walked Ohtani and Freeman, but then made the mistake of plunking Smith with an errant pitch, tying the game and keeping the bases loaded with one out. Max Muncy brought home the winning run on a sacrifice fly.
Arizona will try for a series win again in Wednesday's rubber match, with first pitch set for 7:10 p.m. once more. Corbin Burnes and Dustin May will get their respective starts for the second time this season.
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