Brandon Pfaadt pitched seven quality innings and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the bottom of the eighth to help the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 2-1 win over the visiting Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.
In a pitchers’ duel, Pfaadt threw seven innings of one-run ball, allowing just two hits while striking out nine and walking just two as Arizona took the rubber game of the three-game series.
Andrew Abbott also pitched seven strong innings, allowing just four hits and one run, striking out four and walking a pair for the Reds, who have lost 12 of their last 14 games.
In the second, Christian Walker launched his eighth home run of the season, giving Arizona – which has won 7 of its last 10 games — a 1-0 lead.
Pfaadt retired the first eight Cincinnati hitters before walking Jacob Hurtubise in the third. However, Pfaadt fanned Will Benson for his sixth strikeout in the first three innings. Pfaadt got Jake Fraley to fly out and Mike Ford to ground out to first before striking out Spencer Steer to put a stamp on four hitless innings.
Arizona’s offense threatened to add on in the fourth, when Gurriel worked a one-out walk, followed by Walker’s single. Abbott then struck out Eugenio Suarez and got Gabriel Moreno to ground out, keeping Cincinnati’s deficit at one run.
Pfaadt took his no-hitter into the fifth inning, where he retired Jeimer Candelario and Conner Capel on groundouts before allowing his first hit of the game on Santiago Espinal’s second home run of 2024, knotting the score at 1-1.
Pfaadt then walked Luke Maile but got Hurtubise to line out to end the top of the fifth.
Randal Grichuk reached on a one-out single in the sixth, but Abbott worked around it and got out of the inning unscathed.
Candelario doubled to right field with one out in the seventh for just the second Cincinnati hit, but Pfaadt got Capel and Espinal to fly out.
Ryan Thompson (1-1) came on to relieve Pfaadt in the eighth. The right hander allowed a two-out single to Benson but pitched a scoreless inning.
Fernando Cruz (1-4) replaced Abbott for the bottom of the eighth and retired Kevin Newman and Ketel Marte. Cruz then allowed a double to pinch hitter Pavin Smith, followed by Gurriel’s double to the right field corner to drive in the eventual game-winning run.
Paul Sewald pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, picking up his second save.
–Field Level Media