Right-hander Zack Godley of the Arizona Diamondbacks out-pitched Clayton Kershaw to gain his initial win of the season.
This time, the window for the Arizona Diamondbacks was much shorter, and the result was equally gratifying. After slugging matters out with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 15 innings and five and one-half hours Monday night, Arizona needed considerable less time to vanquish the visitors from SoCal.
On Monday night, the picked on closer Kenley Jansen for three to knot matters in the bottom of the ninth and then squeezed the win in the 15th. This time, they picked on Cy Young award-winner Clayton Kershaw, and a pair of left-handed hitters set the tone in the eventual 6-1 victory over the Dodgers before 27,574 in Chase Field.
Solo homers from left-handed hitters Daniel Descalso in the second and David Peralta in the third paced the offense, and starter Zack Godley proceeded to take matters into his own hand. After the marathon of Monday night, a sense of relief permeated through the Arizona clubhouse and prompted manager Torey Lovullo to tell Call to the Pen that Godley gave his club the lift they needed after the epic journey of Monday night.
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Given leads of 1-0 and 2-1, Godley worked a tenacious seven innings and held the Dodgers to four hits and one run. With an efficiency of pitches, Godley finished with 96 pitches and 58 for strikes. Of the final seven hitters faced, Godley threw a first-pitch to six hitters. Afterward, he told Call to the Pen the working of his defense allowed those in the field to shorten innings.
"“My defense played really well and (catcher John Ryan Murphy) called a great game,” he said. “The guys behind me and in front of me played unbelievable defense. Just kept the ball down and let my defense do what they do best.”"
Godley battled Kershaw for seven dramatic innings and held a 2-1 lead into the seventh. That’s when the Diamondbacks capitalized on the wildness of L. A. relievers Scott Alexander and Pedro Baez and scored three runs. In that inning, Ketal Marte, Paul Goldschmidt, and A. J. Pollock each walked with the base loaded and solidified the win.
With two left-handed hitters doing the damage against Kershaw, Descalso told Call to the Pen that the essential goal of the Diamondbacks is to break out of the gate with purpose and fury.
"“You want to get off to a good start and the momentum we had last year at the start of the season carried us to a good first month,” he said. “You definitely want to get off to a fast start and opposed to not playing well in the first couple of series. So, we’re happy with the way things have gone so far.”"
On the DL …
An MRI to Arizona Diamondbacks’ third baseman Jake Lamb’s left shoulder on Tuesday revealed an AC joint sprain, and that requires rest. As a result, the club placed Lamb on the 10-day disabled list and recalled right-hander Matt Koch from Triple-A Reno.
In the Diamondbacks’ marathon win Monday night, Lamb experienced two collisions which likely exacerbated his injury. First, he drove to his left and into foul territory to grab a liner off the bat of Cody Bellinger in the ninth inning. Then, Lamb slid hard into the plate in the 15th to score the tying run on a double from Nick Ahmed.
When Lamb woke up Tuesday morning, he reported discomfort and quickly underwent that MRI. Before Tuesday’s game with the Dodgers in Chase Field, manager Torey Lovullo told Call to the Pen that placing Lamb on the DL was medically necessary.
"“We think 10-days is fine in Jake’s case,” Lovullo said. “No, this is not a 30-day situation. He goes hard on every day and that is an example of the toughness of this team.”"
Because of the grueling contest Monday night, Lovullo, and GM Mike Hazen decided to go with another pitcher as opposed to a position player for Lamb’s spot on the roster. The call for Koch, who came over from the Mets in a deal for reliever Addison Redd in August 2015, was to place another arm in the bullpen.
Elsewhere … Lovullo reported that outfielder Steven Souza, Jr. is now hitting in the cage and throwing at 120 feet. The aim is for Souza is to build arm strength and endurance and not necessarily throw the ball at a particular distance. Souza is still weeks away from returning to the line-up and remains on the DL with a right pectoral strain.
Going forward …
The first homestand of the season concludes with a Wednesday afternoon game against the Dodgers. A pair of lefties, Patrick Corbin for Arizona and Alex Wood for L. A. get the nod.
Then, it’s the initial road trip of the season. This segment opens in St. Louis on Thursday for the Cardinals home opener. Robbie Ray gets his second start of the season for the Diamondbacks and will encounter right-hander Michael Wacha. The series continues with day games on Saturday and Sunday.
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This trip also stops for three in San Francisco with the Giants and concludes in Dodger Stadium for three with the Los Angeles Dodgers.