Diamondbacks Hang on for Crucial Victory over Cubs

Gabi Moreno and Alek Thomas of the Diamondbacks celebrating Thomas' three-run homer against the Cubs

Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images

September 15, 2023

Diamondbacks 6, Cubs 4

PHOENIX, Sep. 15 — The Arizona Diamondbacks hit two three-run home runs off NL Cy Young candidate Justin Steele, taking a 6–0 lead into the top of the ninth and hanging on for a crucial 6–4 victory over the Chicago Cubs Friday night in a matchup of NL Wild Card contenders. Gabriel Moreno went 4-for-4 with a double and a run scored, the first Diamondbacks catcher to go 4-for-4 in a game in 17 years.

Starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings for the Diamondbacks before giving way to Andrew Saalfrank, who pitched the final two outs of the sixth. Manager Torey Lovullo said Pfaadt was “pounding the zone. It looked like he had a good sinker, four-seamer, with a sweeper combination. (He) had a couple of big swing-and-miss moments in some very key at-bats.” Lovullo added that Pfaadt looked like he was in “total control throughout the course of his outing.”

Diamondbacks Take Lead over Cubs

Cubs center fielder Mike Tauchman led off the game with a high blooper to shallow left-center, the ball dropping in the Bermuda Triangle for a single off Pfaadt. After a fly to left by second baseman Nico Hoerner, left fielder Ian Happ grounded into a double play, shortstop unassisted to first. Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte led off the bottom half with a single up the middle, advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by right fielder Corbin Carroll and to third on a grounder to the pitcher by designated hitter Tommy Pham. First baseman Christian Walker drew a walk to put runners on the corners for left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. On the first pitch, Gurriel blasted a towering fly to left, a 413-foot bomb into the left-field seats for a three-run homer.

The Diamondbacks doubled their lead in the bottom of the sixth. A leadoff walk by Walker and two-out single to right by Moreno put runners on the corners for center fielder Alek Thomas. Thomas, at this point, was 8-for-68 (.118) against left-handed pitching with a double, a homer, and 21 strikeouts. But Thomas smoked a liner to deep right that kept carrying and carrying, settling into the seats for the second Diamondbacks three-run homer of the game.

Cubs Make It Interesting in Ninth

The Diamondbacks carried their 6–0 lead into the top of the ninth. Kyle Nelson entered the game in a mop-up role but struggled. Happ welcomed him with a loud homer to left, ending the shutout bid. First baseman and Phoenix-area native Cody Bellinger walked before shortstop Dansby Swanson struck out. When designated hitter Seiya Suzuki hit a two-run homer to left, the score became 6–3 and Lovullo pulled a frustrated Nelson.

In came closer Paul Sewald in a non-save situation. He also coughed up a dinger, a shot to left by right fielder Christopher Morel. But Sewald settled down, retiring catcher Yan Gomes on a liner to center and third baseman Nick Madrigal on a popup to short for the game-ending out.

Special Day for Moreno

As mentioned earlier, Moreno went 4-for-4, the first Diamondbacks catcher to do so in 17 years. That catcher was Johnny Estrada, and the game was June 5, 2006, against the Philadelphia Phillies. Lovullo said of Moreno, “Putting Gabi in back of the plate is one thing, it’s catch-release, the ability to control the game from a game-planning standpoint. He just continues to grow and check boxes in that area. And then it’s an unbelievable approach today that led to four hits.”

Lovullo later added, “Getting those four knocks today was a great day for him. He was right in the middle of everything. Without him, obviously, we wouldn’t have scored as many runs as we did.”

Looking Ahead

Pfaadt (2–8) earned the win, while Steele (16–4) took the loss. There was no save. The Diamondbacks (77–72) and Cubs (78–70) link up again Saturday for the second game in the three-game series. It will be a matchup of right-handers, Zach Davies (2–5, 6.81 ERA) for the Diamondbacks and Kyle Hendricks (6–7, 3.71 ERA) for the Cubs. First pitch will be at 5:10 pm Arizona Time/7:10 pm Central.