Diamondbacks Clobber Athletics

James McCann of the Diamondbacks running out a home run against the Athletics. This home run was the 100th of his career.

Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images

July 22, 2026

Diamondbacks 15, Athletics 5

PHOENIX (July 22) — A 14-run outburst in the middle innings, highlighted by five home runs, led the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 15–5 blowout victory over the Athletics Wednesday afternoon in front of 19,343 at Chase Field.

Athletics – Diamondbacks Game Summary

The Athletics opened the scoring in the top of the third against veteran Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly. It came on an RBI groundout to second by Tyler Soderstrom with runners on the corners. Corbin Carroll tied the game when he led off the bottom of the fourth with a second-row homer to left off Athletics starter Gage Jump. Two batters later, Nolan Arenado clubbed a no-doubt homer to left, giving the Diamondbacks a 2–1 lead.

In the top of the fifth, Jeff McNeil — three pitches after going down in a heap due to fouling one off his knee — hit a towering no-doubt homer down the right-field line to tie the game at 2–2. Ketel Marte led off the bottom half with a double and advanced to third on a groundout. With two out and a 1–2 count to Gabriel Moreno, Jump threw a wild pitch that plated Marte. One pitch later, Moreno belted a loud homer to the picnic overhang in left-center, giving the Diamondbacks a 4–2 lead. A walk and an Ildemaro Vargas double later, the score became 5–2, and Jump got the hook.

Jump spoke frankly of that sequence when asked about it after the game. “Didn’t execute. The curveball got away from me a little bit, then I threw a middle-middle fastball. Pretty embarrassing.”

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay added, “He was one pitch away from getting out of the fifth inning. and it seemed like the backup breaking ball in that Morales at-bat (the wild pitch) somehow got him out of whack. It led to him not being able to command the baseball.”

Game Gets Out of Hand

In came Yunior Tur to try to stop the bleeding, but it poured gasoline on the fire. James McCann welcomed him with a two-run homer. After a Tim Tawa single, Ryan Waldschmidt joined the home run derby. That two-run shot made the score 9–2, and the rout was on.

The Diamondbacks added five more in the bottom of the sixth. It began when a Tur wild pitch allowed Carroll to score the tying run from third. Three walks followed. After an RBI single by McCann ended Tur’s afternoon, Tim Tawa welcomed reliever Hayden Juenger to the game with a two-run double. A Waldschmidt sacrifice fly capped it off, making the score 14–2.

A Jonah Heim single in the seventh made it 14–3, but the Diamondbacks got that run back in the eighth with a Tyler Locklear single.

Lawrence Butler hit an RBI single off position pitcher Ildemaro Vargas in the ninth. Alika Williams hit a sacrifice fly off Vargas, also. These gave the Athletics another pair of consolation runs, making the final score 15–5.

What Went Right for the Athletics

The First Three and Last Three Innings

The Athletics outscored the Diamondbacks 5–1 in the first through third and seventh through ninth innings.

What Went Wrong for the Athletics

The Middle Three Innings

But unfortunately for the Athletics, baseball has nine innings, and the middle three innings were nightmarish. The Diamondbacks scored 14 runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth against the combination of Jump, Tur, and Juenger. During that span, they sent 30 hitters to the plate. Twelve of the thirty got a hit, five of which were home runs. A further six walked.

Kotsay noted the point where everything unraveled. “One of the things with young starters that I’ve noticed, obviously having a lot of young pitching over the last four years, is the inconsistency of their ability to repeat a pitch,” he said. He further clarified with “to have consistent movement with pitches.” Then he added, “Not only does it impact their ability to command and to execute, but it also impacts the catching ability. We were seeing a Gold Glove catcher (Heim) have trouble with Jump today, and I think that’s it — the inconsistent ability to repeat a pitch with the same type of spin, the same movement, and be able to locate to the glove.”

Double Plays for the Third Out

The Athletics had run-scoring opportunities — both with one out — get erased by a ground-ball double play. One came in the first, with runners on first and second. The other came in the sixth, with a runner on first.

Kelly’s Changeup

Kelly held the Athletics to two runs on five hits across five innings. He walked one and struck out three. “We were having trouble with his changeup,” Kotsay said after the game.

Game Got Away from Them

Kotsay added, however, that they still were very much in the game until the fifth inning. “We had his pitch count up,” he said, “and we were going to get into their bullpen. (They) were in a similar situation that they had guys taxed, but unfortunately, the game got away from us.”

Quick Hits

McCann’s home run was the 100th of his career. According to Stathead, McCann is the 83rd primary catcher (min. 80% of career games at that position) to reach that milestone. The all-time leader at the position is Mike Piazza (427). He is followed by Johnny Bench (389) and Carlton Fisk (376). All three are in the Hall of Fame.

Prior to the game, the Athletics placed starting pitcher J.T. Ginn on the 15-day injured list with a right middle finger blister. It was retroactive to July 18. This adds to the two players the Athletics had to add to the injured list Tuesday, reliever Mark Leiter Jr. (right hip impingement) and hot-hitting rookie infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (ruptured testicle). The Athletics now have a season-high 11 players on the injured list.

Looking Ahead

Kelly (8–8) earned the win as Jump (3–6) took the loss.

The Athletics (43–59) will continue their road trip as the Diamondbacks (53–49) embark on a long one. After a Thursday off-day for travel, the Athletics will begin a three-game series Friday in Minneapolis against the Minnesota Twins. Athletics left-hander Jacob Lopez (4–4, 6.64 ERA) will face Twins right-hander Zebby Matthews (4–7, 5.40 ERA) in the first game. First pitch will be at 5:10 pm Pacific.

The Diamondbacks will begin their four-city, ten-game trip with a make-up game Thursday afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals. It will be a battle of right-handers — Brandon Pfaadt (4–1, 4.58 ERA) of the Diamondbacks against Michael McGreevy (4–7, 2.92 ERA) of the Cardinals. First pitch will be at 2:15 pm Arizona Time.