Arizona kept scoring, but could not make a lead last

For a moment in the fourth inning, the Arizona Diamondbacks had turned the night around. James McCann’s two-run homer brought home Pavin Smith and put Arizona ahead 4-3 at Petco Park, a promising response after San Diego had taken the lead twice in the opening three innings.

The Padres answered before the inning was over, and they kept answering long after that. San Diego defeated Arizona 10-7 on Saturday, scoring in four consecutive innings from the third through the sixth. The Diamondbacks’ three-run ninth-inning rally deserved its credit, but it arrived after San Diego had already scored seven runs following McCann’s homer and built a 10-4 advantage.

The lead changed hands quickly

McCann’s homer came after Corbin Carroll struck out, Nolan Arenado was hit by a pitch and Smith reached on a force out. That sequence left Arizona with one runner aboard and two outs, and McCann supplied the swing that restored the Diamondbacks’ lead.

San Diego’s response required traffic first. Ethan Salas singled to open the bottom of the fourth, Fernando Tatis Jr. walked, and Dustin Harris popped up a bunt for the first out. Manny Machado then hit his 30th home run of the season, sending a three-run shot to right field that scored Salas and Tatis.

In the space of one inning, Arizona went from leading 4-3 to trailing 6-4.

Machado’s home run wiped out the benefit of McCann’s immediately. Arizona’s pitching had a fresh lead to protect, then allowed the first two hitters of the inning to reach before recording an out. The Diamondbacks had put themselves in position to win with one swing and lost that position with another.

Xander Bogaerts added a solo homer with one out in the fifth. Jake Cronenworth then doubled, Salas singled him to third and Tatis grounded out, allowing Cronenworth to score. San Diego had turned a 6-4 lead into 8-4 without needing another big fly from the middle of its order.

The sixth inning supplied another example of the same pressure. Jackson Merrill singled, Ty France followed with another single, and Bogaerts walked to load the bases with two outs. Cronenworth’s ground-ball single scored Merrill and France, pushing the Padres’ lead to 10-4. That was a two-run hit after San Diego had already forced Arizona to navigate a crowded inning.

San Diego finished with 13 hits and four walks, while Arizona’s pitching staff recorded six strikeouts. The more relevant comparison was how often the Padres created scoring opportunities: they had runners on base in each of those productive innings and turned them into nine runs from the third through the sixth.

Arizona’s own offense collected 10 hits, but the Padres’ middle innings kept adding distance faster than the Diamondbacks could respond.

Arizona’s last chance

Arizona did make the final inning uncomfortable. Tim Tawa opened the ninth with a single against Mason Miller, Lars Nootbaar walked and Ketel Marte singled, loading the bases with nobody out. Adrian Del Castillo struck out, but Geraldo Perdomo walked to force in Tawa.

Carroll’s force out brought home Nootbaar, and Nolan Arenado’s single scored Marte. The three-run rally cut the deficit to 10-7 without a home run, and it reflected genuine late execution. Tawa finished 3-for-4, Marte went 2-for-5 with a double, and Arenado reached three times through a hit, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

Ildemaro Vargas then struck out, leaving Carroll and Arenado aboard and ending the game. Arizona was held scoreless in the seventh and eighth, while San Diego had already used the third through sixth innings to turn a one-run game into a six-run gap. Arizona had brought the potential tying run to the plate in Vargas, but the rally stopped three runs short.

McCann gave Arizona the lead it needed in the fourth. Machado and the Padres’ sustained contact made sure it could not keep it.

Sources

Official game data

Official game box score