PHOENIX -- These are the games that make Diamondbacks officials shake their heads and wonder how their season got to the point where they are barely hanging on in the NL Wild Card race.
The Diamondbacks opened the second half of the season Friday night intent on trying to show their GM Mike Hazen that he should be a buyer and not a seller come the Trade Deadline in two weeks.
They got an outstanding pitching performance from Brandon Pfaadt, the offense was relentless, they made plays defensively and played good, fundamental baseball.
The result was a 7-3 win over the Cardinals.
“I know baseball is a hard game, and it's not always clean, it's not always easy,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “And as long as the effort is there and the guys go out and play focused baseball, I'm always pleased.
“Sometimes I think we get a little lackadaisical. And today was one of those days where I think we were inspired, we were rested, and we came out and played the type of game that I'd expect us to. So, when they come out and tease me with this, and inspire me, that's what my standard is, and I know I'm going to continue to hold them to that.”
At 48-50 and 5 1/2 games back of the final NL Wild Card spot, the Diamondbacks are still alive in the race, but with four teams in front of them, including the Cardinals, that makes the road that much harder.
And with time ticking toward the Deadline, Hazen will need to make a decision soon which direction to head.
Injuries have been a huge factor in the Diamondbacks’ struggles to this point, but they aren’t the whole story. Sloppy play, which has not been an issue for them since 2021, has also been a factor.
Friday, they showed their skills on defense with center fielder Alek Thomas running down a ball in the gap and catching it as he crashed into the wall. Right fielder Corbin Carroll covered a lot of ground to catch another ball at the wall.
“The dugout erupted,” Lovullo said of Thomas’ catch. “It was just a great catch with awareness of where he was on the warning track, the space that he had. It was a typical Alek play, and I was really happy he made it, obviously.”
Pfaadt has now put together back-to-back gems. Last time out against the Padres, he gave up two runs over a career-high eight innings, and this time he allowed just four hits and did not walk a batter while striking out six.
“This was Brandon Pfaadt’s day,” Lovullo said.
Now, the Diamondbacks have to find a way to string together some wins. Friday night was great, but not if it’s just a one-off and they go back to hovering around the .500 mark.
“I was really proud of the way we responded to some of the questions of if we were going to be ready coming out of the All-Star break,” Lovullo said. “We won a game in a way that I would expect us to. Picked up the baseball, we had really good pitching, we had timely hitting, built innings, and we just kept coming. We’ve got to continue that fight every single day.”