PHOENIX -- Gabriel Moreno continues to torment the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The ongoing series has reached its third season.
Moreno’s grand slam off Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the fourth inning of the D-backs’ 5-3 victory Thursday was his first homer of the season, but it was the latest in a long line of decisive strikes against the Dodgers in his three years in Arizona.
Moreno is batting .344 (22-for-64) with three homers and 16 RBIs in 18 regular-season games against the Dodgers since joining the Diamondbacks in a trade with Tornoto before the 2023 season. His postseason stats that year stand out, also.
Careers are long and memories are longer. Moreno was not about to rock the boat.
“Teamwork is how you win the games,” Moreno said through interpreter Alex Arpisa. “The defense was great today. I hit a home run today. The entire team chips in.”
“We have faced each other a lot, so I’m just thankful I am able to have good moments against them,” he added.
Brandon Pfaadt was the beneficiary in the opener of the four-game series -- the D-backs’ first meeting with a National League West rival this year, in Game 38.
Pfaadt (6-2) pitched 6 1/3 innings for his NL-leading sixth victory. He gave up four hits, all singles, and three walks with six strikeouts. Combined with a series of strong defensive plays he lowered his ERA to 3.28.
“We talk about playing a pretty complete baseball game,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “That’s what does it for me.”
The D-backs are the last team to beat the Dodgers in a postseason series, and Moreno had a lot to do with it. He played a decisive role in Arizona’s three-game sweep in the 2023 NL Division Series with homers in Games 1 and 3.
Moreno’s three-run homer off Clayton Kershaw was the big blow in a six-run first inning of the 11-2 victory in Game 1, and he was the last of four D-backs to homer off Lance Lynn in the third inning of the clinching 4-2 victory in Game 3 that sent them to the NL Championship Series against Philadelphia.
This time, he went opposite field in the fourth inning for a 4-0 lead against Yamamoto, the best pitcher in the NL through the first five weeks of the season.
The D-backs gradually built their big inning -- teamwork, remember.
Pavin Smith turned a seven-pitch at-bat into a walk, fouling off a 3-2 curveball before taking another curve just off the plate. Josh Naylor reached on an infield single over second base that Mookie Betts dove for but could not make a play on. Eugenio Suárez was hit on a 0-2 pitch that was too far inside, and the D-backs had the bases loaded without getting a ball out of the field.
That changed with Moreno. He excels at driving the ball to right and right-center field -- six of his previous 13 career homers have gone to right of straightaway center -- and that’s what he did again.
“It is one of my strengths,” he said of his ability to wait on the ball and hit it the other way.
Moreno drove a 2-0 cutter a Statcast-projected 377 feet over the fence in right-center, giving Pfaadt all the runs he would need.
“We built an inning against a very tough, stubborn pitcher who has been dealing lately,” Lovullo said, “and once you build it, you have to have the right guys come up.
“With Gabriel, an unbelievable approach with a line-drive home run over the right-center-field wall. That tells you that your swing is tight. You don’t hit balls out there by accident. You don’t hit it that well opposite field against traffic like that. It was really nice to see him get off on the pitch he was looking for and do some damage on it.”
Pfaadt, who has made six of his eight starts with Moreno behind the plate, said, “The player of the game was Gabi, not only behind the plate but with his grand slam. It set the tone for us, and we were able to roll from there.”
Moreno was just as complimentary.
“Tremendous job from Brandon,” Moreno said. “His location was great. Everywhere I asked for the ball, the pitch was there. All credit for him. I saw it from the moment we were in the bullpen. I said, ‘Let’s go with our strengths and attack.’”
Moreno and the D-backs made it work on both sides of the ball.