A pair of left-handers were trading zeros at Chase Field until Blaze Alexander drove in Randal Grickuk for the only run through five innings, and the Diamondbacks lead the Houston Astros 1-0 Tuesday night, July 22.

Diamondbacks lefty Eduardo Rodriguez and Astros lefty Framber Valdez have been strong.

Rodriguez has had to work out of several jams — he has allowed at least one baserunner in four of his five innings — but has held the Astros hitless in six at-bats with a runner in scoring position.

Valdez has had less traffic but has also had to get out of trouble. The Diamondbacks recorded one-out doubles in each of the first two innings, but Valdez got back-to-back ground-ball outs from the next two batters to escape both frames.

One more double, by Grichuk leading off the fifth, started the Diamondbacks’ rally. After a bunt single from Geraldo Perdomo, Alexander’s groundout scored Grichuk.

Valdez finished the inning and has allowed four hits while striking out two.

The game carries added significance for the Diamondbacks, who are trying not just to even their series against the Astros but also stave off a possible sell scenario at the trade deadline.

—Nick Piecoro

Key relievers working toward return

The news that left-handed reliever Jalen Beeks felt good after he threw a 31-pitch bullpen session on Tuesday, July 22, was among several updates on injured Diamondbacks players from manager Torey Lovullo.

Beeks (15-day injured list, lower back inflammation) is set to throw to live hitters July 25, when the Diamondbacks will be in Pittsburgh to play the Pirates.

Right-handed reliever Shelby Miller also threw a 16-pitch live session July 22, and said his arm felt good, though he did feel some lower back tightness.

“Just some rest and a little bit of treatment right now,” Lovullo said when asked about the severity of Miller’s back issue. Miller on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm strain.

Catcher Gabriel Moreno caught bullpen sessions at Chase Field on July 22, but he is still not cleared for more baseball activities as he comes back from a fractured right hand that has landed him on the 60-day injured list since July 18.

“Corbin Carroll (hit in hand by pitch, missed 2 ½ weeks) is still playing with a broken hand,” Lovullo said. “It’s all about pain tolerance. The frustration of everything involving Gabi (Moreno) for me is built around the way the game (in Cincinnati, where Moreno was injured) was played.

“It was a complete downpour, the ball skipped off home plate or around home plate and didn’t take its normal bounce and got him in a spot that maybe wouldn’t have happened if it was a normal day.”

Moreno is not eligible to return until mid-August.

First baseman/DH Pavin Smith (10-day injured list, strained right oblique) swung the bat and took some ground balls, and infielder Ildemaro Vargas (10-day, broken foot) swung off a tee and hit flipped balls along with taking ground balls.

-José M. Romero

Wildcats’ night at Chase Field

The Diamondbacks hosted University of Arizona Night at Chase Field on July 22, where the entire Wildcats football team took the field to be recognized, four players sang the national anthem in good harmony and quarterback Noah Fifita threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Fifita was a guest on the Diamondbacks’ TV broadcast pregame show, and among those who joined him on the mound was wide receiver Tre Spivey, who transferred to Tucson from Kansas State. Spivey, from Chandler, is the son of former Diamondbacks infielder Junior Spivey.

Diamondbacks relief pitcher Kevin Ginkel, who played at Arizona, caught Fifita’s pitch.

-José M. Romero

Special day for NIKE RBI youth players

The Diamondbacks and All-Star Corbin Carroll gave the organization’s NIKE RBI baseball and softball teams a grand sendoff on July 22, surprising the high school-aged players with new purple-and-teal City Connect jerseys and Nike gear.

In what has become an annual tradition with Carroll and the RBI program for inner-city baseball and softball players, the girls and boys were told they’d be at Chase Field to watch batting practice from near the dugout. They did that, after walking into an auxiliary locker room full of stalls bearing their names and personalized jerseys, cleats, backpacks and more.

The teams, with players from 12 high schools across Arizona, play a regional RBI tournament in Seattle July 25-27.

The Diamondbacks’ two Nike RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) All-Star teams were selected through the Diamondbacks Baseball Academy’s summer league, supported by the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation, which gives student-athletes from underserved communities the chance to play on major league fields and compete at a higher level.

Just-graduated Laveen Cesar Chavez High catcher Adolfo Pacheco is in the RBI program for the fourth year. This year’s teams include athletes from Glendale Apollo, Phoenix Alhambra, Carl Hayden, Maryvale, South Mountain, Trevor Browne, San Luis, Tucson, Tucson Sunnyside, Yuma and Yuma Kofa high schools.

After Diamondbacks batting practice, the players got autographs from, and photos with, Carroll, outfielder Alek Thomas and Lovullo, as well as Astros players Mauricio Dubón and José Altuve.

-José M. Romero

Astros at Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m., Ch. 34

Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-6, 5.94) vs. Astros LHP Framber Valdez (10-4, 2.75).

At Chase Field: Rodriguez hasn’t pitched since a loss on July 10 in San Diego, and in his start before that, he gave up eight earned runs in 4â…“ innings at home against the Kansas City Royals. He’s given up five home runs in his past two starts and hasn’t won a game in almost a month, but has 90 strikeouts to 29 walks on the season. Rodriguez is just 1-7 with a 7.51 ERA in 11 career starts against the Astros. Valdez, an All-Star this year, gets his first start out of the break and has had three outings without an earned run allowed over his past five starts. On May 3, he was 1-4 with a 4.39 ERA. Since then, Valdez has not lost a game. He’ll be making the third start of his career against Arizona.

Coming up

July 23: At Chase Field, 12:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (10-6, 4.82) vs. Astros LHP Brandon Walter (1-3, 3.66).

July 24: Off day.

July 25: At PNC Park, 3:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (6-2, 3.52) vs. Pirates RHP Mike Burrows (1-3, 4.70).

July 26: At PNC Park, 3:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (9-5, 3.32) vs. Pirates LHP Andrew Heaney (4-9, 5.03).

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

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