PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks led San Diego for 20 out of 29 innings played over a three-game series at Chase Field, and yet the Padres secured two clutch victories to steal the series.
San Diego took the lead with two runs in the ninth inning on Wednesday for a 3-2 victory.
The Diamondbacks (54-61) grabbed the lead on a first-inning solo shot from Corbin Carroll off San Diego southpaw Nestor Cortes and held on through the first eight frames.
My Shayla pic.twitter.com/t1e6mOjtix
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 7, 2025
The D-backs do not have a closer, and placing Kevin Ginkel on the 60-day injured list took away an option with some experience back there.
Kyle Backhus, after earning a six-out save on Monday and recording the final two outs of the eighth inning on Wednesday, blew the save in the ninth on a Ryan O’Hearn game-tying homer. Jose Iglesias hit the go-ahead single.
“It was one good thing after another that kept a very offensive team down until that final inning, and that was the backbreaker,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “That hurts. That’s a little bit of a gut punch.”
Arizona’s offense, after having scored at least five runs in four straight games, was held to four hits and did not score after the second inning.
Mason Miller locked down the save for San Diego after giving up a game-tying, two-run homer to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on Tuesday. Miller got the better of Gurriel in Round 2, striking him out.
The bullpen juxtaposition in this series was obvious, as San Diego ran out six All-Star caliber relievers while the Diamondbacks have had to elevate their available arms to higher leverage.
Battling San Diego in tight games with that sort of mismatch was going to be difficult, which put the onus on the offense to help create a buffer earlier in games.
The Diamondbacks also continued to make mistakes on the margins.
James McCann was thrown out trying to reach third base on a fly out to end the seventh inning, which kept Ketel Marte from coming up to bat in a run-scoring opportunity. The Diamondbacks want to be more aggressive on the bases and play a faster brand of baseball, but Lovullo has stressed doing so in a smart manner.
Third baseman Blaze Alexander booted a potential inning-ending double play grounder in the eighth, which brought Backhus into the game earlier than anticipated. Alexander made a heck of a play soon after as the D-backs held onto the lead, but his error created the unanswerable question of would Backhus have closed this game with just one clean inning to worry about.
Blaze Alexander made a crazy play at third where the runner was originally ruled safe but the call was later overturned pic.twitter.com/m5GMBninmE
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 7, 2025
“We’ve been making some mistakes on the bases,” Lovullo said. “I talked to you guys about our potential for being a little bit more aggressive and playing that style of baseball because we’re getting a little more athletic.
“With Ketel coming up, that’s the right spot for him to sit still. … Those are the margins, that’s what I’m talking about. … We turn a double play to end the eighth, I think we’re in a different space in the ninth inning.”
Corbin Carroll passes home run total from 2024
Carroll jumped on an 0-2 cookie from Cortes for his 23rd home run of the season, which passed his total from last year in 60 fewer games.
The ball traveled a projected 443 feet, his farthest home run since 2023.
Carroll’s career high is 25 from his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2023, and he is on pace to blow past that and reach 30 for the first time.
Anthony DeSclafani has much better outing
D-backs starter Anthony DeSclafani bounced back from a rocky start in Sacramento last Friday (2.1 IP, 4 ER), as he shut out the Padres through 4.1 innings pitched. The veteran allowed only three hits and did not walk a batter, efficiently getting through four innings while on a pitch count.
The D-backs turned to the bullpen with one out in the fifth, as DeSclafani had thrown a season high 71 pitches (70 was his hard count).
From there, the Diamondbacks had to piece the game together with Jalen Beeks, John Curtiss, Jake Woodford and Backhus. Having lost an 11-inning game on Tuesday, the D-backs had to work with a taxed bullpen.
With the series win, the Padres moved to two games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West race.
Up next for the Diamondbacks
The D-backs get Thursday off before picking it back up on Friday against the visiting Colorado Rockies. Arizona is 4-2 this season against Colorado.
The 30-84 Rockies are coming off a series in which they were outscored 45-6 across three games against Toronto.
Zac Gallen will start on Friday for the D-backs, while left-hander Austin Gomber (6.18 ERA) will toe the rubber for Colorado.
Catch the game on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
