{"id":664006,"date":"2026-04-05T04:25:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T04:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/664006\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T04:25:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T04:25:09","slug":"michael-soroka-gives-diamondbacks-another-strong-impression-in-win-over-braves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/664006\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Soroka gives Diamondbacks another strong impression in win over Braves"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX \u2014 Michael Soroka was not quite as sharp on Saturday as he was in his Arizona Diamondbacks debut<\/a> on Monday, but he remained effective to earn another victory for his new team.<\/p>\n

Soroka fought through five innings with one earned run against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, capping his first homestand at Chase Field with 10 innings pitched, one earned run and 13 strikeouts.<\/p>\n

He walked three batters in the first three innings but made enough pitches to hold the Braves to 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. The one RBI knock, a single from Dom Smith, was on a pitch out of the strike zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we fell behind a little more than we would have liked,\u00a0but (catcher Gabriel Moreno) and I made some good decisions with some pitches late in counts, good pitches with guys in scoring position, let the defense work and got the win,\u201d Soroka said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve competed as well as I could have hoped.\u00a0I think that\u2019s the big thing. You\u2019re not going to have everything working on every day,\u00a0and obviously the finish on pitches was a little bit better last time out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryne Nelson (2022) is the only other pitcher in club history to strike out 13 batters with one or no earned runs in his first 10 innings with the Diamondbacks, per Stathead<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The D-backs leaned on pitching and defense through the two-hour, 14-minute game. Three of Arizona\u2019s last four games lasted less than two hours and 20 minutes, an indication of mostly solid pitching aside from Thursday and very little offensive help.<\/p>\n

The bullpen tossed four perfect innings on Saturday, with Paul Sewald bouncing back from Friday\u2019s loss with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.<\/p>\n

Both teams combined for eight hits, and an error from Atlanta made the difference.<\/p>\n

After singles from Moreno and Nolan Arenado in the second inning, Jose Fernandez \u2014 in his third career start \u2014 dropped a bunt down the third-base line.<\/p>\n

Fernandez would likely have been safe anyway, but Braves starter Bryce Elder\u2019s throw got by first baseman Matt Olson, scoring both runners. Arenado ran through a stop sign, thrown up given the arm strength of Braves right fielder Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr., but Arenado scored without a throw.<\/p>\n

What can’t Jose Fernandez do? pic.twitter.com\/AU8pNdhY0V<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) April 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew he had it in\u00a0his game,\u201d manager Torey Lovullo said of Fernandez. \u201cJust alert, knew the third baseman was back, turns into two runs and\u00a0that\u2019s the difference in the ballgame. So this was a much-needed win\u00a0after a couple tough losses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elder was otherwise great, throwing seven innings without an earned run, but the Diamondbacks\u2019 defense put together another strong team performance to back the pitching staff that only struck out seven hitters.<\/p>\n

Alek Thomas bumped into the center field wall to take a hit away in the second inning. Moreno threw out Acu\u00f1a stealing. Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo nearly made a diving catch, but the ball hit by Mauricio Dubon went through (or made) a hole in Perdomo\u2019s glove.<\/p>\n

Mauricio Dub\u00f3n hit the ball so hard, he broke Geraldo Perdomo’s glove! \ud83d\ude31<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa: FOX pic.twitter.com\/Err3ZfNlIF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Paul Sewald bounces back for Diamondbacks<\/p>\n

Taylor Clarke, Jonathan Loaisiga and Juan Morillo bridged the gap to Sewald, who entered the game after giving up back-to-back home runs in Friday\u2019s 2-0 loss.<\/p>\n

For Sewald, this was best-case scenario.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you pitch bad, the thing you want most is to get in there right away to get that out,\u201d Sewald said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing worse than pitching poorly and then waiting four or five days to try to get back in there.\u00a0So, I feel great about bounce back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sewald had to face Ozzie Albies, who hit the first home run on Friday, again. Albies went deep on a Sewald fastball, so this time, Sewald threw sweepers on seven of eight pitches in the at-bat. It worked, as Albies struck out.<\/p>\n

Sewald\u2019s fastball velocity was noticeably down on Friday but shot back up to 92.3 mph on average Saturday.<\/p>\n

He is 3-for-3 in save opportunities.<\/p>\n

The Diamondbacks\u2019 offense got very little going beyond the one inning, as Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll and Perdomo atop the order combined 0-for-8 with three strikeouts and a double play.<\/p>\n

Moreno was the standout with two hits, while Fernandez showed some confidence and wherewithal to drop the bunt down on his own.<\/p>\n

The Diamondbacks have scored five runs in the last four games.<\/p>\n

What next for Michael Soroka and Merrill Kelly?<\/p>\n

Merrill Kelly threw 72 pitches in five shutout innings for Triple-A Reno in a rehab start on Friday night. On Saturday, Lovullo said Kelly came out of it feeling good. Kelly is eligible to come off the injured list on Wednesday against the New York Mets.<\/p>\n

The Diamondbacks have a five-man rotation without Kelly, and Soroka has bullpen experience. But he and Eduardo Rodriguez in particular have been as good as what could have been imagined to start the season. A tough choice has to be made soon.<\/p>\n

Lovullo said a decision had not been made as of pregame on Saturday but that the situation was being discussed in another room at that very moment. After the game, Lovullo said he could provide an update on Kelly on Sunday, so this is a developing story for Arizona.<\/p>\n

The Diamondbacks wrap up their series with Atlanta on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. MST with Brandon Pfaadt pitching for Arizona.<\/p>\n

Follow @alexjweiner<\/a><\/p>\n

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