Arenado's right at home, starts Diamondbacks game-winning rally in 9th

ST. LOUIS — The Diamondbacks’ Nolan Arenado might have delivered a ninth-inning, go-ahead double in his first series back in this city following a five-year run, but he said it wasn’t a moment accompanied by feelings of retribution. You can’t get revenge when you were never wronged.

Arenado might not have felt that, but he sure felt something.

“It could be a hit off my mom,” he said, smiling. “If we’re taking the lead, I’m frickin’ stoked. It doesn’t matter who it’s against, I’m just happy to come through.”

Arenado was one of several Diamondbacks to come through in their 4-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night, June 23, at Busch Stadium. For a change, there were almost too many to mention.

There was Eduardo Rodriguez, who delivered another excellent start. There was Pavin Smith, whose 10-pitch walk preceded Arenado’s double, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who followed with a two-run single. There was Jorge Barrosa, whose dirt-ball read led to a key insurance run.

And then there was Brandyn Garcia, who bailed out closer Paul Sewald in the ninth to record the final out of the game.

“It was a great win for this team,” manager Torey Lovullo said.

Of course, the D-backs could have won in the ugliest fashion imaginable, and Lovullo probably would have said the same thing. And no one would have blamed him, considering the way things were going.

The win snapped a three-game losing skid for the Diamondbacks, pulling their record back over .500 at 40-39.

For eight innings, it didn’t feel like a game the D-backs would be celebrating.

When Arenado came to the plate with runners on first and second and one out in the ninth, the game was still scoreless, in part, because Arizona was 0 for 9 with men in scoring position. Counting the previous two days, it was 1 for their past 25 in those situations.

They had twice blown scoring opportunities early in the game. Ketel Marte and LuJames Groover each doubled to open the first and third innings, respectively. Both moved up 90 feet on ensuing ground balls to the right side, then were left standing on third base when the inning was over.

In the ninth, the D-backs again put themselves in position to score. After Gabriel Moreno singled with one out, Smith worked a walk after a 10-pitch battle against Cardinals reliever Matt Svanson, setting the stage for Arenado.

Six months ago, he was traded to the Diamondbacks from the Cardinals, a move that ended a five-year run in St. Louis, and for the second time in as many days, he was greeted warmly by Busch Stadium fans before his first at-bat.

But his swing in the ninth hushed them into silence. He laced a full-count sinker from Svanson into the left-field corner to bring home a run. Gurriel followed by grounding a single through the drawn-in infield to bring home two more runs. Barrosa scored later in the inning, aggressively coming home from third when a pitch scooted away from Cardinals catcher Jimmy Crooks.

Arenado had to fight off tough pitches and lay off borderline ones before getting a pitch to hit. He thought the at-bat, along with some of his others on the night, represented progress.

“To be honest, that was probably one of the best at-bats I’ve had all year, just considering how the at-bat went,” Arenado said. “The group needed it — and I needed to come through for the group. The past couple of weeks have been rough. It was good to come through for the boys, and I feel like everyone can take a deep breath.”

Arizona needed all four of its runs. The Cardinals scored three times off Sewald, prompting Lovullo to go to Garcia for the final out of the game.

Garcia struck out J.J. Wetherholt on four pitches to seal the victory and pick up his first career save.

Rodriguez was excellent again. In 6 ⅔ innings, he allowed just three hits and two walks.

He did need to work out of a jam in the sixth, an inning in which he got a little help from the Cardinals’ Ivan Herrera.

With the bases loaded and one out, Rodriguez got the Cardinals’ Nelson Velazquez to pop into shallow left-center field. Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo drifted back and camped under it, but center fielder Tommy Troy, running hard with his eyes on the ball, apparently did not realize where Perdomo was.

Perdomo made the catch just as Troy crashed into him — luckily, neither player was hurt — and Herrera, apparently seeing an opportunity, tagged up and tried to race home from third base.

Perdomo hesitated for a split second before firing a strike home, where he narrowly cut down a sliding Herrera at the plate.

Moreno has tight hamstring, Troy starts in center

Moreno has been dealing with what he and the team believe to be minor left hamstring tightness, which Lovullo said is why Moreno has started less frequently over the past week.

Moreno did not start on Monday, but was back in the lineup for Tuesday's game.

“He’s been nursing some lower-half issues,” Lovullo said. “We gave him full authority to just manage it the best way he could. We didn’t feel like it was something that was impactful enough to be put on the IL and that he would be able to nurse it.”

That included taking it easy running the bases, which Moreno clearly was doing during the previous homestand. He did not run hard to first base several times in games against the Angels and Twins last week.

Moreno, who had been playing heavily in recent weeks, felt something in his leg while running from first base during a game in Cincinnati two weeks ago, he said. Moreno thinks the downtime has been beneficial.

Lovullo said the tentative plan is for Moreno to play on Wednesday before sitting out Thursday.

“I told him at the end of every series to come in and let’s talk about it and we’ll come up with a game plan,” Lovullo said.

He added: “I think we should be pretty close, after this series, to getting back to a normal schedule.”

Another noteworthy tweak to Lovullo’s lineup for Tuesday night was that rookie Tommy Troy got his first start in the majors in center field. He has started 21 games in left and played five outs in center field on Saturday, June 20, in a blowout loss to the Twins at Chase Field.

Outfield coach Dave McKay said he has been working with Troy and is confident he will do well in center, adding that Troy’s jumps in left field have been “very good” since making a small adjustment with his pre-pitch movements.

Bratt set for debut vs. Cardinals

Left-hander Mitch Bratt was set to start against St. Louis on Wednesday night, June 24 (after the Star's press time), Lovullo said after Tuesday's game.

Bratt, 22, is one of the club’s better pitching prospects. He owns a 2.84 ERA in 44⅓ innings, with 12 walks and 42 strikeouts, in Triple-A Reno this season.

He recently returned from a two-week stint on the injured list with a shoulder issue and has not yet built up his pitch count fully. He threw only 48 pitches in his most recent start and likely will be limited somewhat on Wednesday.

"We feel like he can give us a couple of times through the lineup," Lovullo said. "That’s the goal."

This will be the first day Michael Soroka's rotation spot has come up since Soroka landed on the injured list over the weekend.

Bratt does not have overpowering stuff — his fastball typically sits in the low-90s — but he has shown a knack for getting outs the past two years in the upper levels of the minors. He logged a 3.38 ERA in 122 ⅓ innings at Double-A last season.

Bratt was part of the return from the Texas Rangers in the Merrill Kelly trade last July.

Diamondbacks, Giants to play doubleheader in August

The D-backs agreed to adjust their schedule in August to play a doubleheader in San Francisco against the Giants, who had to tweak their schedule to make up for a game that was rained out in Atlanta last week.

The Diamondbacks-Giants game that had been scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 30, will be played as part of a doubleheader on Saturday, Aug. 29, at Oracle Park. Arizona will be off on Aug. 30.

The Giants will be off, as well, allowing them to travel to Atlanta to face the Braves on Aug. 31. That will serve as a makeup for their rainout on June 18.