Field Level Media
Aug 19, 2023
Tommy Pham broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run home run in the fifth inning Saturday afternoon, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 6-4 victory in the first game of a day/night doubleheader against the host San Diego Padres.
The teams are playing a twin bill Saturday ahead of the arrival of the remnants of Hurricane Hilary in Southern California.
Pham's homer off Padres' spot starter Matt Waldron followed a one-out walk drawn by Ketel Marte. It was Pham's second decisive two-run homer of the series and his sixth in two seasons against the Padres, a former team.
Arizona added a final run in the sixth on a single by Alek Thomas, a walk, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly by Geraldo Perdomo.
Merrill Kelly (10-5) held the Padres to three runs on five hits and four walks with three strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. Paul Sewald picked up his 26th save when Juan Soto flew out to the warning track in left with the bases loaded for the game's final out.
Waldron (0-2) gave up five runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts in five innings.
Arizona jumped on Waldron, who was called up from Triple-A El Paso to start, for two runs in the first. Corbin Carroll doubled on Waldron's first pitch but hadn't budged when Christian Walker drew a two-out walk. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Thomas followed with back-to-back RBI singles.
The Padres tied the game in the bottom of the first on a pair of solo home runs by Ha-Seong Kim and Manny Machado, who hit a second, solo homer in the eighth off Kevin Ginkel.
Leadoff hitter Kim drove Kelly's second pitch 378 feet into the left-field seats for his 16th home run of the season and his fifth while opening a game. Machado hit his 22nd homer on a 374-foot drive to left after Kelly picked Soto off first.
The Diamondbacks regained the lead in the third when Pham opened with a triple and scored on Walker's groundout to second.
The Padres again tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when Luis Campusano doubled with two out and scored on Matt Carpenter's single to right -- the first baseman's first hit since July 16 and first RBI since June 30.
--Field Level Media