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Diamondbacks’ Gabriel Moreno: Launches eighth homer
Moreno went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Wednesday’s 3-0 win over the Pirates.
Moreno opened the scoring by taking Jared Jones deep for a two-run homer in the fourth inning. In July, the catcher is batting .363 while drawing 14 walks and has reached base safely in all 24 games he’s played this month, extending his on-base streak to 45 consecutive starts. Through 82 games this season, Moreno is slashing .308/.390/.455 with eight home runs, 18 doubles, 45 RBI, 46 runs scored and four stolen bases.
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Diamondbacks’ Eduardo Rodriguez: Tosses eight scoreless innings
Rodriguez (10-3) earned the win Wednesday against the Pirates, allowing five hits and one walk while striking out two over eight scoreless innings.
Rodriguez never faced more than four batters in an inning and retired nine straight hitters at one point during his dominant outing. He generated 15 whiffs despite recording just two strikeouts and limited Pittsburgh to only five hard-hit balls. Wednesday’s outing marked the second time this season he has completed eight innings. Rodriguez has now won five of his last six decisions and will carry a 2.48 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 88:45 K:BB into his next scheduled start Tuesday against the Padres.
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Diamondbacks’ Brandyn Garcia: Bags save, part of closer committee
Garcia worked around a walk and struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning to secure his second save of the season in Wednesday’s 3-0 win over the Pirates.
While facing off against Pittsburgh’s Nos. 2 through 5 hitters, Garcia navigated a fairly stress-free 17-pitch frame to sew up the win. He could be in the mix for more closing opportunities in the short term, as manager Torey Lovullo told Jack Sommers of SI.com after the game that Paul Sewald — who leads the team with 24 saves but blew two of his last three chances — will be moved into a lower-leverage role for the time being. Rather than settling on a designated closer, Lovullo indicated he plans to play the matchups in the ninth inning, so the left-handed Garcia may be deployed primarily against left-handed-heavy portions of the lineup late in games. Lovullo mentioned Jonathan Loaisiga as another pitcher who might factor into the late-inning picture, and Juan Morillo and Kevin Ginkel could also be part of the mix.
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Diamondbacks’ Paul Sewald: Dropped from closer’s role
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said after Wednesday’s 3-0 win over the Pirates that Sewald has been removed from the closer’s role for the time being and will be used in lower-leverage situations, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.
After recording just one out and yielding three earned runs en route to blowing his second save in his last three chances during Tuesday’s 8-7 win in 12 innings, Sewald was passed over for the save chance Wednesday. Brandyn Garcia got the call in the ninth inning and retired three of the four batters he faced to earn his second save of the season, though Lovullo declined to name him the team’s closer moving forward. Instead, Lovullo indicated that he plans to play matchups for any save chances that emerge in the short term with Garcia, Juan Morillo, Jonathan Loaisiga and Kevin Ginkel all potentially factoring into the late-inning picture. Sewald could eventually join that group, but he’ll first have to pitch effectively in less pressure-packed situations after he had yielded at least one run in seven of his last 13 appearances.
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