Luis Arraez homered in the seventh inning to break up a scoreless tie Tuesday night and five San Diego Padres pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout in a 1-0 win over the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.
Arraez lashed a 2-0 fastball from Merrill Kelly (7-5) an estimated 358 feet into the seats in right field for his fifth homer of the year. It was just one of four hits Kelly allowed over seven innings; he walked none and fanned four.
Kelly, however, was tagged with the loss as Nick Pivetta and four relievers won a classic pitcher’s duel, aided by a pair of home-run-robbing grabs that denied Arizona four runs.
Center fielder Jackson Merrill pulled Corbin Carroll’s potential two-run homer back at the wall to end the fifth inning, and right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. got his glove a few feet above the wall in the eighth to take a two-run shot away from Josh Naylor.
Adrian Morejon (6-3) whiffed Ketel Marte with the bases loaded in the seventh to get the win and Robert Suarez pitched the ninth for his MLB-high 26th save of the year.
Pivetta went the first 5 2/3 innings, permitting only two hits and three walks while striking out seven, lowering his ERA to 3.07. Pivetta threw a season-high 104 pitches, the last few of them without manager Mike Shildt in the dugout. Plate umpire Brian Walsh booted Shildt in the sixth for arguing balls and strikes.
Neither team got a runner on base until the fourth inning. Arizona filled the bases with one out on Carroll’s single, a walk to Marte, Geraldo Perdomo’s groundout and an intentional walk to Naylor. But Pivetta fanned Eugenio Suarez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to escape.
That started a pattern for the Diamondbacks. They were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine runners. In sharp contrast, San Diego didn’t bat once with men in scoring position and left just two men aboard.
Arraez’s homer marked the only time the Padres advanced a batter past first base.
–Field Level Media
