Pfaadt's strong start, Arenado's clutch hit fuel D-backs' rebound win

PHOENIX -- Less than 24 hours after they played a sloppy, mistake-filled game, the Diamondbacks rebounded behind the pitching of Brandon Pfaadt and the hitting of Nolan Arenado to beat the Cardinals, 5-3, on Saturday afternoon at Chase Field.

The win evened the series at a game apiece and gave the D-backs their 50th victory of the season ahead of Sunday's rubber match.

Here are some takeaways from the game:

Pfaadt figuring it out

It hasn't been the easiest of seasons for Pfaadt, who opened the year in the rotation and struggled in his first three starts. When Merrill Kelly was then activated off the injured list, Pfaadt was sent to the bullpen and eventually to Triple-A Reno.

While with the Aces, Pfaadt tweaked his mechanics. He got rid of the over-the-head part of his delivery and moved back to the first base side of the pitching rubber.

The difference in results has been startling.

In his first three starts of the year, he had a 5.94 ERA. In 10 relief appearances he had a 5.91 ERA.

In four starts since returning from Reno, Pfaadt is 4-0 with a 2.14 ERA.

"He's been phenomenal," Arenado said of Pfaadt. "I mean, totally different pitcher. Just to see the confidence he has out there right now. The times I used to face him was never a comfortable at-bat because he's got so many pitches and he throws all of them to everybody. It's just great to see him be competitive out there. And like I said, just a totally different pitcher than earlier in the year."

Arenado closing in on a milestone

Arenado has swung the bat better of late, and Saturday he was the offensive catalyst, going 2-for-4 with a big two-out two-run double in the third inning to put Arizona up 4-0.

The two hits gave Arenado 1,998 for his career, just two shy of a nice milestone.

"Arenado had the big blow, a couple hits, charging at 2,000 hits," manager Torey Lovullo said. "And we got to appreciate what he's doing every single day as he's getting ready for that accomplishment. This is a very special player that I'm honored to manage."

Arenado was acquired by the Diamondbacks during the offseason from the Cardinals. He watched his then-St. Louis teammate (and former Diamondbacks All-Star) Paul Goldschmidt reach 2,000 hits and would like to add that to his long list of career accomplishments.

"I try not to get caught up in it too much," Arenado said. "But I would love to get it done as soon as possible. But there's a lot of games left, I just want to continue to have good at-bats. The past two weeks have been a lot better, and I'm really happy with the work I've been putting in. [2,000 hits] would mean a lot. It's a big number. I remember when Goldy got it, and it's pretty cool."

It was a good bounce back from Friday night

Lovullo didn't sleep much after watching his team stumble through Friday's 5-4 loss, but chances are he'll get his rest Saturday.

Ketel Marte, who made an error and failed to challenge what would have been a ball on the game-ending pitch, responded with a pair of hits and a walk.

Outfielder Jorge Barrosa, who pinch ran in the ninth inning Friday night and promptly got picked off, was a defensive substitution Saturday and made a nice running catch in the eighth to likely save a run.

"Today was not an easy day," Lovullo said. "After the type of game that we lost yesterday, these guys came out, rebounded, and put things aside."