CLEVELAND -- Saturday was the first day of August, a month that Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo refers to as "moving month" because it's when the contenders start to separate themselves from the pretenders.
Lovullo's Diamondbacks started moving on up in the standings early, and the beginning of August did little to slow their ascent as they beat the Guardians, 12-8, at Progressive Field.
"It's my favorite month of baseball," Lovullo said. "I think the season starts to take shape. The contenders and pretenders start to separate. So I think the real teams, and the ones that are capable of carrying on for the next two months, start to separate themselves, and it's the purest form of baseball.
“I started saying it back when September callups were 40-strong, and I know the rules have changed a little bit and September baseball is more like regular-season baseball now, but that's when I started saying it. August is just the best month, and heads up, big things start to happen."
Big things seem to be starting for the Diamondbacks, though; they actually got a jump on the month this season.
Arizona has now won four straight and 14 of its past 19 games to climb from out of the postseason picture to second place in the Wild Card standings, behind the Cubs and ahead of the Phillies.
Saturday's game followed the same script as Friday with the Guardians grabbing a first-inning lead before their offense slowed down. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks started slow offensively before getting going.
But once they started, they were a freight train rolling down the tracks.
The Diamondbacks scored a pair of runs in the fifth to tie the game at two and then exploded for seven runs in the seventh. Geraldo Perdomo opened the inning with a homer, and Corbin Carroll capped the scoring in the inning with a three-run shot.
In between, though, the Diamondbacks did what they've done so well recently: Take advantage of what the opponent gives.
Included in that seven-run rally were a pair of hit batters, a walk, a wild pitch and a passed ball.
"I think the big thing we're seeing is guys hitting in situations," veteran catcher James McCann said. "You know, we're not living and dying by the three-run homer. We're moving runners when we need to, we're getting bunts down, we're shooting the ball the other way, and then we're getting the big hits when we need it. One thing we talk about here is a good team finds multiple ways to win, and that's what we're doing right now."
All those runs would prove to be important ones when the Guardians staged a rally in the eighth inning.
Struggling right-hander Paul Sewald, who was recently removed from the closer's role, was called on to pitch the eighth. But he allowed a homer to open the inning, then four consecutive singles before being taken out.
Sewald got off to a good start for the Diamondbacks early, but it's been a rough go of it and Lovullo hoped using him in some lower-leverage situations would help him get back on track.
"He's grinding right now, and he's stood in front of us and carried us along the way and done his job. Now it's our turn to pick him up, and that's what we're going to do as coaches. And we're going to just continue to coach him up the best way we know how."
The Diamondbacks managed to tack on a run in the eighth and another two in the ninth to hold on.
It wasn't the prettiest of wins, but there are no style points in the Major Leagues.
"Any win is a good one at the big league level, and they're all hard to come by," Lovullo said. "And I was proud of the way we fought today. We fell behind early. We just kept our focus."