NEW YORK -- David Peralta's throw was big, big enough to help the D-backs en route to a much-needed win.
As they celebrated their 3-2, 10-inning win over the Mets on Monday night, though, the D-backs were thinking big picture. They were thinking Peralta's seventh-inning throw from left field, which nailed Asdrubal Cabrera at the plate and set the stage for A.J. Pollock's game-winning home run, might be one they look back on if this season ends well.
"Biggest throw of the season," said reliever Archie Bradley, who was on the mound for Peralta's pinpoint toss. "That's something that can turn us around."
The D-backs felt they needed turning around, having been swept by the Twins in Minnesota and having lost 11 of their previous 15 since Aug. 4. They still believed, but they wanted a sign that the tough times were soon to be behind them. Peralta's throw might have been the first such sign.
With a 1-0 lead in the seventh inning, a double and a pair of walks loaded the bases with one out. Yoenis Cespedes, the Mets' most dangerous hitter, was at the plate.
Cespedes sent a hard ground ball past Jake Lamb at third base. At the very least, the game was tied. But Bradley's initial thought was the hit would give the Mets the lead. In the D-backs' dugout, manager Torey Lovullo at first thought the same thing, but Peralta did not.
"That's why I threw to home plate," Peralta said. "I was aggressively attacking the ball. I know [Cabrera] is not that fast, and Cespedes hit the ball really good. Finally, something happened good for us.
"The way things have been going, it's something that can get our confidence back."
Peralta unleashed a perfect throw to the plate. According to Statcast™, the ball traveled 89.6 mph out of his hand, his hardest throw of the season.
Catcher Chris Iannetta caught it and put the tag on Cabrera just in time. Iannetta saw that Cabrera's foot was off the ground as he slid across the plate, so he wasn't surprised to hear home-plate umpire Mike Estabrook call him out.
Peralta, 250 or so feet away, wasn't as sure. Neither were the Mets, who called for a review. Peralta kept his fingers crossed. In the dugout, Lovullo said he was just happy the initial call was out, because he felt the play was close enough that either call would've been difficult to overturn.
The call stood, and Cabrera was out. Bradley got out of the inning by getting Wilmer Flores to pop out to Iannetta, and three innings later Pollock hit the home run that put the D-backs in front for good.

"Obviously, I don't even get a chance if David doesn't make a perfect throw," Pollock said.
The throw was perfect. The home run was huge.
And the win? The D-backs will hope they can look back on that and say it was huge, too.