Bats back Corbin as D-backs win 5th straight
PHILADELPHIA -- It was the quantity, not quality, of hits in the D-backs' series-opening 5-4 win that pushed them past the Phillies in a back-and-forth contest on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. It was Arizona's fifth consecutive victory.
Of Arizona's nine hits off Phillies starter Aaron Nola, they sprayed eight singles and one monster game-tying homer from Gregor Blanco that made its way to the concourse in right field. A sacrifice fly from Jake Lamb three batters later plated the go-ahead run.
"I'm the one who made the mistakes," said Nola, who allowed five runs, while striking out six and walking two. "I made a big mistake in the seventh that tied the game up and the 0-2 pitch to [Jeff] Mathis [in the fourth] with those two guys on to score. I needed a better pitch out of that one."
Blanco's heroics came just an inning after Maikel Franco torched a low slider from D-backs starter Patrick Corbin for a two-run double in the sixth to give the Phillies a 4-2 cushion.
Corbin got through six innings for the first time in four starts, recording five strikeouts and giving up four runs, though just two were earned. The lefty was perfect through the first three innings, but gave up at least one run in each of his last three innings.
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"I think Patrick threw the ball really, really well," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "I know the linescore may not indicate as such. He made a couple mistakes in crucial moments, but they were identifiable mistakes."
One of those mistakes left the playing field. Cameron Rupp drilled his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot in the fifth that tied the game at 2, erasing an early two-run deficit.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Bradley comes through: The Phillies threatened in the seventh inning, putting two men on base thanks to two walks. With two outs, right-hander Archie Bradley was summoned from the Arizona bullpen and he delivered by striking out Howie Kendrick to end the inning. It looked like Bradley -- who also pitched a perfect eighth -- had Kendrick on a 2-2 curveball -- but it was determined Kendrick checked his swing. Bradley finished him off with a 3-2 fastball.
"The 2-2 was a curveball, I thought I struck him out on that," Bradley said. "But that's the way the game goes, so you still have to come back and make a quality pitch. I was able make a good pitch down and away, and he swung through it."
Not so seventh heaven: Nola earned himself the right to return to the mound in the seventh at just 90 pitches. Instead, Nola allowed hits to the first three batters of the frame, including Blanco's homer, and blew the lead the Phillies built on Lamb's error and Franco's subsequent double.
WHAT'S NEXT
D-backs: The D-backs will send right-hander Zack Godley to the mound on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. MST. Godley has worked his way into the Arizona rotation with a 2.44 ERA in seven starts.
Phillies:Jerad Eickhoff's first win of the 2016 season came on April 13 in his second start. On Saturday against the D-backs at 4:05 pm ET, he'll make his 14th start of 2017, still aiming for his first win. Eickhoff (0-7) holds a 5.09 ERA with 63 strikeouts and 27 walks on the season.
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