David Peralta wills D-backs to rally, then walks off Phillies with HR

PHOENIX — Diamondbacks starter Zack Godley went even with Phillies ace Jake Arrieta as long as he could.

He survived a wily first few innings Monday that included two hit batters and cruised into the seventh with a pitch count of 70. But a two-run seventh by Philadelphia seemingly put a smoldering end to Godley’s evening as Arrieta cruised to 110 pitches and 8.0 scoreless innings into the night.

Then came a reminder for the D-backs not to take their above-average bullpen for granted, even a night after their super-reliever Archie Bradley’s eighth inning determined a loss.

And their third batter in the order is pretty good, too.

Philadelphia closer Seranthony Dominguez gave up a 2-0 Phillies lead in the ninth inning starting with a David Peralta home run, setting up a walk-off bomb by the D-backs outfielder in a 14-inning, 3-2 victory at Chase Field.

“I was just trying to put the ball in play,” Peralta said of his first career walk-off home run, which came off a slider by the Phillies’ Austin Davis. “The ball was hit pretty well but it was (the) deepest part of the park.

“I always wondered what it feels to hit a walk-off homer. It’s something you can’t describe.”

He found success quite suddenly, as did the rest of the D-backs bats, who were stifled by Arrieta.

Peralta was 0-for-3 against Arrieta before he cranked the fourth non-Arrieta pitch of the night over the Chase Field pool to pull Arizona within 2-1 an out into the ninth inning. Arizona’s Eduardo Escobar doubled to follow, and outfielder Steven Souza Jr. singled up the middle to score Escobar, tying the game.

Peralta would finish with four hits: two homers, a double and a single. According to ESPN Stats & Info, he’s the first player in at least the last 10 years to record three extra-base hits beyond the eighth inning of a game.

“You never know what’s going to happen. You never know which at-bat is going to be the one that you’re going to do something for the team,” Peralta said. “That’s not just me, it’s the whole team. We never give up. The way we came back was something special.”

Between Godley-Arrieta and beyond, it was a pitchers’ duel.

For Arizona, T.J. McFarland followed Godley with 0.2 innings. Matt Andriese, Brad Boxberger, Archie Bradley and Andrew Chafin went 1.0 scoreless frames apiece thereafter before Yoshihisa Hirano earned the win, going 2.0 innings. Of those players, only Andriese allowed a hit.

By the end of the night, the teams combined to go 1-for-21 with runners in scoring position.

There were more late chances, however, than there were during the stalemate it was until the top of the seventh. Finally getting to Godley, Philadelphia’s Asdrubal Cabrera singled on a soft liner to center before Odubal Herrera knocked one to the center field wall for an RBI triple that broke the 0-0 tie. A one-out sac-fly by Jorge Alfaro to right allowed Herrera to tag up and score from third, putting the Phillies ahead 2-0.

Godley closed after 7.1 innings (94 pitches), allowing five hits and two earned runs. He walked one intentionally, hit two batters and struck out seven.

Arrieta, in his 8.0 innings, allowed just three hits to go with two walks and four strikeouts.

“I think we got to give credit where credit was due with Arrieta,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “But then our guys locked it in once he came out of the game. I feel like once he was out of there, the guys felt like they had a chance. That’s what a big-league pitcher can do to you when they’re feeling it.

“On the flip side, I think Zack Godley was feeling the exact same way and they just clipped him — he made a couple mistakes — and they clipped him for a couple runs.”

THE GOOD

Godley got off on a bad foot to start the second inning, allowing a single to Carlos Santana and hitting Cabrera with a pitch before Herrera flew out to left and Maikel Franco’s sharp line drive was caught by Nick Ahmed with Santana off second base, leading to an easy double-play that made for a 12-pitch inning.

Filling in for regular starting center fielder A.J. Pollock (rest), Jon Jay tracked a deep fly ball from Rhys Hoskins to make a grab at the left-center field wall for the second out of the top of the sixth frame.

Arizona was thankful just to get to the ninth down by two runs. Andriese recovered in the top of the ninth after he allowed Herrera and Franco to single, putting Phillies runners on the corners with no outs in the ninth. Andriese responded by striking out Alfaro on three straight fastballs and inducing a double-play ball by Andrew Knapp.

THE BAD

Arizona loaded the bases after tying the game in the ninth before Pollock — pinch-hitting on his second consecutive day out of the lineup — grounded out.

A pop-fly by Escobar put runners on second and third after Paul Goldschmidt singled up the middle with one out in the 10th and Peralta followed it up with a bloop single to shallow center. But Souza checked a swing that made contact and stayed in the infield before he was thrown out at first to end the D-backs’ threat.

Arizona put together a two-out frenzy in the 12th inning. Peralta doubled, Escobar was intentionally walked, and Souza drew a walk to load the bases, but Daniel Descalso flew out to center to end the frame.

NOTED

– A crowd of 21,131 fans took in the game Monday at Chase Field.

– Godley took a Cesar Hernandez line drive off his left thigh to lead off the top of the eighth inning. He remained in the game to record the first out of the frame and his last of the game following a mound meeting to make sure he wasn’t hurt.

– Escobar delayed the game in the 12th inning due to an apparent nosebleed.

– After Alex Avila doubled with an out in the 12th frame, reliever Yoshi Hirano made his first MLB plate appearance, hitting a grounder to first to advance Avila to third base, though Arizona wouldn’t score. The 34-year-old Hirano batted 2-for-21 in Japan before coming to MLB this year.

– The D-backs designated infielder Deven Marrero for assignment after the game.

QUOTABLE

“Somebody that hasn’t had an at-bat in four years, five years …  has less than a handful total, was begging me to swing the bat, and I kept telling him no and at the last minute I told him, with men in scoring position you can do that,” Lovullo said of Hirano’s plate appearance. “The fact that he made contact is a miracle.

“He’s probably thinking these crazy Americans are making me do something I’ve never done. He made a special effort to make something special happen.”

STAT OF THE GAME

1-for-21: The teams combined batting numbers with runners in scoring position.

UP NEXT

Zack Greinke (12-6, 2.96 ERA) takes the mound for Arizona to square off opposite Nick Pivetta (6-9, 4.75 ERA).

First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. with pregame coverage on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station beginning 40 minutes prior.

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