In most playoff-like game of the year, Diamondbacks rookie Ryan Waldschmidt walks off Dodgers

PHOENIX — The environment at Chase Field on Friday night was as close to the postseason as any game the Arizona Diamondbacks have played all year, starting pitcher Merrill Kelly described, and in that atmosphere, it was rookie Ryan Waldschmidt who became the hero of the night.

Waldschmidt slammed a walk-off, two-run home run off Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Diamondbacks a 4-3 victory.

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It was the first walk-off home run he could recall hitting since he was playing travel ball as a kid, and it came against a three-time All-Star in arguably the highest-leverage moment of his young career.

“I think against anyone it’d be pretty cool,” Waldschmidt said. “Obviously against someone that you consider a rival in any game, to be able to hit a walk-off home run against them and against a pitcher of that caliber … that is pretty special.”

The attendance at Chase Field was an announced 46,172, and while there were plenty of Dodgers fans, there was a healthy back-and-forth all night. That was especially true in the eighth inning, when Nolan Arenado battled for 12 pitches against reliever Tanner Scott before striking out to strand the bases loaded.

Arizona trailed 3-2 at that point, and the missed opportunity could have been the final straw, considering the Diamondbacks had blown a 2-0 lead.

Max Kepler walked to lead off the ninth inning, however, and pinch runner Jorge Barrosa stole second to put pressure on Diaz.

Waldschmidt worked a 2-2 count, fouling off a hanging slider he felt he was right on. Diaz then threw him another slider that floated over the middle of the plate, and the young outfielder crushed it 411 feet.

Waldschmidt did not hit the ball all that high, so he bursted out of the batter’s box thinking he could get to third base. In between first and second, Waldschmidt slowed up and pumped his fist as the ball disappeared in the seats left of the overhang in left-center field.

“As soon as I got it, I started sprinting,” Waldschmidt said. “Then I heard everyone kinda go crazy. And I looked up, and both the outfitters were just looking into the stands. So I was like, that’s pretty sweet it got out.”

 

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That was only Waldschmidt’s second career home run, but the rookie has been hot, hitting .388 over his last 15 games.

General manager Mike Hazen said that Waldschmidt was his most asked about player at the trade deadline. Time will tell whether declining to include Waldschmidt in any deal works out in the long run, but a moment like Friday’s had to have added to the club’s confidence in him.

This was also the second straight game between the Diamondbacks and Dodgers played at Chase Field that ended with a walk-off home run. Ketel Marte went deep to win a June 4 matchup between the two.

The D-backs have won five straight contests against Los Angeles for the first time since 2018. They are a win away from clinching the season series against the Dodgers for the first time since 2018, as well.

The Dodgers (69-47) have lost seven straight games overall, as the Diamondbacks (62-55) have crept to 7.5 games back of the National League West leaders.

Kelly — who threw 5.2 innings with one earned run — has been battling the Dodgers since 2019. He’s experienced Arizona looking hopeless in this matchup in 2021 and the club triumph over L.A. in the 2023 postseason.

He saw winning a game like Friday’s and going on a run against the World Series favorites as valuable for players who were not around for those past moments of pain and pleasure.

“The guys who have been around for a while have faced all those guys. We’ve had battles with them before,” Kelly said. “We’ve gone through spurts where we literally couldn’t get a win against those guys. It’s good to see us getting more than just a couple wins against those guys.

“I think tonight was hopefully a glimpse into the playoffs. We even said it in here after the game, that was probably the closest thing to a playoff game we’ve had this year, by far. … Then for the young guys, to see that it doesn’t matter who it is, how much hype is around them, I think it’s good to see us know that we can beat anybody on any given day.”

Additionally, the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres both lost on Friday.

The Diamondbacks climbed back into the second NL Wild Card spot with the same record as Philadelphia (Arizona leads the season series, 2-1). San Diego is two games back.

“In a race that we’re firmly in, it doesn’t get any better,” manager Torey Lovullo said of the win. “It’s a good moment for (Waldschmidt), a good moment for his team and possibly a little bit of a push-momentum type of thing. So we’ll see how we come out tomorrow. We wanna keep winning baseball games, no matter who we’re playing. We talked about the Dodgers coming into town. Unbelievable atmosphere.”

Merrill Kelly puts Diamondbacks on right path before cramping

Kelly held the Dodgers hitless through the first five innings of this game.

He induced a first-pitch pop-up from Shohei Ohtani to lead off the ballgame and set the tone, while his changeup was filthy (five whiffs on 11 swings).

Corbin Carroll kept the Dodgers off the board early with a jaw-dropping home run robbery, perfectly timed to take one away from Tommy Edman.

An Arenado solo home run and Geraldo Perdomo RBI triple gave Kelly a 2-0 lead to work with.

The Dodgers broke up the no-hit bid with a lead-off infield single in the sixth inning, and at that point, Kelly started to lose the strike zone. After a pick-off and a single, Kelly walked back-to-back hitters to load the bases.

Following an RBI fielder’s choice, he signaled to the dugout for the trainer and swiftly left the field.

He remained in the dugout through the end of the inning, and the team said he left with a right leg cramp. It is the first time this year Kelly left with a cramp, which has been a recurring issue in the past. He said Chase Field has felt noticeably warmer on this homestand, which is not surprising given the weather.

“Everything but my hammy felt great,” Kelly said. “It’ll kind of grab on me and let go. Grab, let go. Grab, let go. And then eventually it just gets to the point where it doesn’t let go.”

Both Kelly and Lovullo said there are no concerns about Kelly missing his next start.

Friday attendance

46,172

Saturday’s Diamondbacks-Dodgers starters

Brandon Pfaadt (3.66 ERA) gets the ball in the second game of the series. The D-backs are 7-0 in his last seven starts. The Dodgers will start All-Star Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.76 ERA).

First pitch is at 5:10 p.m. MST on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. 

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