Sedona Red Recap: D-backs pummel Padres for third straight win

So apparently you can take the Arizona Diamondbacks out of Coors Field, but you can’t take Coors Field out of the D-backs.

A day after scoring a combined 18 runs in a doubleheader sweep in Colorado, the D-backs crossed home plate 11 times to beat the San Diego Padres, 11-0, to win Thursday’s series opener in front of an announced crowd of 16,929 at Chase Field.

Tuffy Gosewisch had three hits — all doubles — and a career-high four RBI, while Mark Trumbo and Paul Goldschmidt each belted solo home runs to highlight a 17-hit attack. Much of the damage came against Odrisamer Despaigne (2-1), who exited after five innings and now has lost all three of his career starts in Arizona.

Of the D-backs’ 17 hits, 10 were of the extra-base variety, including a club record-tying eight doubles.

Starter Rubby De La Rosa (3-2) enjoyed the offensive support, especially the four runs in the first inning. But on this night, he and the D-backs would need only one run.

De La Rosa blanked the Padres over seven innings, allowing just three hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. He retired the final 10 batters he faced.

De La Rosa combined with relievers Daniel Hudson and Evan Marshall for the D-backs’ third shutout win of the year and the team’s season-high third straight win overall.

The Padres, meanwhile, lost for the third time in four games.

THE GOOD

At this rate, Trumbo may have found himself a new home hitting in the two-hole. For the second time in as many games, Trumbo hit a first-inning home run from his new spot in the batting order in front of Paul Goldschmidt. The one-out solo shot was his fourth of the season and first-ever in 65 career at-bats against the Padres. Trumbo finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and is now hitting .375 (12-for-32) over his last eight games.

The D-backs would add three more first-inning runs, as David Peralta, Yasmany Tomas and Chris Owings hit back-to-back-to-back singles, with Owings driving in Tomas after Peralta had scored on a passed ball. Gosewisch then doubled home Owings. The four-run inning was one run shy of a season-high.

Not to be outdone by his teammate, Goldschmidt led off the third inning with a home run, depositing the ball into the D-backs’ bullpen just beyond the fence in left field. It was his eighth of the season and the 91st of his career, tying him with Jay Bell for eighth place on the club’s all-time home run list. Goldschmidt ended his night with two hits, two RBI and two runs scored, and has now reached base safely in 19 straight games against the Padres.

Wait, who said the D-backs needed a better hitting catcher? Just hours after the team signed veteran Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a minor-league contract, Gosewisch doubled in each of his first three at-bats, his first three extra-base hits of the season and his first career three-double game. He finished 3-for-4, raising his batting average 29 points to .237.

Peralta, Tomas and Owings each had multi-hit games. Peralta recorded four hits, Tomas three and Owings two, which doubled his total from the previous four games. Peralta is hitting .429 (9-for-21) with four doubles, one homer and four RBI in his last eight games. Tomas is hitting .400 (12-for-30) with two doubles and seven RBI in his last seven games.

THE BAD

OK, we’re nitpicking, but as well as De La Rosa pitched, he did not have a clean inning until the fifth. He faced four batters in each of the first, second and third innings before facing five in the fourth. Of course, he stranded all five base runners, as the Padres failed in five chances to get a hit with a runner in scoring position.

Blame it on replay, otherwise Trumbo would’ve reached base safely for the second time in his second at-bat of the game. Initially ruled safe after beating Yangervis Solarte’s throw from third, Trumbo was instead called out following a 68-second review initiated by the Padres’ challenge.

It was a tough night for Nick Ahmed, as the shortstop went 0-for-4, recording the final out in both the first, third and fifth innings. He was the lone D-backs position player not to get a hit and is now staring at a .143 batting average (10-for-70); though he has 19 straight error-less games.

STAT OF THE GAME

29: The number of runs the D-backs have scored in the last three games, their best three-game stretch of the season.

HE SAID IT

“Guys were asking if I had too much to drink on the plane from L.A. to Colorado,” manager Chip Hale said, referring to him hitting Trumbo second. “The players were actually coming up to ask me. I said, ‘No, just try to change it up, shake it up a little bit.'”

NOTED

De La Rosa threw a first-pitch strike to 16 of the 26 batters he faced.

De La Rosa has held opponents to a .145 batting average (10-for-69) with 21 strikeouts over his last three starts.

Gosewisch became the first D-back with three or more doubles in a game since Didi Gregorius on Sept. 22, 2014 at Minnesota. He’s also the fourth catcher to accomplish the feat.

Trumbo homered in back-to-back games for the first time since Sept. 21-22, 2014, while he and Goldschmidt have homered in the same game now three times (April 3, 2014 vs. Giants and April 16, 2015 at San Francisco).

As part of Throwback Thursday — which drew a season-low attendance — a pair of former D-backs participated in the ceremonial first pitch, with Junior Spivey catching the ball thrown by Augie Ojeda.

UP NEXT

Game two of the series Friday, May 8 is scheduled to feature right-handers in Arizona’s Jeremy Hellickson and San Diego’s James Shields.

First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

Hellickson (1-3) is coming off a 6-4 loss at the L.A. Dodgers on May 2, in which he gave up three earned runs in 5.1 innings. He will be making his third career start against the Padres.

Shields (3-0), meanwhile, has won each of his last three decisions. He ranks third in the National League with 48 strikeouts.

Shields signed with the Padres as a free agent on Feb. 10.