Grit Index: D-backs hold off Dodgers for series win

Paul Goldschmidt ended two hours and 26 minutes of scoreless baseball with a game-winning single through the right side, scoring A.J. Pollock from second and sending the majority of the 32,313 fans at Chase Field home happy Sunday afternoon. It was Goldschmidt’s first career walk off hit.

The Diamondbacks won the game 1-0 to take two of three from the Dodgers, win the series and improve to 5-0-1 in their last six series against L.A.

Both starters pitched brilliantly as Trevor Cahill and Josh Beckett went toe-to-toe into the eighth inning. Cahill scattered six hits and struck out four. Beckett (0-2) was the tough luck loser, allowing the one run on six hits. He struck out nine. During one stretch, Beckett retired 12 straight D-backs hitters.

The Diamondbacks finished 3-3 on their six-game homestand.

The Good:

Before Cahill left the ballpark Saturday night, his manager told him “to go home and dream about throwing eight innings.” Cahill heeded Kirk Gibson’s advice. Cahill did not walk a batter for the first time in three starts. He consistenly was ahead in the count, throwing a first pitch strike to 17 of the 27 hitters he faced.

The Bad:

Aaron Hill will undergo an MRI on his left hand, according to Gibson. A second set of X-rays came back negative after Hill was removed from the game for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fourth inning. Gibson said Hill’s hand started bothering him once again after his at-bat in the first inning. Hill first hurt the hand last Tuesday when he was hit by a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Stat of the Night:

For Cahill, it was his 13th career start of at least 7.0 scoreless innings. He accomplished that mark twice last season. Goldschmidt, meanwhile, went 2-for-4 and has reached base safely in all 12 games this season.

Noted:

The D-backs honored Joe Garagiola, Sr. in a special pregame ceremony. After 58 years on the air, the Hall of Fame broadcaster stepped behind the microphone one final time Sunday, joining Greg Schulte and Tom Candiotti on Arizona Sports 620 during the second inning and then called the third and fourth innings on Fox Sports Arizona. Garagiola had announced his retirement on February 20.

Another retirement Sunday: Conor Jackson. The one-time D-back is calling it a career, Triple-A Norfolk announced. Jackson had signed a minor league contract with Baltimore and was one of the final cuts in spring training.

He Said It:

“You’re just trying to get a good pitch to hit,” Goldschmidt said. “Luckily, it just found the hole. It wasn’t a bad swing, but I was way out in front and capped it off the end of the bat. Luckily, it kind of spun away from their second baseman and got through the hole.”

Up Next:

Immediately after the game, the Diamondbacks left for New York, where they will begin a three-game interleague series against the Yankees. It’s the D-backs first trip to new Yankee Stadium and third overall to the Bronx (2002, 2007).

Brandon McCarthy, 2-0 with a 5.79 ERA in five games (three starts) vs. the Yankees, will get the start in game one Tuesday. The right-hander expressed his frustration after his last outing (4 ER in 6.2 IP vs. Pirates). Catcher Miguel Montero accepted the blame as the two continue to learn how to work together. “Those guys are fine,” manager Kirk Gibson said.

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