Arizona hopes Michael Soroka can continue the team’s trend of stellar starting pitching when the Diamondbacks go for a three-game sweep against the host Atlanta Braves on Sunday afternoon.
The Diamondbacks won the series opener 2-0 on Friday behind Brandon Pfaadt and received a solid six-inning effort from Eduardo Rodriguez in Saturday’s 10-3 victory.
A win on Sunday would give Arizona its sixth series sweep, while Atlanta is trying to avoid its fourth sweep.
Arizona starters have combined to work 13 innings in the series and allow two runs and no walks while recording 12 strikeouts.
Soroka (8-3, 2.92 ERA) will be matched against Atlanta’s Bryce Elder (8-7, 4.03) on Sunday in a game featuring two right-handed starters.
Soroka made a successful return from the injured list on Monday in his team’s 9-0 win over Colorado. He pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings and gave up three hits and struck out four batters in his first start since being sidelined for nearly two months with a glute strain.
Soroka beat the Braves 2-1 on April 4 when he allowed one run over five innings. In two career appearances (both starts) against his former team, he is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA.
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo would like to get another lengthy start to help save the team’s bullpen.
“We talk about preserving those guys,” he said. “We try to spread out their chronic workload and we want to keep everybody healthy. So when the starter is built for more of a marathon and can give you that extra inning, it’s going to soak up one extra outing per reliever. If we can do that and keep that reliever workload in the 65-game range, we’re going to be in a really good spot.”
Elder allowed five runs — including a grand slam — in the first inning of his last start against the New York Mets on Monday — an 8-5 loss — but he stuck it out and finished five frames to save the bullpen. In all, Elder yielded seven runs on 10 hits, ending a streak of four starts in which he gave up two or fewer runs.
The crucial moment came when he appeared to have a strikeout, throw-out double play to end the inning. But the pitch was called a ball — with umpire Cory Blaser failing to see Elder’s signal to challenge — and loaded the bases. The inning was extended, and Brett Baty hit a grand slam.
“I think if I would have stood my ground and tapped my hat longer, then maybe he would have seen me,” Elder said. “But I didn’t, so we’ve got to make better pitches. At the end of the day, I’ve got to make a bitter pitch to Baty and we’re having a different conversation.”
Elder lost to the Diamondbacks in the April 4 game despite throwing seven strong innings. He gave up two runs, both unearned, on four hits of the 2-1 loss. He has three career appearances (all starts) against Arizona, going 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA.
Arizona held second baseman Ketel Marte out of the lineup due to left knee soreness on Saturday, but he is expected to be available on Sunday.
His absence didn’t affect the team’s offense. Arizona struck for three home runs — two by Nolan Arenado — and racked up 13 hits on Saturday. Gabriel Moreno had three hits and extended his hitting streak to nine games.
–Field Level Media
