PHOENIX – The turning point of Friday's Arizona Diamondbacks 7-1 loss to the San Diego Padres was clear, when the game shifted from a pitcher's duel to a blowout at Chase Field.
D-backs starter Slade Cecconi was perfect through three innings, and while the offense had yet to score, he was making Padres righty Dylan Cease work deep.
Cease pitched the third inning with seven pitches — two first-pitch outs by Corbin Carroll and Blaze Alexander. Cecconi said he had to sit down for a minute.
Padres leadoff man Jurickson Profar drew an eight-pitch walk, and that's when Cecconi made what he called two errors that broke the game open.
Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth had back-to-back rebounds, and while that wasn't the end of San Diego's scoring (17-18), it was all the offense needed.
MY DEAR, Fernando Tatis Jr. 😲 pic.twitter.com/fst0Los9yO
— MLB (@MLB) May 4, 2024
“We had two runs on two drives in the bottom of the third,” D-defensive manager Torey Lovullo said. “Even though (Cecconi) was cruising, it was a quick rush offense to get back there. So it's the little things that bother me.”
“I felt good … I know I made two very obvious mistakes,” Cecconi added. “Left a fastball up the middle to Tatis in the one-strike count, he didn't miss it. I missed it with a change in the middle of Cronenworth, he didn't miss it. But other than that, I felt the rest of the outing went as planned. … Some things I definitely need to work on to be ready for Cincinnati and we'll just take it with our chins up.”
Cease pitched San Diego 6.2 innings with one earned run and eight strikeouts as the Diamondbacks (14-19) finished the game with three hits, no walks and 10 strikeouts. Eugenio Suarez drove in the only run on a single in the fifth.
Cease — who had 17 walks Friday, including 10 with a slider — has been a critical offseason acquisition, as five of his last six outings have been quality. He was hitting 99 mph with the weapon even in 100 pitches.
“We tip our hat to him. I don't want to take any credit away from him. But to get to where we're going, we've got to find a way to beat pitchers like that,” Lovullo said.
Dylan Cease's 2K in the first.
And the Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/aTBvAz1nQR
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 4, 2024
San Diego's 2-for-4 hitters finished 7-for-14 with six RBIs after Manny Machado drove Matt Bowman (D-backs debut) deep. Arizona's 2-for-4 hitters went 1-for-10.
The offense has scored 14 runs over the last eight games, failing to score five runs in any of them.
“I don't know, I think sometimes we come out hot and our offense is strong and their pitcher gives us an adjustment and we can be a little late for the tie,” Lovullo said.
“I think they're making quality judgment calls for us and we're letting them back in some at-bats. It's all a learning experience. We've got some young guys, we've got some young players, they've got to connect the one through nine and connect it. When they do, it will be fun to watch.”
There are no other teams with four 12-run games, but it has been streaky. These last two weeks have been tough thanks to the players the Diamondbacks have to start, namely Carroll (.103 since April 20), Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (0.184 since April 20) and Gabriel Moreno (0.207 since April 20). They went 0-for-10 with four hits on Friday.
“There will be times this year when those guys will have my back,” Cecconi said. “They will bring it back. Relax, look what that guy did. It's not always the bats, sometimes a guy goes out there and gives you seven unbelievable innings and I think that's what happened.”
Cecconi looked dominant through three innings, pumping 98 mph in the opening frame before his velocity slowed progressively. He blasted Tatis and Cronenworth with heaters during their first at-bats, and mixed in his slider and changeup to avoid hard contact early.
Slade Cecconi ⛽️⛽️
Love his K hop. pic.twitter.com/G21BoIMIc7
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 4, 2024
The right-hander allowed three earned runs in his first 15 innings this season before the fourth.
“There were only two major mistakes and that's kind of the story I think about today,” Cecconi said.
When will the D-backs play next?
Lovullo was blunt after the game, saying his team was outplayed, outplayed, outplayed and outplayed. He also said Saturday is a new day, and Brandon Pfaadt will have an opportunity to keep his momentum going with three straight starts of two earned runs or less. Right-hander Michael King will pitch for San Diego.
First pitch is at 5:10pm on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
