Arizona Survives Perez's Three-RBI Surge, Escapes KC 5-4

Salvador Perez went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI and nearly single-handedly dragged Kansas City back from a five-run deficit, but Arizona held on for a 5-4 win on September 7. The Diamondbacks built their entire lead in one chaotic inning, then spent the rest of the night watching the Royals chip away.

The story of the night was a single inning that decided everything. Arizona erupted for all five of its runs in the 10th, starting when a sacrifice fly from Nootbaar scored Carroll to make it 1-0. Then Perdomo singled to right, and Kansas City's right fielder Rave committed a fielding error that allowed both Vargas and Waldschmidt to score — a two-run gift that swung KC's win probability from 37% all the way down to 8%. That one play, a routine single turned into a three-run sequence by a misplay, was the game. Moreno followed with an RBI single to score Perdomo, and Arenado capped the outburst with a single to center that plated Marte, putting Arizona up 5-0 before Kansas City had recorded an out in the frame.

Kansas City's pitching, to its credit, was not the problem. Noah Cameron was sharp — 6.0 innings, 3 hits, 0 earned runs, 7 strikeouts — and Nate Pearson was even cleaner out of the bullpen: 2.0 innings, no hits, no walks, 3 strikeouts. Arizona's Jose Cabrera went 3.0 innings and allowed 3 hits and 2 walks without giving up an earned run, while Taylor Clarke added 2.0 scoreless innings of his own. Both staffs kept the ball in the park and the earned-run column empty. The damage came from the field, not the mound.

The Royals made it interesting. Jensen doubled to right to score Collins and make it 5-1, and then Perez — who looks like the only Royal who refused to accept the deficit as final — doubled to center to score Isbel, Witt Jr., and Jensen all at once, cutting it to 5-4. Three runs on one swing, and suddenly a blowout had a pulse. But Arizona's bullpen didn't flinch, and the Royals couldn't manufacture another rally. Perez finished 3-for-5 with 3 RBI, a performance that appears wasted on a loss. Moreno went 2-for-5 with an RBI for Arizona, and Arenado added 2-for-4 with an RBI of his own. The Diamondbacks won this game in one inning and then held their breath for the rest of it.