Locklear's Slam-the-Door Homer Fuels Arizona's 10-6 Demolition in St. Louis
Tyler Locklear went 3-for-5 with a home run, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored as Arizona dismantled St. Louis 10-6 on July 23. The story of the night was a four-run eruption in the fourth inning that flipped this game on its head — and never looked back.
St. Louis came out swinging. Walker doubled to center to score Wetherholt, then Nootbaar singled to center to score Walker, and just like that it was 2-0 Cardinals after one. Brandon Pfaadt was in trouble early, and the home side looked like the sharper team. That changed fast. Arizona chipped away in the fourth — a Tawa sacrifice fly cut it to 2-1 — and then Locklear unloaded a 364-foot homer to left that scored Del Castillo and put Arizona up 3-2. That swing was the turning point in every sense: the win probability shifted from 71% in St. Louis's favor to 47% on a single pitch. Locklear didn't just tie the game; he stole it.
From there, Arizona methodically buried the Cardinals. Moreno added a sacrifice fly in the fifth to push the lead to 4-2, and then the eighth inning turned into a full-on execution. Del Castillo singled to score Moreno. Locklear singled to score Del Castillo. Arenado singled to score Tawa. Carroll hit a sacrifice fly to score Vargas. Moreno singled to score Locklear. Five runs, five separate RBI contributors, and suddenly it was 9-2 heading to the ninth. Arenado added one more with a single to left that scored Del Castillo, making it 10-2. The Cardinals' bullpen had no answers, and Arizona's lineup looked like it could have kept going all night. Pfaadt did his job well enough — 6.0 innings, 2 earned runs — while McGreevy absorbed the damage on the St. Louis side, allowing 4 earned runs in 6.1 innings.
St. Louis made the final score look slightly more respectable with a two-run ninth. Torres singled to right to score Church and Wetherholt, then Nootbaar — who finished 2-for-5 with 3 RBI — singled to right to score Torres and Burleson, trimming it to 10-6. It was cosmetic. Brandyn Garcia and Taylor Clarke each threw a clean inning in relief for Arizona, and the outcome was never in doubt after that eighth-inning barrage. The story of this game was Arizona's patience and depth at the plate: Locklear, Moreno, Del Castillo, and Arenado all contributed meaningfully, and the Diamondbacks appear to have found every gear when it mattered most.