Two Ryans, two walk-offs, and two very different kinds of finishes lit up Friday night across MLB.
In Arizona, Ryan Waldschmidt delivered the louder ending. In New York, Ryan McMahon provided the timely one. Just minutes apart, both players turned tight games into wins with late drama that sent the Diamondbacks and Yankees home happy.
Waldschmidt’s moment came in the bottom of the ninth against the Dodgers, with Los Angeles trying to close out the opener. Instead, Edwin Diaz watched Waldschmidt launch a two-run homer to left-center field and flip a 3-2 game into a 4-3 Arizona win. The blast not only sealed the victory, it also handed the Dodgers their seventh straight loss and eighth in their last 10.
The Yankees needed extra innings to finish theirs off. They were blanked through eight before the game cracked open in the late innings, with New York first benefiting from an error after George Lombard Jr.’s infield hit. Austin Wells followed with an RBI double to get the Yankees on the board, and Ben Rice kept it moving with an RBI single off the right-field wall to tie things at 2-2.
After David Bednar threw a scoreless top of the 10th, McMahon came up with the game on the line. He ended it with a walk-off sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Luis Garcia Jr. and completing a 3-2 comeback over the Braves.
For a few wild minutes, MLB had a pair of endings with the same name attached. Different parks, different paths, same result: Ryan magic.
In Other News...
Brandon Pfaadt Is Forcing A Diamondbacks Question No One Expected
Brandon Pfaadt has turned his return to the rotation into one of the more encouraging developments on an otherwise uneven Diamondbacks stretch. In Sundays 2-1 loss to the Dodgers, he carried the load anyway, working seven scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and striking out two, the sort of outing that gives a staff both stability and a little badly needed breathing room.
Since rejoining the rotation on June 30, Pfaadt has looked far more like a pitcher in command of his mix than one trying to survive each start. The Diamondbacks have noticed, too, with the manager and teammates praising both his performance and his arsenal as August has gone by without an earned run on his line. The lingering question now is not whether he belongs in the conversation, but how far Arizona is willing to let this version of him push it. [Read more 🡒]
Jake McCarthy Is Making The Diamondbacks Trade Debate Even Louder
Jake McCarthy has a way of making the Diamondbacks offseason decisions look a lot louder in hindsight. In his latest trip through Colorado, the outfielder delivered a career game against the Rockies, going 4-for-5 with two home runs, four runs scored and two stolen bases, the kind of all-around night that reminds everyone how much impact he can still provide when hes locked in.
Arizona moved McCarthy to Colorado earlier in the offseason for pitching prospect Josh Grosz, and the deal already has become one of those trades that gets re-litigated every time the former Diamondback catches fire. With McCarthy putting up career-best numbers since landing in Colorado, the reaction back in Arizona has been predictably split, with some fans seeing a player they wish the club still had and others waiting to see whether the return eventually changes the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Add Risky Pitching Depth As Wild Card Pressure Builds
As the Wild Card race tightens, Arizona has gone looking for innings anywhere it can find them, and Zack Littell is the latest arm to join the mix. The right-hander landed with the Diamondbacks after Washington designated him for assignment, cleared waivers and then released him, giving Arizona a veteran starter-reliever option to help cover for the pitching injuries that have thinned the staff.
Littell arrives with plenty of recent big league mileage and a track record of bouncing between roles, the sort of profile clubs lean on when the calendar turns and every game starts to matter a little more. For the Diamondbacks, the appeal is simple: add depth now, sort out the rest later, and hope the new piece can steady a rotation and bullpen that have both been asked to carry too much for too long. [Read more 🡒]