The Diamondbacks got exactly what they needed after a draining 12-inning battle the night before: a clean, controlled afternoon from Eduardo Rodriguez and just enough offense to finish off the Pirates, 3-0, and lock up the series win.
Arizona did not come out swinging early. Jared Jones kept the Diamondbacks quiet the first time through the order, and for a while it looked like the bats might need some time to wake up.
But once Corbin Carroll doubled to start the fourth and swiped third, the game turned in a hurry. Gabriel Moreno didn’t settle for the easy run; he launched a low-and-away slider to dead center for a two-run homer that gave Arizona the opening it needed.
That was enough for Rodriguez, who delivered his best outing of the season and one of the best of his career. He worked eight scoreless innings, never looking rattled, and showed crisp command across all five of his pitches.
The changeup did a lot of the damage, generating seven of his 15 whiffs. He didn’t pile up strikeouts - just two - but he kept the Pirates off balance and on the ground, with only five balls classified as hard hit.
Rodriguez also made his pitch count work in his favor, helped by Pittsburgh’s early-count approach and two double-play balls that snuffed out threats in the first and fourth innings. He finished having allowed only six baserunners, including one walk.
Arizona added another run in the sixth after a two-out walk opened the door. Moreno drew it, moved to third on a bloop single by Ketel Marte, and scored when Max Kepler singled just past second baseman Brandon Lowe. It wasn’t a big offensive night, but with Rodriguez dealing, it didn’t have to be.
The bigger picture for Arizona is the starting pitching. Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt, and Rodriguez combined for 20.2 innings over three days against Pittsburgh and gave up just one unearned run.
That kind of work takes pressure off a bullpen that has had its issues, especially in last night’s near disaster. It also matters because the Pirates’ offense is no joke - they’re tied for second in the majors in runs per game at 5.21, third in OPS at .759, and their 980 hits lead all of baseball.
For the Diamondbacks, the message from this series was clear: if the starters keep throwing like this, they can cover a lot of ground.