*Photo from Yahoo! Sports*
You know, a little late inning magic is all you need sometimes. Pavin Smith homered, Josh Rojas drove in the go ahead run, and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied to defeat the Cincinnati Reds with a 5-4 victory on Thursday afternoon in Cincinnati.
Finding themselves trailing 3-1 entering the 9th inning, the Diamondbacks rattled off 4 straight runs, grabbing the lead and the win. They picked up their second straight win, salvaging a series split with the Reds. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games, and sit just 3 games under .500 right now.
Rojas said of the comeback win that "We have so much more momentum. This is such a momentum game. You lose that game, it's a completely different feeling here. You might get some panic even for myself. If I don't get a hit there, I'm hitting the cage tomorrow early trying to figure out what's going on. And you get a hit like that, and now I don't even know if I need BP tomorrow. It's such a crazy game."
The Reds got themselves off to a fast start. In the first inning, Joey Votto doubled to right field, scoring two runs to make it 2-0 Reds. Kyle Farmer then added a sac fly, making it a 3-0 game. In the 5th inning, Smith got the D-Backs on the board with a solo homer to make it a 3-1 game.
There was no more scoring until the top of the 9th. Alek Thomas got it started with an RBI single, cutting the deficit to 3-2. The D-Backs then took a 4-3 lead when Rojas hit a two run single to center field. Rojas then scored on a groundout by David Peralta, making it a 5-3 game. Matt Reynolds hit a solo homer in the bottom half to make it a 5-4 game, but the Reds couldn't score again.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said of the comeback "That's the beauty of this team. I think they have unbelievable character. I've been saying now for about two or three weeks, they've got a great heartbeat. There was never any panic in the dugout. We felt like if we just kept scratching and clawing and we got into their bullpen, we'd give ourselves a chance."
It was Zach Davies who got the start in this one for the D-Backs. Davies got a no decision, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits over 6 innings pitched. JB Wendelken and Mark Melancon each had scoreless innings out of the bullpen, with Ian Kennedy getting the save in the 9th, his 4th of the season.
For the Reds, Tyler Mahle got the start and had a great game, allowing one run on 4 hits over 6 innings of work. Alexis Diaz had two strong innings out of the bullpen, before Tony Santillan got the loss and the blown save in the 9th inning, allowing 4 runs before Ross Detwiler finished the inning and the game.
Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly said that "Anytime that we start losing games in a row, I think there's a lot of people probably around here last year starts creeping into their heads, right? And it's hard not to after what we went through last year. So to be able to kind of stop that skid and get some momentum turned on the other way is big."
Up next, the D-Backs get back in action on Friday after a day off, facing the Philadelphia Phillies, where Zac Gallen gets the start. The Reds also have a day off on Thursday, before taking on the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, with Luis Castillo starting.
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