Diamondbacks eager to continue momentum vs. Cardinals

The Arizona Diamondbacks have struggled to capitalize on opportunities of late. But after coming through in the ninth inning Tuesday against the host St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona hopes to build off its clutch play Wednesday night in the third contest of a four-game series.

Heading into Tuesday's 4-3 win, the Diamondbacks were 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position over their past two games. They went 0-for-8 in the series opener against St. Louis on Monday (a 3-2 loss) after a 1-for-8 showing in the series finale against the Minnesota Twins (a 4-2 defeat) on Sunday.

The Diamondbacks ended Tuesday's game 2-for-13, with those two hits coming in the top of the ninth as they built a 4-0 advantage before the Cardinals cut their deficit to 4-3 in the bottom half.

"I don't want to sound weird about it, but I know momentum is a real thing in this game," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "We try and stop it when we're out on the field, and we're trying to create it inside of our dugout, so that was a big win."

Former Cardinal Nolan Arenado sparked the Arizona offense, knocking a double into the left-field corner that drove in Gabriel Moreno to open the scoring.

It was Arenado's third straight game with a hit, and his fourth in the past five after failing to connect in five of his previous seven. He's managed only 13 hits in 76 at-bats this month, a .171 average.

"To be honest, that was probably one of the best at-bats I've had all year, just considering how the at-bat went," Arenado said. "The group needed it, and I needed to come through for the group. The past couple of weeks have been rough. It was good to come through for the boys, and I feel like everyone can take a deep breath."

That might not be easy for Mitch Bratt. The 22-year-old left-hander is expected to make his major league debut against the Cardinals on Wednesday. A fifth-round pick by the Texas Rangers in 2021, Bratt was 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in 11 games as a rookie with Triple-A Reno.

St. Louis will counter with left-hander Matthew Liberatore (3-4, 5.23 ERA), who will look to bounce back after his worst start of the season. He gave up seven runs (five earned) and lasted just 1 2/3 innings in a 14-6 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.

"We have tools now that give you a clear indication as to if something is actually making progress, regardless of what our eyes tell us or what the line looks like," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. "... It's easy to sit here and every outing, try to [ask], well, what's next for them?. I'll tell you what's next: their next start. That's what's next."

Liberatore has faced the Diamondbacks once in his career, giving up one run on six hits in seven innings of a no-decision in his team's 6-5 win on May 24 of last season.

It's unknown if St. Louis will have Masyn Winn back in the lineup on Wednesday. The shortstop was a late scratch Tuesday because of left thumb irritation, forcing Marmol to insert Alec Burleson and Nathan Church after he had planned to give the pair a breather.

-Field Level Media