PHOENIX — Pinch-hitter Ryan Waldschmidt hit a game-winning, two-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied to stun the Chicago Cubs 5-4 on Tuesday night.
The Diamondbacks pulled one game behind the San Diego Padres for the final NL wild-card spot.
Trailing 4-3 in the ninth, Tim Tawa coaxed a one-out walk from Jacob Webb to start the decisive rally. Ildemaro Vargas flew out to right field for the second out before pinch-runner José Fernández stole second base. Waldschmidt — a rookie — then launched a no-doubt home run over the left-field fence to set off a raucous celebration.
It was Waldschmidt’s second walk-off home run of the season.
The Diamondbacks trailed 4-0 in the eighth before mounting a two-out rally against reliever Daniel Palencia. Gabriel Moreno hit a check swing RBI double that hugged the first-base line and stayed fair before Geraldo Perdomo’s two-run single cut the deficit to 4-3. Webb relieved Palencia and coaxed a groundout from Max Kepler to end the threat.
Ian Happ hit a three-run home run in the fourth to push the Cubs ahead 3-0. Michael Busch’s RBI single in the sixth made it 4-0. Busch and Seiya Suzuki both had two hits.
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The Diamondbacks’ rally ruined a great outing for Clay Holmes, who breezed through their lineup, giving up two singles and two walks while striking out five over seven scoreless innings. The right-hander has given up just one earned run over his past 19 innings, spanning three starts.
Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt (7-2) gave up four runs on six hits and two walks, striking out three. He didn’t allow a hit over the first three innings, but gave up a single and a double in the fourth before Happ’s three-run home run.
Up next
The Diamondbacks send LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (13-4, 2.61 ERA) to the mound to face Cubs LHP Matthew Boyd (8-2, 4.15).