Greinke, Goldschmidt lead Diamondbacks past Phillies
PHILADELPHIA -- Zack Greinke pitched eight strong innings and hot-hitting Paul Goldschmidt slugged a two-run home run, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on a warm June Saturday afternoon.
Arizona's entire offense came via the long ball.
After shortstop Nick Ahmed tied things up with a solo blast to start the fifth inning, Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to a dozen games with one swing of his bat, on an 0-2 slider from Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff with one man on base.
The blast over the left-center railing, Goldschmidt's 14th of the season, capped off a three-run fifth inning that provided all the offense the Diamondbacks needed. The slugging first baseman finished 2-for-5 to raise his average to .290.
Jake Lamb hit Arizona's third home run of the day -- his 13th of the season -- in the seventh inning, off Philadelphia reliever Severino Gonzalez.
Eickhoff (4-9, 3.49 ERA) was lifted after 5 2/3 innings, giving up nine hits and three runs, all earned. It was the first time he has not gone at least six innings in his last seven starts.
The Phillies offense, yet again, failed to provide any sort of muster. This time out they struggled mightily against Greinke, the Diamondbacks' ace.
Odubel Herrera's first-inning home run was the only real blemish on Greinke's outing as the three-time All-Star won his seventh consecutive start, improving his record to 10-3 on the season while his ERA dropped to 3.54.
Herrera's homer was the team's only hit of any sort until the seventh inning, continuing a trend over the last month that has seen the team go from a season-high seven games above .500 to nine games below it.
In losing nine of its last 10 games, the Phillies have failed to score five runs or more eight times.
NOTES: This was the second of a four-game wraparound series, which Arizona began with a 10-2 win June 11. That saw the Diamondbacks hit a franchise record-tying six home runs. Furthermore, the Phillies became just the second team in the last 100 years to give up six home runs while also recording 15 strikeouts (Chicago Cubs on May 28, 2006). ... The Phillies pitching staff has given up 17 home runs over its previous four games, a franchise record. The club has been outscored 41-9 over that time. ... Sunday's pitching matchup pits Phillies RHP Zach Eflin (0-1, 27.00 ERA) against Diamondbacks RHP Archie Bradley (2-3, 5.66 ERA).