| Advertisement |
PHOENIX -- Recalled to make a spot start Wednesday, Arizona right-hander Zack Godley may have pitched himself into a spot in the Diamondbacks' rotation. Godley gave up one run and four hits in seven innings and the Diamondbacks used home runs from Nick Ahmed, Yasmany Tomas and Brandon Drury to break a three-game losing streak in a 7-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Chase Field.
Advertisement
"On a night when we needed somebody to step up, Zack Godley did a great job for us," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "Seven outstanding innings. Six strikeouts. One run. What more could you ask for? Kept some very, very dangerous hitters off balance. Controlled everything for me. He did a really good job of attacking the strike zone."
Godley (1-0) walked just one in his 88-pitch outing after being summoned from Triple-A Reno earlier in the day.
He got 14 ground-ball outs, including three double plays, and did not allow a hit after opposing pitcher Matt Boyd's infield single leading off the third inning.
"I felt like I was in a groove from the beginning," Godley said. "Being able to go out and attack the zone from the first pitch helped. It helped to continue to pound the zone and let the defense do their job."
Diamondbacks pitchers struck out at least 10 in a ninth straight home game, tying a major league record set by the Houston Astros earlier this season.
Arizona, without injured Shelby Miller, will need a fifth starter again Monday, but Lovullo was not ready to commit.
"We will sit down and talk about that in the coming days and figure out the best situation for us moving forward," Lovullo said.
"All I can do is keep doing what they ask of me," Godley said. "If they ask me to start, I'll start. If they ask me to go out of the 'pen, I'll do that. I'll just keep trying to take advantage of the opportunities they give me."
Ahmed homered in a two-run third inning. A.J. Pollock's two-out, two-run single made it 4-1 in the sixth after Boyd intentionally walked Ahmed and then walked Godley on a 3-2 pitch.
Tomas hit a two-run homer and Drury followed with a solo shot in the seventh inning for Arizona (19-16), which had lost seven of 10.
The Tigers managed just five hits, all singles, including James McCann's RBI hit in the second inning that resulted in a 1-0 lead.
Ahmed, Drury, Pollock and Chris Owings had two hits apiece for Arizona, which had scored 29 runs in its previous 10 games.
"The at-bats have been a little quieter than usual lately," Ahmed said. "It's good to kind of get the bats going again and get some guys early feeling good at the plate.
"We talk about linking our at-bats together and having team at-bats up and down the lineup and not having one guy try to do it all. When we are going good, it is everybody contributing up and down the lineup."
The Tigers (16-16) have lost three of four.
Boyd (2-3) gave up eight hits and four runs (three earned) in six innings. He struck out six and walked three.
"The big mistake is the walk to the pitcher," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. "That changes that inning. If we can get the pitcher out, it's still a 2-1 ballgame. That was kind of the turning point. But overall, Matt pitched well."
NOTES: To add RHP Zack Godley to the roster, the Diamondbacks placed LHP T.J. McFarland (bruised left ankle) on the 10-day disabled list. McFarland was removed from the Tuesday game after he was stuck by a line drive. ... Detroit 2B Ian Kinsler (hamstring) missed his sixth consecutive game. Andrew Romine started at second base and went 0-for-4 from the leadoff spot. ... Arizona RHP Shelby Miller underwent Tommy John surgery, with the operation performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. "Everything went fantastic," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.
