The Arizona Diamondbacks will look for Michael Soroka to continue his hot start when they visit the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday afternoon in the deciding contest of a three-game series.
Soroka (4-0, 2.60 ERA) will oppose fellow right-hander Brandon Woodruff (2-1, 3.77).
The Diamondbacks evened the series with a 6-2 victory on Wednesday. Nolan Arenado belted a three-run homer, and Adrian Del Castillo, Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll each added a solo shot.
Kevin Ginkel relieved starter Eduardo Rodriguez with two outs in the fifth and allowed a single before getting the final out of the inning. Ginkel followed with a perfect sixth, and Juan Morillo, Taylor Clarke and Paul Sewald each finished with a hitless inning as the bullpen retired the final 13 hitters.
“Today, it was the bullpen that carried a lot of the workload,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “There was a big three-run home run by Arenado, but the bullpen was the difference maker.”
The Diamondbacks have not had a starter go more than five innings in the last nine starts. Soroka was the most recent Arizona starter to get through at least six innings, doing so on April 17, when he threw seven in a 6-3 victory over Toronto.
Milwaukee, which recorded a 13-2 win in the series opener vs. Arizona, led 2-0 on Wednesday before the Diamondbacks rallied behind the long ball.
“When we first got behind, we didn’t respond,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “We got a man on second right away, and then we had some empty at-bats, and that wasn’t our typical way of doing things.
“It’s been our story the first month of the season that we haven’t been consistent.”
Soroka has gone at least five innings in each of his five starts this season. He did not get a decision in his most recent start, allowing one run on seven hits in five innings in his team’s 4-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox last Thursday.
Soroka is 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA in two career appearances vs. Milwaukee, including one start in 2023.
Arizona’s Ildemaro Vargas singled in his first at-bat Wednesday, extending his club-record season-opening hitting streak to 22 games and overall streak to 25 games.
Vargas’ streak ties him with Joe Torre for the third-longest season-opening hitting streak in the majors since 1940. Ron LeFlore hit in 30 consecutive games with Detroit in 1976, and Atlanta’s Edgar Renteria opened with 23 straight in 2006.
Vargas is batting .372 with six homers, six doubles, two triples and 20 RBIs this season.
Arenado also has been hot, batting .404 with five homers, a double and 15 RBIs over his last 14 games.
Woodruff took his first loss of the season his last time out, allowing three runs in five innings in a 6-0 defeat against Pittsburgh on Friday as the Brewers managed just one hit against Paul Skenes and two relievers.
Woodruff is 3-1 with a 4.81 ERA in eight career games (seven starts) against the Diamondbacks.
Milwaukee’s Jake Bauers had an RBI double Wednesday to extend his hitting streak to seven games. Bauers is batting .345 with four doubles and five RBIs over that span.
–Field Level Media
