Three home runs and a dominant pitching performance powered the Arizona Diamondbacks to an 8-0 shutout victory over the San Diego Padres on Monday night, with Max Kepler, Geraldo Perdomo, and Nolan Arenado each going deep.
Brandon Pfaadt earned the win, improving to 2-1 on the season after cruising through five innings without allowing a run. He gave up just four hits, walked no one, and struck out six batters. Two relievers combined to complete the shutout, holding San Diego to eight hits total.
Walker Buehler took the loss for the Padres, dropping to 5-5 after surrendering seven hits and seven earned runs across five innings. It was his second consecutive defeat. Since a strong outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 26 — a 7-1 win — Buehler has given up 16 runs in just nine innings, sending his ERA climbing from 3.81 all the way up to 5.07.
The trouble started almost immediately for San Diego. Just four pitches into the game, Ketel Marte lined a leadoff triple to center field and Perdomo was hit by a pitch. With Corbin Carroll at the plate, Perdomo broke for second base. Buehler stepped off the mound and attempted a throw but sailed it over shortstop Sung-Mun Song’s head for an error, allowing Marte to score.
Arizona added another run before the inning ended. After a one-out walk to Gabriel Moreno, Kepler lined a two-out single to left field, pushing the lead to 2-0 before Pfaadt had even thrown a pitch in the game.
The Diamondbacks blew the game open in the third inning with a four-run outburst. Carroll doubled with one out, Moreno singled, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. drove in a run with a single of his own. Kepler then launched a three-run blast to right field — his first home run of the year — that traveled an estimated 417 feet.
Perdomo added to the lead in the fourth inning with his sixth home run of the season, a shot estimated at 377 feet that landed in right field, making it 7-0. Arenado then led off the sixth with his 10th homer of the year, a 361-foot drive that struck the Western Metal Supply Co. building beyond the left field wall.
San Diego struggled to threaten throughout the night, not getting a runner into scoring position until the seventh inning. Jackson Merrill reached on an infield single and advanced to second on a groundout by Song, but Rodolfo Duran struck out to end the threat.
The loss came just one night after the Padres had snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
