Diamondbacks stay hot with 6-2 win over Padres behind balanced attack

PHOENIX (KYMA, KECY) - The Arizona Diamondbacks are heating up at the right time, and Monday night's 6-2 win over the San Diego Padres at Chase Field showed exactly why.

Brandon Pfaadt delivered another steady start on the mound, while Corbin Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. came through with two RBIs apiece to lead Arizona to its third straight victory.

After dropping nine of their last ten before this recent stretch, the D-backs are starting to look like a team rounding back into form.

Pfaadt, now 11-7 on the year, worked into the sixth inning and scattered two runs across 5 2/3 frames. He handed the ball off to Andrew Hoffmann in a tight spot two on, two out and the reliever answered the call, retiring Ryan O'Hearn to end the inning and then cruising through the seventh.

Arizona's offense wasted no time getting to Padres starter JP Sears. Ketel Marte led off the bottom of the first with a double, and Gurriel followed with a run-scoring single. Moments later, Carroll lofted a sac fly to center, scoring Blaze Alexander and making it 2-0.

The lead ballooned in the fourth thanks to a rally sparked by Jorge Barrosa's leadoff double. Ketel Marte followed with a single, and Carroll brought Barrosa home with a line drive into the gap. Gurriel added another RBI hit, pushing the score to 5-1.

Tyler Locklear and Alek Thomas added solo homers to cap the D-backs' scoring, but Thomas' performance continues to stand out. The young outfielder finished 2-for-4 and is now hitting .371 since the All-Star break, showing signs of a major second-half surge.

Kyle Backhus handled the final two innings with ease, earning his first big league save in the process.

Arizona now looks ahead to Game 2 of the series, sending Ryne Nelson (6-3, 3.20 ERA) to the mound against Padres veteran Yu Darvish (1-3, 6.46 ERA) on Tuesday.