D-backs get 1st 4-HR inning in playoff history in coolest way possible

PHOENIX -- The D-backs knew they were going to need to get off to a hot start in Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Dodgers on Wednesday night at Chase Field.

Becoming the first team in postseason history to hit four home runs in a single inning certainly helped that cause. The D-backs needed all those homers in the 4-2 win over the Dodgers, which sent Arizona to the NLCS for the first time since 2007.

“I think this team is capable of doing anything,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “We're a very dynamic team. It's about having mature at-bats and handing it off to the next guy, not doing too much.”

Geraldo Perdomo isn’t known for his power, so it wasn’t a surprise that he showed bunt on the first pitch he saw, causing the infield to play in. But after he blasted a 383-foot home run to right field off Dodgers starter Lance Lynn to start Arizona’s third-inning slugfest, all the L.A. infielders could do was watch as Perdomo evidently set the tone for what was to come.

“I was trying to find a good pitch,” Perdomo said. “Thanks to God, I was able to find that pitch, get good contact, hit a home run and get the party started.”

Ketel Marte took it a step further two at-bats later, ripping a second-pitch cutter 428 feet to right field to give the D-backs a two-run cushion.

The veteran second baseman was with the team when it lost 110 games in 2021, and despite some of the darkest days, Marte knew the culture in Arizona had a bright future. As he trotted the bases after his homer, fireworks filtered the open roof in Phoenix -- a reminder for him that when the fun starts, that’s when the team plays at its best.

“It was crazy,” said Marte, who finished 2-for-4. “We just go out there and have fun. When you have fun, everything is going to be good. We got a great team and we have a lot of [fun]. That's not surprising.”

Two batters later, Christian Walker finished a five-pitch sequence by hammering a hanging cutter to left field.

The next batter, Gabriel Moreno, then flexed his opposite-field power by sending a shot down the line that just squeezed over the right-field fence and looked like a home run. Moreno circled the bases, but the ball was foul, and a crew chief review confirmed the call.

No problem.

On the next pitch, Moreno responded by cranking the ball to left-center without a doubt and throwing his bat into the air in celebration. Though he exited two innings later with a right hand contusion, Moreno -- and his power -- should be ready to go for the NLCS.

“As far as the power goes, I've never seen something like that before. It was almost unbelievable, right?” Lovullo said. “And who hits a home run foul and on the next pitch hits a home run fair? Never happens; you usually strike out. Goes all the way back to Little League. It happened every time. That's the quality of hitter we have.”

The D-backs have recently embraced a new motto: Create Chaos. That’s what they’ve done all year. They aren’t known to win games with power. They’ve won games by bunting, stealing bases and putting balls in play that advance runners.

“I think for the early parts of the season probably until a little bit after the All-Star break, this team was having quality at-bats," Lovullo said. “They were doing their job and handing it off. That's why we were in the position we were in.

“But I don't know what happened. I think we tried to do a little too much to prove ourselves for those lean months. But once we got in, I felt like this team really gelled, took a deep breath, a deep exhale, and felt like it's -- 'I'm 0-for-0 and let's start this thing over.'”