D-backs build momentum with sweep over Reds

CINCINNATI -- The D-backs completed a three-game sweep of the Reds with a 5-4 win Thursday afternoon at Great American Ball Park and have now won four straight games as they head to Baltimore for a matchup with the Orioles.

Here are some things to know from the game:

The D-backs finally seem to have some momentum
For much of the first month of the season, the D-backs seemed to be treading water, struggling to string wins together.

When they won Wednesday night’s game against the Reds, it was the first time all season they had won three consecutive games. Now, with four straight under their belts, they seem like they’ve finally gained some traction.

“You want to get out there and ride this wave like we have been for the past several games,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “We deserve the feeling that's in that clubhouse right now, the excitement that we're hopefully going to take to Baltimore and continue playing the same way we are. That's the idea of this and it's up to us just to make sure that we're ready and we will be.”

It was the Joc Pederson show
Pederson did a little bit of everything Thursday. He got the D-backs on the board in the first inning with a solo home run, led off the sixth with a single and eventually came around to score.

And, in the ninth, he not only bunted for a hit, he proceeded to steal second base.

So which did he enjoy more, the homer, the bunt single or the stolen base?

“I’ll take the homer all day,” he said before explaining his decision to bunt. “I didn't really get much to hit the rest of the day. And instead of chasing to try and do something, just pass the baton -- get on any way I can and try to get two runs and cushion the lead a little bit.”

Pederson’s season deserves more attention
Pederson’s free agent signing flew a little under the radar in the offseason, but in what has been a less than ideal start for the offense, Pederson has been a bright spot. Through Thursday’s game, he has a .950 OPS and has delivered big hits.

“He showed all the skills today, right?” Lovullo said. “Stolen base, bunt base hit. It just shows me that he’s a student of the game. He pays attention, he’s got a lot of weapons and he knows how to use them. There's a lot of conversations being had inside of the dugout where he's just a big influence because of his personality and his track record. But then he dives in with all of his teammates and talks about the importance of being able to do the things he did today.”

That spring work paid off
The Reds looked like they might have something brewing in the sixth. Down 3-1, Elly De La Cruz led off the inning with a walk and stole second base. He then started to steal third, but Arizona right-hander Slade Cecconi read the play correctly and picked De La Cruz off.

The Reds would eventually come up empty in the inning.

“In this ballpark, outs are at a premium,” Lovullo said. “ I get the same feeling here that I do at Colorado just because things can change in a hurry. So that was a huge out. We talk about that, we rehearsed it in Spring Training over and over and over again. We continue to practice it through the course of the season, and it worked and it was a big out for us.”

A little trickery in the eighth
With one out in the eighth, Mike Ford singled to center and was pinch-run for by Stuart Fairchild.

Fairchild took off to try and steal second at the same time that Jeimer Candelario hit a line drive to center field. While Corbin Carroll was catching the ball for the out, shortstop Kevin Newman was pretending to take the throw from the catcher and tag Fairchild out.

Fairchild slid into second and was momentarily confused. The delay was just enough to prevent him from getting back to first in time, and the D-backs had themselves a double play.

“It’s not something you do all the time, but in a big situation like that, the stakes are higher and I feel like it’s a better opportunity to get somebody on it,” Newman said.