First-place D-backs sweep to end homestand

PHOENIX -- The D-backs finished up their six-game homestand Sunday afternoon with a 6-1 win over the Marlins that completed a three-game sweep.
Matt Koch (4-3) had one of his best outings of the year, allowing just three hits over seven shutout innings.
Offensively, David Peralta homered in his third straight game, giving him 10 on the season.
By all accounts, the homestand, which also included a three-game series with the Reds, was a success. The D-backs went 5-1 and found themselves in first place in the National League West after a nearly two-week absence.

The D-backs also rediscovered their prowess at the plate, scoring 42 runs over the six games. To put that in perspective, the team scored a total of 18 runs during a nine-game road trip just prior to coming home.
"Good series," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "Good homestand. Just some really good approaches and looking like we're barreling up the ball and we're in a good spot right now."
To be fair, the improved offense came against the two teams with the worst ERAs in the NL and who are both in last place in their respective divisions.
Lovullo, though, seemed to reject the notion that the D-backs simply played well because they faced bad teams.

"I just think we're playing good baseball right now," Lovullo said. "I don't want to take the mindset of beating up on teams is something that's supposed to happen. That's a very dangerous mindset."
The road gets tough for the D-backs over the next week as they visit San Francisco and Colorado for three games each.
It's their first look at NL West competition since May 9.
"Two division opponents and we haven't played anyone in our division in a few weeks and we're getting the Giants and the Rockies, two series on the road, against teams that always play us tough," veteran infielder Daniel Descalso said. "So it should be a good test."

May was definitely a struggle for Arizona, which went 8-19 during the month and fell out of first place for a time.
"Going through what we went through is a tough stretch, it's a very tough, grinding stretch," Lovullo said. "But that's part of the baseball season. It comes and goes with every organization. I think we grew and learned from it. I think we showed some toughness and it's going to prepare us for those tough stretches that lie ahead. But we did get through it and we're onward. We're going to head up to San Francisco and enjoy what we're feeling right now, but at some point we're going to turn the page and get ready for them. We're back within our division and we know that we have to play good baseball within our division to get to where we want to get to."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
It gets lost in the shuffle of a 6-1 game, but early on the Marlins did have a scoring chance against Koch that might have changed the way the game progressed. Brian Anderson started the second with a double off the center-field wall and moved to third when Derek Dietrich followed with a groundout. Koch, however, was able to retire Cameron Maybin and Miguel Rojas to keep the Marlins off the board.
"Matt Koch obviously had the big day today with seven innings," Lovullo said. "He did everything you could possibly ask in one outing. He was pounding the zone. I think it was one of those special days when he's feeling every single pitch and was able to execute the way he wanted to."
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
D-backs right fielder Chris Owings nearly made a spectacular catch in the ninth inning when he dove for Anderson's fly ball. Initially, the play was ruled an out, but the Marlins challenged the call and after a 3 minute, 48 second review, it was ruled the ball hit the ground while in Owings' glove.

UP NEXT
The D-backs open a three-game series with the Giants at 7:10 p.m. MST on Monday at AT&T Park. It is the beginning of six-game road trip, which also includes a stop in Denver. Zack Godley gets the start. His best outing of the year came at AT&T Park on April 9, when he tossed seven shutout innings while striking out nine and not allowing a walk.