Smith's slam, 6 RBIs lead D-backs' 14-run outburst vs. Cards

ST. LOUIS -- On Monday night, D-backs manager Torey Lovullo lamented the missed opportunities his team's offense had in a tough loss. Primarily, the lack of a big hit allowed the Cardinals to stick around for a late comeback.

On Tuesday, the D-backs bats provided an early -- and decisive -- knockout in a 14-1 rout of the Cardinals.

Big hits and timely hitting were plentiful in a four-run third and a six-run fifth, leaving no doubt about the outcome.

"I'm really proud of this team," Lovullo said. "I've said this seven times already this year, we've had some really tough losses where the next day we've come out and executed and won a baseball game and that's what I'm most proud of."

Back-to-back walks to Jake McCarthy and Ketel Marte sparked the third-inning rally. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. started the theme of two-out RBI hits with a single to score McCarthy. Christian Walker followed with a three-run homer, a 418-foot laser that left his bat at 105.7 mph before landing deep in the left field bleachers to give the D-backs a 4-1 lead.

"It's another layer of confidence and trust and just believing in one another," Walker said. "It's, you know, a total team effort. It wasn't, you know, one person with a crazy game. It was just a lot of guys chipping in and passing the baton. I think that's how you have a really good year."

Arizona sent up 10 batters during the fifth-inning outburst. Gabriel Moreno singled home Marte to start the scoring, but the damage seemed limited after reliever Zack Thompson struck out Eugenio Suárez for out number two.

But the D-backs put together four-straight two-out hits. Randal Grichuk's single, the 1,000th hit of his career, scored Moreno. Pavin Smith followed with a two-run double and Kevin Newman capped the frame with a two-run homer to make it 10-1.

"I just think hits are contagious," Smith said. "So, when people are getting hits in front of you and people are on base, it puts some pressure on the pitcher. And he's got a lot of pressure on him. He makes worse pitches and it kind of just snowballs."

Smith, starting in just his second game of the season, crushed his second career grand slam with two outs in the sixth. His other also came against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium on April 17, 2023. The six RBIs are a career high.

All but one of Arizona's 14 runs came on two-out hits.

"As you capitalize on those two-out RBIs, those two-out runs, that's what changes games in my opinion," Walker said.

It is the fourth time this season that Arizona has scored 12 or more runs in a game.

"They're capable of scoring runs in bunches because they're just good baseball players and they're good hitters," Lovullo said. "But there's nothing more pleasing when you do it with two outs. It's kind of backbreaking to the pitcher, to the opposition."

The runs were enough for D-backs starter Tommy Henry, who was officially recalled from Triple-A Reno before the game. Henry (1-1) pitched a season-high six innings, striking out six, walking just one and allowing five hits. His lone run allowed came on a Willson Contreras' solo homer in the first.

The turning point for Henry came in the fourth. After allowing the first two to reach, he escaped the jam by striking out Masyn Winn looking with a 79-mph curveball on the seventh pitch of the at-bat.

Henry finished the outing with back-to-back strikeouts of Paul Goldschmidt and Lars Nootbaar in the sixth.

Logan Allen earned his first career save by pitching three scoreless innings.

Henry's outing is especially encouraging as injuries have severely tested the D-backs' pitching depth. Before the game, Merrill Kelly was put on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder strain.

"We've had some really difficult circumstances that we're dealing with," Lovullo said. "We have understudies, we have players coming up from Triple-A ready to compete. That's what the Diamondbacks need to do. We need our young players to step in here and compete and do their job. And that's what's really has been standing out to me over the past couple of days."