Tuesday was a very good day for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Hours after acquiring a pair of relief pitchers via trades,the D-backs defeated the Texas Rangers 6-0 on Tuesday night at Chase Field. Just minutes after that game ended, the Los Angeles Dodgers fell 1-0 to the visiting Milwaukee Brewers, allowing the D-backs to leapfrog the Dodgers and reclaim the lead in the National League West division -- a lead they have enjoyed for most of the season.
The Colorado Rockies also won Tuesday to remain within one-half game of the D-backs and pull even with the Dodgers in the NL West. The D-backs are looking to advance to the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2001-02.
Well... would you look at that. pic.twitter.com/1oMKvjw3Qd
— ABC15 Sports (@abc15sports) August 1, 2018
The D-backs defeated the Rangers behind pitcher Zack Godley's best outing of the season. On Tuesday, Godley became the first pitcher in 44 years to strike out the first batter he faced in each of a game's first seven innings. He threw seven shutout innings and earned a season-high 10 strikeouts in the victory.
The D-backs acquired righthanded relief pitcher Brad Ziegler, who pitched for the D-backs from 2011-16, and lefthanded reliever Jake Diekman right before Tuesday's trade deadline. Ziegler had already been named to the D-backs' 20th Anniversary team, and Diekman, who pitched for the Rangers against the D-backs on Monday, rode the D-backs' bullpen cart to his new team's clubhouse.
𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐤-𝐮𝐩: 𝑉𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐶𝑙𝑢𝑏ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝐹𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑
𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐻𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝐶𝑙𝑢𝑏ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝐹𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑
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𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮, @JakeDiekman! 𝐁𝐚𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐧𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐭. pic.twitter.com/MuBmzCaFd0— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 1, 2018
The D-backs are off Wednesday and will begin a four-game home series vs. the San Francisco Giants on Thursday.