The Diamondbacks broke open a close game with seven runs in the seventh inning and held on for a 12-8 win over the Guardians on Saturday night at Progressive Field. Geraldo Perdomo drove the attack with four hits, including a solo homer in the inning that changed everything.
The result pushed the Diamondbacks to their fourth straight win and lifted them to 59-52, a mark that matters because they needed every cushion they could get after building a 10-2 lead and still watching Cleveland come back. Perdomo later added a bases-loaded, two-run single in the ninth, while James McCann also drove in two runs with a double that landed just inside the foul line in right field and Corbin Carroll added a three-run shot to right-center.
That seventh inning was more than a burst; it was only the Diamondbacks' second seven-run inning of the season. Ildemaro Vargas singled in a run with two outs, then McCann's double and Carroll's home run kept the inning moving long enough to bury the game. Nolan Arenado later joined the power surge with his 15th homer in the eighth, giving the Diamondbacks three players with at least 15 home runs.
The Guardians still made it uncomfortable. Down 10-2, they scored five times in the eighth off Paul Sewald and had the potential tying run at the plate before Kevin Ginkel ended the inning. Steven Kwan drove in a run with a single, Tim Tawa threw out Travis Bazzana at home, and a review turned on the ruling that McCann had altered Bazzana's path to the plate, which is why the run counted after the initial out call was overturned. For the Diamondbacks, Jonathan Loaisiga finished the last three outs after the late push.
Kohl Drake had already given Cleveland a reason to believe early when Rhys Hoskins opened the game with a two-run homer, but Drake settled in long enough to strike out a career-high six and allow five hits. The larger story was how quickly the Diamondbacks kept answering, and how Perdomo kept setting the tone at the plate. If rain reaches Sunday, Aug. 2, the bullpen's next test could come sooner than the club wants.
