CLEVELAND (AP) — Two long days ended on a positive note for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Tuffy Gosewisch’s RBI single with one out in the 12th inning gave the Diamondbacks a 1-0 win over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night to earn a split of a doubleheader.
After Tuesday’s game was postponed after a 3-hour, 40-minute rain delay, the Diamondbacks lost Wednesday’s opener when Zach Walters’ walkoff homer in the ninth gave the Indians a 3-2 win.
As a scoreless second game dragged into extra innings, Arizona needed something good to happen before their 10-game trip continued Thursday against the Marlins. While Gosewisch came through in the clutch, five Arizona pitchers combined on the shutout.
“Getting the split the way we did will make for a good plane flight to Miami,” manager Kirk Gibson said.
Randall Delgado (2-3), the losing pitcher in the first game, pitched the 11th. Addison Reed gave up pinch-hitter Lonnie Chisenhall’s two-out double in the 12th, but struck out Jason Kipnis for his 28th save to end a game that lasted 4:16.
Alfredo Marte drew a leadoff walk from C.C. Lee (0-1) to start the winning rally. After a sacrifice, Gosewisch singled up the middle for the game’s only run.
“I was looking for a pitch up to drive, but he jammed me a little bit with a slider,” Gosewisch said. “Fortunately, it found a hole and got through.”
Michael Brantley started the 11th with a double, but Delgado struck out Carlos Santana and Chris Dickerson and retired Walters on a groundout.
Josh Tomlin pitched 5 1-3 innings while Andrew Chafin threw five innings in his major league debut.
Chafin, an Ohio native who pitched at Kent State, was called up on Aug. 8. He attended high school about 50 miles from Cleveland, and had more than 60 family members and friends at Progressive Field.
Chafin was optioned to Triple-A Reno following the game.
“I completely understand it’s for the benefit of the team,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll have the opportunity to come back, but this was a great night that I’ll never forget.”
Walters, acquired from Washington for Asdrubal Cabrera on July 31, hit a 1-2 pitch from Delgado that narrowly cleared the wall in right field to win the opener. The home run was the fourth of his career.
“He’s hit a couple balls right on the nose,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “On a day that it was probably going to take a home run to win it, it was good to see him do it. I’m sure that will help him relax.”
Cody Allen (4-2) pitched the ninth for Cleveland to get the win.
Trevor Bauer, pitching against the team that took him with the third pick of the 2011 draft, allowed two runs and struck out nine in a career-high eight innings.
WHERE’S THE WEATHERMAN?
Francona wasn’t particularly happy about Tuesday night’s events that saw the game postponed in the fourth inning after the lengthy rain delay. The initial forecast said the rain would last about an hour and then clear out. “Whoever was doing the forecasting last night had a bad night,” Francona said.
ALMOST READY
Francona said OF Michael Bourn (sore left hamstring) will DH in a minor league game Thursday and be activated Friday. Bourn had surgery on the hamstring in October, but the injury has bothered him all season. He hasn’t played since July 5.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: OF A.J. Pollock (broken right hand) is expected to resume his rehabilitation assignment at Triple-A Reno over the weekend. Pollock returned to Phoenix after being hit by a pitch on the same hand during his rehab debut in the Class A Arizona League, but tests showed no additional damage.
Indians: Nick Swisher (sore right knee) will be examined by Dr. Neal S. ElAttrache, the team physician for the Dodgers, on Tuesday in Los Angeles. A determination on whether Swisher needs surgery could be made at that time.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: Arizona continues its 10-game road trip with a four-game series in Miami on Thursday. Arizona RHP Chase Anderson (7-4) takes on RHP Brad Penny (1-0). Anderson is unbeaten in his past five starts, posting a 2-0 record with a 1.74 ERA over 31 innings.
Indians: Cleveland is off Thursday, but continues its five-game homestand Friday against Baltimore. Cleveland RHP Corey Kluber (13-6) faces LHP Wei-Yin Chen (12-4). Kluber is tied for the American League lead in wins and ranks third with a 2.46 ERA and 187 strikeouts.
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