MILWAUKEE — If the Diamondbacks’ three-homer barrage wasn’t enough to silence the Brewers faithful, then Evan Longoria’s defense was.
The three-time Gold Glove winner made multiple jaw-dropping stops at third base to help Arizona stun the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Tuesday night.
“I kind of just jumped and threw my glove up and it’s just a reaction,” Longoria said. “Sometimes I don’t even jump for those but for whatever reason I threw my glove up there, felt it hit my glove and I can’t believe I even caught it.”
Clinging to a 4-3 lead, the D-Backs began the bottom of the 5th inning by allowing three consecutive singles.
RELATED: What you need to know about the Diamondbacks' Wild Card Round opponent: the Milwaukee Brewers
Ryan Thompson, who was one of six Arizona relievers to make a scoreless appearance, struck out Brice Turang for the first out.
Then he witnessed the 37-year-old Longoria dip his leather into the Fountain of Youth.
Tyrone Taylor’s apparent go-ahead two-run single into left field turned into a leaping catch by Longoria for the second out. Thinking the ball would find the outfield, Willy Adames strayed too far from second base, where Longoria tossed for the final out of the inning.
“The playoffs, the momentum shifts inning to inning,” Longoria said. “As a team there are extreme highs and lows and on our side it was a huge moment for us and completely changes the momentum of that inning. So to be able to get out of that with one out and bases loaded, you could definitely feel a momentum swing there.”
An inning later, following a Christian Yelich leadoff walk, William Contreras’ chopper to the left side was hit too softly for shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to make a play.
Longoria ranged to his left and attempted to throw to first base. After bobbling the ball, the third baseman turned his head to check on Yelich, who wandered too far from second base.
Instead of two runners on base with no outs, Longoria’s throw to Ketel Marte resulted in the first out of the inning.
>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
If that wasn’t enough, Longoria’s backhanded diving stop in the 7th inning nearly resulted in another highlight reel play against Adames, but the throw was a fraction too late to first base.
“I knew the play at first was going to be bang-bang,” Longoria said. “Just good fortune it kind of popped up and went into my glove. I knew once I evacuated third, Yelich would try to go for third. As soon as I gloved the ball, I took a peek and saw he was rounding aggressively and had stopped and that was just another big opportunity to record a crucial out.”
One win down, one more to go. The Diamondbacks can advance to the NLDS with one more win in Milwaukee. Game 2 is set for Wednesday at 4:08 p.m.
12 SPORTS
Stay up-to-date on the latest Arizona sports stories with 12News.