Arizona Diamondbacks rookie sensation Ryan Waldschmidt delivered a historic pinch-hit blast to stun the Chicago Cubs.
When the night came to an end on Tuesday, Aug. 26, it's safe to say Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo made the right decision.
Lovullo had to choose between right-handed betters Jose Fernandez, James McCann, and Ryan Waldschmidt to pinch-hit for Jorge Barrosa in the ninth inning.
In a 2-1 count with two outs, Waldschmidt got the 84-mph slider he was looking for, and he hit it 408 feet to left field to walk off the Chicago Cubs with his two-run blast.
This was a game where the Diamondbacks trailed 4-0 through six innings, but they scored three in the eighth, and Waldschmidt added the deciding two runs in the ninth to walk things off.
Arizona improved to 70-63 on the year and picked up a huge win over the now 76-57 Cubs, a team that has sole possession of first place in the National League Wild Card race.
Heading into the series finale, the D-backs are officially six games back of the Cubs and are still one game out of the final Wild Card spot.
Waldschmidt records second walk-off homer this month
Remember, Waldschmidt had a walk-off homer not too long ago against Los Angeles Dodgers' star closer Edwin Diaz. Somehow, he was able to do it again, marking his second walk-off blast in the last 20 days.
There were numerous ways Waldschmidt made history, but arguably the most impressive is the fact that he's the first rookie to record a pinch-hit walk-off homer in franchise history, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
Elsewhere, he's the only MLB player with multiple walk-off homers when trailing this year. Not only that, but ESPN Research confirmed he's the first rookie in MLB history to hit multiple walk-off home runs in a calendar month while his team is trailing.
Officially, he's in an exclusive club alongside Will Smith, James McCann, Kevin Romine, and Kirby Higbe as the five players who have hit two walk-offs as part of their first three career home runs.
Breaking down the D-backs' thrilling comeback
Brandon Pfaadt gave this team 6.2 quality innings, but it seemed like the four earned runs he allowed would still be too much to overcome.
Clay Holmes was sensational for the Cubs, allowing just two hits in his seven innings of work. Once he was pulled, the D-backs knew they could get to work.
Despite the bottom of the eighth inning beginning with a one-pitch lineout, the D-backs had runners reach via a hit by pitch and a walk. Gabriel Moreno came up with a clutch two-out RBI double, and Geraldo Perdomo followed it up with a two-RBI single of his own.
Tim Tawa's one-out walk got the party started in the ninth inning, setting up Waldschmidt's thrilling walk-off that set up a winner-take-all series finale.
