With Opening Day just three days away, the Arizona Diamondbacks welcomed the Cleveland Guardians to Chase Field for their penultimate Spring Training showdown. The exhibition featured some final fine-tuning for both rosters, headlined by a pair of starting pitchers getting in one last tune-up—Eduardo Rodriguez for Arizona and Gavin Williams for Cleveland.

Pitchers on Point Early
The game began as a pitcher’s duel. Rodriguez looked sharp through his first few innings, allowing just one run in the third on an RBI triple by the red-hot Steven Kwan, who would finish the game 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. The lefty struck out five over 4.1 innings and walked off the mound ready for Opening Night.

Williams, meanwhile, matched him stride for stride. The Guardians’ righty tossed five scoreless innings, surrendering just four hits while striking out four, earning the win in his final spring start.

Guardians Build a Lead
Cleveland broke the game open in the fifth inning. After Rodriguez exited, Arizona’s bullpen ran into trouble. Justin Martinez gave up a pair of runs—first on a Jose Ramirez RBI single, and then on a broken-bat RBI groundout by Lane Thomas. A wild pitch from reliever Hernandez allowed Ramirez to score, pushing the Guardians’ lead to 4–0.

D-Backs Fight Back Late
After struggling to string hits together most of the night, the Diamondbacks mounted a thrilling rally in the ninth. Down 4–0, Arizona’s reserves showed resilience. Gavin Conticello led off with a single, and Ryan Waldschmidt was hit by a pitch. Anderson Rojas ripped an RBI double to left, and a wild pitch brought in another. Then, after a walk put the tying run on base, Jose Fernandez grounded into what looked like a double play—until a successful challenge kept the inning alive and brought the score to 4–3.

With the potential tying run at second, Druw Jones stepped in but went down swinging against Zane Morehouse, sealing the Guardians' nail-biting win.

Notable Performances
Steven Kwan (CLE): 3-for-4, RBI triple, 1 run
Gavin Williams (CLE): 5 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 K
Eduardo Rodriguez (AZ): 4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 5 K
Gabriel Moreno (AZ): 2-for-3, 1 double

What’s Next?
The Diamondbacks and Guardians will wrap up Spring Training with one final exhibition matchup at Chase Field tomorrow afternoon. Then, it’s all systems go—Arizona opens the regular season at home Thursday night against the Chicago Cubs.

Final Score: Guardians 4, Diamondbacks 3
Winning Pitcher: Gavin Williams
Losing Pitcher: Eduardo Rodriguez
Save: None

​Stay tuned for tomorrow’s recap as the countdown to Opening Day hits zero.