PHOENIX — Ketel Marte hit and had three RBIs, pinch-hitter Joc Pederson hit a two-run triple and the Arizona Diamondbacks extended their winning streak to four games with a 9-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night.
Jake McCarthy went 5 for 5 with an RBI and Arizona had 13 hits to win for the 10th time in 13 games. The Diamondbacks have won or split eight consecutive series (7-0-1).
“That’s what we’ve been doing all year,” Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt said. “We know the team we have and are becoming. If the hitting stays hot and the pitching stays where it is, we can make a lot of runs.
The Diamondbacks pounced on the Pirates early, taking a 4-1 lead after Marte’s home run and Corbin Carroll’s solo shot.
Oneil Cruz hit a 472-foot home run in the first inning and the Pirates tied it at 4 with three runs in the fifth inning at Pfaadt (5-6).
After that, it was all Arizona.
Marte and Geraldo Perdomo hit sacrifice flies in the fifth inning, then Pederson had a two-run triple off Quinn Priester (2-6) in the sixth.
“There are a lot of winning players on that club and I think this is a catalyst for some really, really good results,” Diamondbacks coach Torey Lovullo said. “Even on the bad days, I felt like there was always a silver lining, something that was very encouraging, that made us feel like everything was going to be okay.”
Both starters got off to a slow start after a ceremony inducting Randy Johnson and Luis Gonzalez into the Diamondbacks’ first hall of fame class delayed the first pitch by 20 minutes.
For Pfaadt, it came in the form of Oneil’s mammoth home run high above the pool deck in right-center.
Marco Gonzales gave up a run in the first inning on Christian Walker’s single before escaping a bases-loaded jam. Carroll then hit a solo home run in the second inning and Marte followed with a two-run shot from near the same spot to put Arizona up 4-1.
Gonzales was lifted after a single and a walk out in the third inning. He allowed four runs on seven hits with three walks.
Pfaadt retired the next 11 batters before running into trouble in the fifth inning.
Joey Bart hit a run-scoring single, Ji Hwan Bae a sacrifice fly and Michael A. Taylor tied the score at 4 on an infield single. Connor Joe also ran in Pfaadt with a groundout in the sixth inning.
Pfaadt allowed five of seven hits in six innings.
“The linecore wasn’t indicative of what he did today,” Lovullo said. “They had that three-run inning and it kind of destroyed everything.”
PUK ARRIVES
Arizona left-handed reliever AJ Puk joined the team after being traded from Miami for two prospects on Thursday. He worked around an eighth-inning walk to stretch his scoreless streak to 17 2/3 innings in 15 starts.
Right-hander Thyago Vieira was selected to make room in the squad.
COACH’S TABLE
Pirates: 1B Rowdy Tellez was out of the lineup after leaving Friday’s game with back spasms. … 2B Nick Gonzales left in the seventh inning with left groin discomfort.
NEXT
Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (10-5, 3.34 ERA) was set to face Diamondbacks RHP Yilber Diaz (1-1, 5.40) in the series finale on Sunday.
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