Pirates pitchers struggle in another loss to Diamondbacks

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers struggled from the mound as they lost their second straight game to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night at Chase Field in Phoenix.

The Pirates (52-52) are coming off a second straight series loss to the Diamondbacks (55-50), their first coming when they dropped two games to the New York Mets at PNC Park, July 6-7. It is also their first series loss since dropping two of three games to the St. Louis Cardinals, July 2-4, also at PNC Park.

Shortstop Oneil Cruz opened the scoring for the Pirates in the first inning by hitting a ball 470 feet (144 m) over the left-field wall, away from Diamondbacks starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt for a solo home run, 1-0.

Pirates left-handed starting pitcher Marco Gonzales walked Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte on four consecutive pitches, then allowed a single to catcher Gabriel Moreno with no outs in the bottom of the first inning.

Gonzales would throw out left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., but then allowed a single to first baseman Christian Walker, scoring Marte from second base and tying the game for the Diamondbacks. Gonzales did get designated hitter Randal Grichuk to fly out, but center fielder Jake McCarthy hit a ball to Cruz, who he was about to throw out at first base to load the bases.

Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez grounded out, tying the first inning.

Arizona took the lead in the second inning when right fielder Corbin Carroll drove a ball that Gonzales drove across the plate for a solo homerun, 2-1.

Gonzales continued to struggle, allowing a single to shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, which turned into a double on a fielding error, and then another home run to Marte, giving the Diamondbacks a 4-1 lead.

The Diamondbacks continued to confuse Gonzales, as he singled to McCarthy and then walked Carroll with one out in the third inning.

Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton opted to end Gonzales’ night by bringing right-hander Dennis Santana out of the bullpen. Santana retired both Perdomo and Marte to end the inning and strand both runners.

Moreno singled in the fourth inning for the Diamondbacks and then stole second base, after which Pirates catcher Joey Bart made a throw.

Santana retired the next three batters: Gurriel, Walker and Grichuk. In just 1.2 innings, he struck out five.

Pirates left fielder Joshua Palacios singled to lead off the fifth inning, the first baserunner Pfaddt allowed. Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes then singled, just beating Walker’s glove, to put two runners on base with no outs.

Bart would help the Pirates, as he hit a ball into left field, just over Gurriel, who lost it. Palacios scored from second base to make it a 4-2 game, and Bart ended up on second base with a double, plus moved Hayes to third.

Pittsburgh right fielder Ji Hwan Bae hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Hayes and moving Bart to third with one out, cutting the Diamondbacks’ lead to 4-3.

Taylor then grounded out, giving Bart enough time to score from third base and tie the score at 4-4.

Right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester entered the game in the fifth inning, where he allowed a single to McCarthy, his third hit of the night, hitting Suárez and walking Carroll to load the bases with no outs.

He would get Perdomo out, but on a sacrifice fly, allowing McCarthy to score and Suárez to advance to third. Marte would also hit a sacrifice, allowing Suárez to score and restoring the Diamondbacks lead to 6-4.

Cruz led off the sixth inning with a hit to center field, which McCarthy missed, allowing Cruz to quickly run to third for a triple.

Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales grounded out, but grabbed his groin on his way to the dugout. First baseman Connor Joe would score Cruz on the ensuing groundout, cutting the Diamondbacks’ lead to 6-5.

Shelton retired Gonzales and moved Jared Triolo to second base in the sixth inning.

Priest continued to struggle in the sixth inning, allowing a single to Gurriel and then hitting Walker to put two runners on base with no outs.

Joc Pederson entered the game and tripled to right field, scoring both Gurriel and Walker. McCarthy would single right after, extending Arizona’s lead to 9-5.

Arizona’s bullpen held the Pirates in check for the rest of the game, with right-handed pitcher Justin Martinez, left-handed pitcher AJ Puk, whom they recently acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins, and right-handed pitcher Bryce Jarvis, who struck out a run-free seventh and ninth inning to secure the win.

The Pirates will attempt to avoid a sweep against the Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 4:10 p.m. (EST)

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