Josh Bell and Ketel Marte Power Diamondbacks to Thrilling 9-8 Victory Over Pirates with Dual Home Runs

Acquired Tuesday from the Miami Marlins for cash considerations, Bell tied at 7 with two outs in the seventh with his second home run of the night.

PITTSBURGH — Josh Bell, in a dramatic debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks, homered from both sides of the plate. Ketel Marte also tallied two homers. The Diamondbacks edged out the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-8 on Friday night after initially losing a five-run lead.

Bell had the last of three consecutive homers for Arizona in the first inning, again leveling the score at 7 in the seventh inning with a shot from Aroldis Chapman’s 102.9 mph sinker, marking the fastest pitch hit for a home run since 2008.

“Everything he throws seems like it’s 120,” Bell said. “Happy to put the barrel on it.”

Geraldo Perdomo, fouling a ball off his knee, secured a go-ahead double in the eighth. “Never, never. We’re never going to give up,” he said after Arizona’s fourth consecutive win.

Marte added another homer, his 26th of the season, in the ninth inning off Dennis Santana.

Justin Martínez, with a notable performance, struck out the side in the eighth for the win. “They’re fighters,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo commented. “They believed they were going to win this game even when things were looking very, very desperate.”

Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz, achieving a single in the ninth, scored following Rowdy Tellez’s one-out RBI single. Ryan Thompson secured the save by getting Joey Bart and Ke’Bryan Hayes to ground out.

Cruz’s RBI single had initially put the Pirates ahead 7-6 in the sixth inning after trailing 5-0. Meanwhile, Andrew McCutchen’s and Bryan Reynolds’ RBI singles contributed to a four-run sixth for Pittsburgh.

In the first inning, Arizona’s Corbin Carroll tripled and scored when a relay from Cruz went past Hayes. Marte followed with a homer, and Joc Pederson added another 430-foot homer. Bell concluded the trio with another shot to right-center.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton praised Ortiz for managing to pitch over five innings despite challenges.

Diamondbacks’ Bryce Jarvis was placed on the 15-day injured list due to a sprained elbow. Surgery is not considered necessary at this time.

Pirates’ Isiah Kiner-Falefa began a rehab assignment with Double-A Altoon following a knee sprain.

Saturday’s pitching matchup is set to feature Mitch Keller for the Pirates against Jordan Montgomery for the Diamondbacks.