Ketel Marte Fuels Diamondbacks’ 4-Game Streak with 9-5 Triumph Over Pirates

Ketel Marte homered and had three RBIs, while pinch hitter Joc Pederson hit a two-run triple as the Arizona Diamondbacks extended their winning streak to four games.

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks clinched a 9-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night, continuing their hot streak. The D-backs’ offense was led by Ketel Marte’s homer and three RBIs, and a critical two-run triple from Joc Pederson.

Jake McCarthy had a stellar performance, going 5 for 5 with an RBI. Arizona accumulated 13 hits, marking their 10th win in 13 games. They have either won or split eight consecutive series.

“That’s what we’ve been doing all year,” said Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt. “We know the team we have and are becoming. If the batting stays hot and the pitching stays where it’s at, we can go on quite a run.”

The Diamondbacks had an early lead with Marte’s two-run homer and Corbin Carroll’s solo shot, putting them up 4-1.

Pirates’ Oneil Cruz hit a towering 472-foot homer in the first inning. The Pirates managed to tie the game at 4 with three runs in the fifth inning off Pfaadt, who now holds a 5-6 record.

“We had good swings,” noted Pirates manager Derek Shelton. “We executed with runners in scoring position. We put the ball in play. Bae did it, Connor did it, Michael did it. We just couldn’t hold them.”

Arizona dominated the game from there.

Marte and Geraldo Perdomo contributed with sacrifice flies in the fifth inning. Pederson’s two-run triple off Quinn Priester (2-6) in the sixth sealed the win.

“There’s a lot of winning players in that clubhouse,” said Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo. “Even on bad days, there was always something encouraging that made us feel optimistic.”

Both starting pitchers struggled early on, partly due to a 20-minute delay for a ceremony inducting Randy Johnson and Luis Gonzalez into the Diamondbacks’ first hall of fame class.

Pfaadt encountered trouble mainly from Oneil’s enormous home run and Pirates’ effective fifth inning. He eventually allowed five runs on seven hits over six innings.

Marco Gonzales gave up four runs on seven hits with three walks before being pulled in the third inning.

Pfaadt retired 11 consecutive batters before the Pirates’ fifth-inning surge. Joey Bart and Michael A. Taylor each drove in runs, and Ji Hwan Bae added a sacrifice fly.

“The linescore didn’t indicate what he did today,” Lovullo said. “They had that one inning with three runs and that kind of threw everything off.”

A.J. Puk, newly acquired from Miami, joined Arizona’s bullpen. He pitched a scoreless eighth inning, extending his streak to 17 2/3 innings over 15 appearances.

Right-hander Thyago Vieira was designated for assignment to create roster space.

TRAINER’S TABLE:

Pirates: 1B Rowdy Tellez missed the game due to back spasms. 2B Nick Gonzales left in the seventh inning with groin discomfort.

UP NEXT:

Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (10-5, 3.34 ERA) will face Diamondbacks RHP Yilber Diaz (1-1, 5.40) in the series finale Sunday.

AP MLB:

Arizona sports

Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams: the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, NBA’s Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, and MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Valley also hosts several major sporting events yearly, including the Fiesta Bowl, the WM Phoenix Open, NASCAR events, and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 MLB franchises.