All-Star 2B Ketel Marte expected back for Diamondbacks against Twins

The Arizona Diamondbacks admittedly have an uphill climb in their quest to secure the final wild-card spot in the National League.

Fortunately for the Diamondbacks, they appear to have avoided another obstacle with respect to the health of second baseman Ketel Marte.

The three-time All-Star likely will be back in the lineup on Friday as the Diamondbacks play the opener of a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis.

Marte's availability was in question after he fouled a ball off his right foot in the first inning of Arizona's 5-3 road victory over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday. He exited the contest in the seventh inning.

"He fouled that ball off his foot. I knew that it got him good. X-rays were negative, so I think we're in a good spot so far," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "I could tell by his body language he wasn't feeling good. It just got to be too much. The way I look at it, he's one of the best players in the National League, and I want him on the field, but at a certain point, we've got to be smart about it."

Geraldo Perdomo homered to lead off the game on Wednesday and added an RBI single for Arizona (73-74), which resides 3 1/2 games behind the New York Mets for the final wild-card spot entering play on Thursday.

The Diamondbacks will turn to Brandon Pfaadt (13-8, 5.18 ERA) to start Friday's game against the Twins' Pablo Lopez (5-4, 2.84) in a battle of right-handers.

Pfaadt recorded his first win in nearly one month on Saturday after allowing one run on six hits in six innings in a 5-1 home victory over the Boston Red Sox. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter to notch his first win since Aug. 10.

Pfaadt, 26, recorded a no-decision in his lone career outing against Minnesota. He surrendered two homers and four total runs over 6 1/3 innings on June 25, 2024.

Lopez fared well -- albeit in a losing effort -- in his first start in three months following his return from a right shoulder strain on Friday. He was saddled with the loss despite allowing two runs on six hits in six innings of a 2-1 setback to the host Kansas City Royals.

"I would be lying if I told you I wasn't having a lot of heart-beating-fast moments in that first inning. It felt like those 15 seconds between pitches were more like six seconds," Lopez said of his return, per the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

"Everything got fast, but I knew that I was going to have to find ways to slow things down, and then just do what I'm supposed to do when I'm on a big-league mound -- just execute, compete against what's in front of me, and let my natural abilities take over. Not overthinking."

Lopez, 29, is 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in 20 innings over four career appearances (all starts) against Arizona.

The Twins (64-82) tumbled to their eighth loss in 10 games following consecutive defeats to the host Los Angeles Angels. They dropped a 12-2 decision on Tuesday and a 4-3 setback on Wednesday.

Byron Buxton belted a two-run homer in the series finale versus the Angels. He has hit safely in four straight games and 11 of his last 12.

--Field Level Media