D-backs face Pirates playing up to 'expectation'

The Arizona Diamondbacks would like to see their scintillating play in July carry over into August when they open a three-game series against the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.

Winners in 17 of 25 games last month, the Diamondbacks closed July with a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals to move a season-high seven games over .500. Arizona went into MLB play Thursday occupying the third and final wild-card spot in the National League.

"I think this is what we expected from the beginning of the season," Diamondbacks reliever Ryan Thompson said after the team's 5-4 victory over the Nationals on Wednesday. "I just don't think we've really played to the best of our ability up until this point and I think it's easy to look at this stretch and be like, ‘Wow, we're playing above expectations.'

"I think this is the expectation. I think we're in the World Series (in 2023) for a reason. We can start using the ‘Answerbacks' thing again. We can start using the ‘Embrace the Chaos,' like all that stuff that seemed like it was a little silent for a while."

Arizona's Corbin Carroll continues to make noise. He has reached base in a career-high 18 straight games following his RBI single in the sixth inning on Wednesday. He had two triples and a homer to help the Diamondbacks claim a three-game series victory over Pittsburgh last weekend in Phoenix.

Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt (5-6, 3.92 ERA) will look to defeat the Pirates for the second time in as many starts when he takes the mound on Friday.

Pfaadt, 25, yielded five runs on seven hits -- including a 472-foot solo homer to Oneil Cruz -- in six innings of the Diamondbacks' 9-5 victory last Saturday. He is 1-0 with a 6.35 ERA in two career starts versus Pittsburgh.

Cruz had a day he'd like to forget Wednesday. His three errors in two innings led to three unearned runs and helped the Houston Astros overcome a four-run deficit in a 5-4 victory over the Pirates.

"Yeah, it looked like he was trying to go a little bit too fast," Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said of Cruz. "Sometimes that happens with young players. He was trying to create a little bit too much."

Cruz has 20 errors this season, including eight over his last 10 games.

"Definitely as a player, you don't want to have days like that," Cruz said via an interpreter. "But it happens. It happens to every player out there. The good thing is I'm going to look back on those errors and learn from it, for sure, and get better."

Pittsburgh will look to rebound on Friday when it hands the ball to right-hander Luis Ortiz (5-2, 2.75).

Ortiz, 25, has made 27 appearances and has gone 2-0 with a 1.52 ERA in his five starts this season. He received a no-decision last weekend in his lone career encounter against Arizona. He permitted three runs on five hits -- including a solo homer by Joc Pederson -- in five-plus innings.

Bryan De La Cruz had a pair of singles in his debut with Pittsburgh on Wednesday. He is 10-for-27 with one homer, six RBIs and three runs during his six-game hitting streak with the Miami Marlins and Pirates.

--Field Level Media