Roaring D-backs knock off Pirates, 9-5

Jake McCarthy had a career-best five hits and Ketel Marte homered and drove in three runs to help the Arizona Diamondbacks post a 9-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night at Phoenix.

Corbin Carroll also homered and Joc Pederson delivered a pinch-hit, two-run triple as Arizona won for the 10th time in its past 13 games. The Diamondbacks are a season-high five games over .500.

McCarthy is the first Arizona player with a five-hit game since David Peralta achieved the feat against the Cincinnati Reds on April 22, 2021.

Oneil Cruz hit a tape-measure home run and also tripled for the Pirates, who lost for the second straight night. Ke'Bryan Hayes and Joshua Palacios also had two hits apiece for Pittsburgh.

Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt (5-6) allowed five runs and seven hits over six innings. Justin Martinez worked a perfect seventh, A.J. Puk walked one in a scoreless eighth in his Diamondbacks debut and Bryce Jarvis allowed one hit in the ninth.

Pittsburgh played without All-Star Bryan Reynolds (bereavement) and Rowdy Tellez (back spasms) and also lost Nick Gonzales (groin) in the sixth inning after he was injured while running out a groundout.

Cruz was the second hitter of the game, and he smashed a first-pitch fastball to deep right center for his 16th homer of the season. The solo shot traveled 472 feet.

Arizona tied the score in the bottom of the first on Christian Walker's RBI single off Pirates starter Marco Gonzales. The Diamondbacks struck for three runs in the second on Carroll's solo homer to right-center, his seventh long ball of the season, and Marte's two-run shot to right-center, his 23rd home run.

The Pirates knotted the game at 4 with a three-run fifth. Joey Bart's RBI double, Ji Hwan Bae's sacrifice fly and Michael A. Taylor's run-scoring infield single plated the runs.

Arizona moved back ahead in the fifth, with runs scoring on sacrifice flies by Geraldo Perdomo and Marte.

In the sixth, Cruz tripled to deep center to start the inning. One out later, Connor Joe's groundout scored Cruz to pull the Pirates within 6-5.

Pederson's two-run triple to right off Quinn Priester (2-6) in the bottom of the frame pushed the Arizona lead to three. Pederson scored on McCarthy's single to right.

Marco Gonzales gave up four runs and seven hits over 2 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out one.

Priester gave up five runs on five hits over four innings.

--Field Level Media