D-backs drill 4 home runs, hang on to beat Reds

CINCINNATI (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt made his only hit in three games count.

Goldschmidt’s solo home run in the fifth inning gave Arizona the lead for good, and the Diamondbacks finished with four homers in holding off the Cincinnati Reds 9-8 on Sunday.

Yasmany Tomas chipped in a with a pair of solo home runs and Wellington Castillo had a three-run shot as Arizona ended a four-game losing streak and avoided a three-game sweep in Cincinnati for the first time since 2007.

“We were probably just a little more consistent,” Goldschmidt said of Arizona’s offensive outburst, which produced the most runs in 22 games since scoring 10 at Colorado on June 24. “The home runs stand out, but we had a chance to score in almost every inning. When you’ve got everybody, one through nine, getting on base, you have a chance to score some runs.”

It wasn’t easy. Jay Bruce hit a three-run homer in the ninth to pull the Reds within a run before Tyler Clippard regrouped to get the final three outs. Arizona manager Chip Hale was more concerned about Clippard walking the inning’s first two batters.

“You can’t put people on base in ballparks like this or Milwaukee or our place, but we got the third out before they scored four runs,” a relieved Hale said.

The Reds fell just short of their third comeback win of the series.

“We played a great series,” Bruce said. “We really did. Today was a little bit of back and forth. No one could really solidify the game. We were in it right up until the end. We had a chance and that’s really all you can ask for.”

Every Cincinnati starter except pitcher Brandon Finnegan had at least one hit off starter Zack Godley, helping the Reds come from behind twice.

Godley (3-1) became the first pitcher in franchise history to reach seven career wins as a starter in as few as 10 starts. He allowed 10 hits and five runs with two walks and three strikeouts. He also hit a batter.

Finnegan (5-8) failed for the fourth consecutive start to get past five innings. He allowed seven hits and six runs with two walk and three strikeouts.

Goldschmidt was 0-for-6 with four walks in the series before leading off the fifth with his 17th home run of the season to break a 5-all tie.

The teams combined for 13 hits and 10 runs in the first three innings, including Tomas’s one-out home run in the second on the first pitch he saw from Finnegan and Castillo’s opposite-field shot into the right field seats in the third.

Tomas hit Josh Smith’s first pitch of the eighth for his second homer of the game.

WILD GIFT

Brandon Drury gave Arizona a 7-5 lead when he scored from third base on Ross Ohlendorf’s wild pitch on which Jean Segura struck out. Segura reached first base, but he was caught stealing.

HOMER UNHAPPY

Reds LHP Brandon Finnegan moved into a tie with Washington RHP Max Scherzer for the National League lead in home runs allowed with 22 after giving up three to the Diamondbacks on Sunday

TRAINING ROOM

RHP Zack Greinke, who’s been on the disabled list since June 29 with a left oblique strain, threw 45 pitches during a bullpen session. His next step either will be a simulated game with the Diamondbacks or a minor league rehab game, manager Chip Hale said.

UP NEXT

Diamondbacks: RHP Brandon Shipley, Arizona’s top pick and the 15th overall choice in the 2013 draft, is scheduled to make his major league debut on Monday in the opener of a four-game series at Milwaukee.