Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte delivers key hit in 11-inning win vs. Giants

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The Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the San Francisco Giants 4-3 in extra innings to tighten the National League wild card race entering August.

Ketel Marte led off the 11th inning with an RBI ground-rule double to right-center off lefty Taylor Rogers, as he belted a sinker 107.3 mph off the bat to give the D-backs the lead.

Scott McGough came in for Arizona’s second save attempt of the game, and he delivered with two strikeouts and a groundout to strand a runner on third.

Arizona (57-50) ended July on a high note after going 8-16 during the month. The win brought the D-backs within one game of the Giants (58-49) for the top wild card spot and 3.5 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the division lead.

🔙 in front. 💪 pic.twitter.com/20oE3ALsDZ

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 1, 2023

“I’m ready for this month to turn, I think this whole team is,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’re looking forward to a fresh month and just pushing in the right direction.”

Ryne Nelson gave the D-backs a quality start with 6.2 innings, two earned runs and five hits. The rookie only struck out one batter, as San Francisco was aggressive early in counts.

The Giants took a 2-0 lead after Flores homered in the third inning and Brandon Crawford hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth, but San Francisco did not get another base runner into scoring position against Nelson.

His day ended with a two-out walk in the seventh, after which Kyle Nelson entered and executed 1.1 scoreless innings.

Nelson has started against the Giants three times this season, the most recent pair at Oracle Park. In those outings, he allowed three runs in 13.2 innings.

The Diamondbacks climbed back into the game with a two-out rally in the sixth. Corbin Carroll delivered an RBI single after Marte skipped over the second on a wild pitch.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. doubled on a sharp grounder down the left-field line and past the diving Flores to score Carroll and tie the game.

It was Gurriel’s first run batted in since July 19.

Neither team recorded a hit over the final three innings ahead of extras.

Emmanuel Rivera shot a line drive into right-center field to score Jake McCarthy in the top of the 10th inning and give the D-backs their first lead of the game. Kevin Ginkel entered for the save, but a wild pitch with the Manfred Man on third plated the game-tying run.

Not wasting any time taking the lead in extras! pic.twitter.com/KUYIOx8B2q

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 1, 2023

Ginkel struck out Flores to strand two runners and extend the game.

“This was a dog fight, this was a battle,” Lovullo said. “I’m so proud of this team, it’s unbelievable. … We blocked out all the noise, we went out there after falling down a couple runs and won a baseball game in a very tough environment.”

Arizona received 4.1 innings with no earned runs from its bullpen on Monday night, and a major acquisition will join the group Tuesday. The D-backs traded for former Seattle Mariners closer Paul Sewald, who has a 2.93 ERA and 21 saves.

All-Star probables

Zac Gallen will start for the D-backs Tuesday night against San Francisco’s Alex Cobb in a matchup of All-Stars.

Gallen last pitched against the Giants on May 13 at Chase Field, allowing two runs in 7.2 innings.

Cobb faced the D-backs on May 11 and threw 7.1 shutout frames.

First pitch is at 6:45 p.m. on 98.7, the Arizona Sports app and arizonasports.com. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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