Sedona Red Recap: Every D-backs starter gets a hit in big win over Pirates
May 12, 2017, 10:58 PM
Arizona Diamondbacks' A.J. Pollock slides into home plate to score a run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 12, 2017, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX — Five days ago, when the Arizona Diamondbacks departed Colorado, manager Torey Lovullo described his offense as being “in a little bit of a rut right now” before adding, “we’ll find our way out of it.”
They have, and apparently all it took was a return to Chase Field.
A seven-run third inning preceded a four-run fourth inning as the D-backs pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates, sending the visitors to their season-high sixth straight defeat, 11-4, in front of an announced crowd of 21,911 at Chase Field on Friday.
The 11 runs tied for the third-most ever against the Pirates. The D-backs won their second straight in the series and third in a row overall.
Brandon Drury hit a three-run home run and Chris Iannetta a solo home run in the third, when the D-backs sent 10 men to the plate. They hit for the cycle in the inning.
The Drury homer knocked starter Tyler Glasnow (1-2) from the game after recording only seven outs. He was charged with all seven runs in the third, which tied for the second-most scored in a single inning by a D-backs team against the Pirates.
In the game, every D-backs starter had at least one hit and only Chris Owings didn’t score a run; in addition, each position player had an RBI. Drury finished with three and Jake Lamb two.
Drury went 3-for-5, falling a triple shy of a cycle.
Patrick Corbin (3-4) benefited from the offensive explosion, the D-backs’ best effort in three weeks.
Coming off his worst performance of the season, Corbin pitched six innings, allowing four runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts. All four runs crossed home plate with two outs.
Corbin had never beaten the Pirates in three previous career starts.
At 15-6, the D-backs own the best home mark in the National League
THE GOOD
Hitting a ball off the batter’s eye in straightaway center field takes some doing. Iannetta crushed Glasnow’s 1-2 pitch, clocked at 94 mph, for a home run to leadoff the third inning. For Iannetta, it was his third homer of the season and his first in 11 games (April 18 at San Diego).
No one in the league hits better at home than Drury, who is now sporting a .448 average (30-for-67) at Chase Field. His double in the second inning extended his hitting streak to 10 straight home games, going 17-for-41 (.415) with six doubles and three home runs.
Just 1-for-11 on the homestand entering the game, Lamb broke out in a big way with three hits in his last four at-bats. He singled in the third, fourth and eighth innings. In the third and fourth he drove in runs, giving him 26 RBI on the season, second-best on the team.
With three hits in five at-bats, David Peralta is now batting .386 (27-for-70) with three doubles, one triple, four home runs and 15 RBI in his last 18 games. In addition, his steal of third base in the third inning marked the D-backs’ 12th swipe of third this season, the most in baseball.
THE BAD
Four batters and 15 pitches into the game the Pirates had a 1-0 lead. Gregory Polanco, who accounted for the lone hit and run scored the night before, dropped a ball in shallow left field for an RBI double. Polanco added a single four innings later for his fourth hit in eight career at-bats against Corbin.
Following the Polanco plate appearance, Corbin retired nine of 10 batters before a two-out walk to Jose Osuna. The very next batter was Josh Bell and he launched a 2-2 offering over the fence in left-center field for a two-run home run. It was his sixth homer of the season and ended a 15 at-bat hitless drought.
STAT OF THE GAME
7-for-15: The D-backs batted .467 with runners in scoring position
HE SAID IT
“We just pounded the ball all day long. It was a really impressive effort,” Lovullo said.
NOTED
Corbin threw a first-pitch strike to 12-of-26 batters faced; plus he reached a three-ball count five times
Iannetta took a 93-mph fastball to the face in the seventh inning; he went to the hospital for evaluation
Paul Goldschmidt went 1-for-4 with a walk; he has reached base safely in 24 consecutive home games
With a first-pitch temperature of 96 degrees, the game was played with the roof open yet panels closed
UP NEXT
Winless in May, right-hander Taijuan Walker makes his third start of the month when he steps on the mound opposite Trevor Williams in game three of the four-game series on Saturday, May 13. First pitch is scheduled for 5:10 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 40 minutes earlier on 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station.
Walker (3-2) is coming off a loss in Colorado in which he battled through 5.2 innings. The Rockies tagged him for three runs, one earned, on seven hits, including a home run. Lovullo later said Walker, who has allowed three or fewer earned runs in five of his seven starts, hadn’t been feeling well in the days prior.
This will be his first career appearance against the Pirates.
Meanwhile, Williams (1-2) takes the hill for his second start and eighth appearance of the season. On Monday in Los Angeles, he gave up six runs in the first inning en route to a 12-1 loss. He lasted only three innings.
Out of the bullpen, Williams has worked multiple innings in four of his six relief outings, including a season-best four on April 24 against the Cubs.
He’s never faced the D-backs.
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