Sedona Red Recap: Martinez homers twice, D-backs take series from Braves
Jul 26, 2017, 5:47 PM | Updated: 5:47 pm
Arizona Diamondbacks' J.D. Martinez connects for a two-run home run against the Atlanta Braves during the eighth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 26, 2017, in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks' Martinez had two home runs for the game and the Diamondbacks defeated the Braves 10-3. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX — Winning series.
The Arizona Diamondbacks had won one in three since the All-Star break.
Make it two out of four.
J.D. Martinez homered twice and drove in four runs Wednesday, while Ketel Marte hit an inside-the-park home run to help the D-backs beat the Atlanta Braves, 10-3, in three-game series finale in front of an announced crowd to 25,836 at Chase Field.
Marte had two RBI, as did Daniel Descalso.
The victory closed out the homestand with the D-backs going 3-3.
D-backs starter Patrick Corbin (8-9) benefited from the offensive explosion.
Though he struggled with his command, walking four batters, Corbin limited the Braves to two runs on seven hits in six innings. He struck out five.
Corbin, who had at least two runners on base in each of the first four innings, recorded his second straight quality start and third in his last four starts overall.
Trailing 1-0 in the first inning, the D-backs tied the game with a Jake Lamb sacrifice fly and then took the lead thanks to a four-run third, highlighted by Marte’s two-run homer.
That ended Braves starter Aaron Blair’s day. The one-time D-back went only three innings, suffering the loss in his season debut.
The D-backs added two more runs in the fourth, one in the seventh and two in the eighth to complete what was their major-league leading 31st comeback win.
THE GOOD
They don’t happen often. In fact, it had only been done 11 times previously by a D-backs player. On an 0-2 pitch with one out in the third inning, Marte drove Blair’s 81-mph curveball deep to right field. The ball sailed over the head of Sean Rodriguez and caromed off the fence back toward the field. Marte raced around the bases, touching home plate after Descalso for a two-run home run, the D-backs’ first inside-the-park home run since Jean Segura hit for one on April 7, 2016 against the Cubs.
His first D-backs hit was a home run, and so was his third. Much like his first, Martinez launched the ball, tagging Luke Jackson’s 2-1 offering deep into the seats in left field, scoring Paul Goldschmidt ahead of him for a two-run home run with two outs in the fourth inning. Martinez, who struck out on three pitches — and looked bad doing so — in the at-bat prior, now has 18 home runs this season. He finished 1-for-3 with a walk, raising his batting average to .200 in a D-backs uniform.
Check that. Martinez now has 19 home runs this season and three since joining the D-backs. His second, also a two-run shot, came with no outs in the eighth inning and again scored Goldschmidt ahead of him. Martinez went the opposite way with a 3-2 pitch from Ian Krol. This marked Martinez’s fourth career multi-homer game and his third of the season. Now three of his four hits with the D-backs have been home runs as he’s batting .250 (4-for-16) in five games since the trade.
Of the D-backs’ 12 hits, eight went for extra bases. Goldschmidt recorded a pair of doubles — his 23rd and 24th of the season — while Jeff Mathis and Marte added one apiece. Descalso tripled and, of course, there were the three total home runs. The D-backs have now totaled 27 doubles over their last nine games. Overall, they now lead the league with 206 two-base hits and rank third in all of Major League Baseball, trailing only the Astros (223) and Indians (211) entering play on Wednesday.
THE BAD
Four batters and 13 pitches into the game, the D-backs found themselves trailing 1-0. With one out, Brandon Phillips singled and Freddie Freeman doubled to put runners on second and third for Matt Kemp, who plated Phillips with an RBI groundout. Freeman now has 25 RBI in 22 games all-time at Chase Field.
Only in the last of his six innings pitched did Corbin retire the Braves in order. Prior to that he faced at least four batters and as many as seven (in the fourth inning). Not only were the four walks he issued a season-high but two were four-pitch free passes, including to Blair in the aforementioned fourth inning.
Entering the game with 14 hits in his last 29 at-bats (.483), A.J. Pollock cooled off some, going hitless in five at-bats. He struck out, grounded out and flied out three times, leaving a total of six men on base in the process. Pollock was the lone position player to not record a hit against any of the five Braves pitchers.
STAT OF THE GAME, part I
4: Corbin improved to 4-0 with a 0.98 ERA (4 ER in 36.2 IP) in seven career appearances, including five starts, against the Braves.
STAT OF THE GAME, part II
.400: The D-backs went 6-for-15 with runners in scoring position; they batted .310 (13-for-42) in such situations in the series as compared to a .185 mark (5-for-27) in the series prior against the Nationals.
HE SAID IT
“This lineup can beat you several different ways. They can beat you with a double, they can beat you with homer, they can beat you with a stolen base. It’s fun,” Martinez said.
NOTED
– Corbin threw a first-pitch strike to 20-of-30 batters faced and reached a three-ball count eight times.
– Corbin and Blair combined to throw 49 pitches in a 31-minute first inning. They each faced six batters.
– Marte, who finished 2-for-4, has now hit three home runs this season, establishing a new career-high.
– Goldschmidt, who finished 2-for-2 with two walks, has reached base safely in 18 of his last 19 starts.
– Jake Barrett pitched a scoreless seventh inning, running his scoreless streak to seven straight games.
– With a first-pitch temperature of 103 degrees, the game was played with the roof and panels closed.
– Fresh off a presser announcing his three-year contract, Suns center Alan Williams attended the game.
– Model and actress Kim Alexis threw out the ceremonial first pitch. She was the face of Revlon in 1983.
UP NEXT
A 11-day, 10-game road trip will see the D-backs visit three cities in two different time zones.
First stop: St. Louis.
The D-backs left for The Gateway City immediately after the game.
It’s a four-game series that begins Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 40 minutes earlier on 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station.
Right-hander Zack Godley gets the start for the D-backs, while the Cardinals have yet to name their starter.
Godley (3-4) is winless over his last four outings. That includes a defeat at the hands of the Cardinals on June 28 which triggered a three-start losing streak.
During this stretch, he’s allowed 14 earned runs compared to the 16 charged through his first nine starts.
Godley has not entered the win column since June 22 at Colorado.
Veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright was due to pitch against the D-backs, but he was placed on the disabled list earlier this week due to mid-back tightness.
Following their stay in St. Louis, the D-backs will travel to Chicago and San Francisco.
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