No sweep: Corbin suffers worst loss of season, D-backs fall to Reds

PHOENIX — The start was good; the finish not so much for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The D-backs won the first three innings only to see the Cincinnati Reds win the next three and ultimately the game, 7-4, thus avoiding the sweep, in front of an announced crowd of 18,340 at Chase Field on Wednesday afternoon.

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak.

Adam Duvall and Scott Schebler both homered. Duvall hit a game-tying grand slam in the fourth, while Schebler had a go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth.

The Reds scored seven unanswered runs after the D-backs had taken a 4-0 lead on home runs from Paul Goldschmidt and John Ryan Murphy plus an RBI single from David Peralta.

Murphy, by the way, finished a triple shy of the cycle.

The four-run cushion appeared to be more than enough for starter Patrick Corbin, who faced one batter over the minimum through three scoreless innings. And then the fourth inning happened.

Corbin (5-2) lost for just the second time this season. He allowed a season-high six runs on eight hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts in six innings.

The D-backs, who won the first two games of the series by a combined score of 17-7, had hopes of recording just their second sweep of the season. Instead, they walked away with a 12th series victory.

THE GOOD

Well, that didn’t take long. Six pitches into the ballgame and the D-backs had a 2-0 lead. Another 10 pitches later and it was 3-0 in favor of the home team. Goldschmidt and Peralta combined for the RBI. Goldschmidt hit an opposite-field two-run home run, putting a 1-1 fastball — clocked at 95.6 mph — into the Reds bullpen, while Peralta had a run-scoring single. By the way, that was Goldschmidt’s seventh homer of the season, the first one at home.

Two innings later, Murphy recorded his seventh home run of the season and second of the series. It was a one-out solo shot that put the D-backs ahead 4-0 in the third. Murphy lifted a 3-2 slider — thrown right down the middle — high and deep over the left-field fence. He now has four home runs and eight RBI in his last six games. Murphy finished 3-for-5 in what was his fifth multi-hit performance of the season and first since May 19 at the New York Mets.

THE BAD

And just like that, the game was tied. Back-to-back first-pitch singles to leadoff the fourth inning were followed by a walk to loaded the bases. Duvall then unloaded the bases with a home run. His second career grand slam came on a 1-2 pitch, a slider low but not low enough, that he drilled onto the concourse in left field. Duvall, who drove in four runs Monday, accounted for eight of the Reds 14 RBI in the series.

For the third time this season, Corbin surrendered a pair of home runs. The second, a one-out, two-run shot by Schebler in the sixth inning, gave the Reds their first lead of the game, 6-4. Corbin attempted to throw a 1-0 slider past Schebler but the ball was up in the zone and Schebler blasted the pitch several rows deep into the seats in right field. Corbin has allowed nine home runs in 68.1 innings on the season.

It had been eight games — back on May 4 — since T.J. McFarland last allowed a run. The streak ended in the ninth inning. With two on and one out, Eugenio Suarez singled to left field to make it a 7-4 ballgame. It was Suarez’s third hit of the game and third RBI of the series. Entering the game, McFarland’s 13.1 scoreless innings streak tied for the National League’s third-longest active streak.

STAT OF THE GAME

2-for-11: Prior to the ninth inning, the Reds had just one hit with runners in scoring position but it was a big one, the Duvall grand slam

HE SAID IT

“I thought I was making some good pitches there, just those two I obviously would like back to have back but just a couple of mistakes there. Those guys can swing the bat really well,” Corbin said. “You make mistakes, you’re going to pay for it.”

NOTED

Corbin threw a first-pitch strike to 21-of-27 batters faced; in addition, he reached a 3-ball count two times.

Murphy hit five home runs in the month of May, that’s the most in the history of the franchise by a catcher.

Jarrod Dyson recorded his fifth multi-hit performance of the season, going 3-for-5 with a trio of singles.

It was Peralta versus Peralta to leadoff the sixth inning; David was retired by Wandy via the ground ball.

With a first-pitch temperature of 75 degrees, the game was played with both the roof and panels closed.

UP NEXT

A day off. At home. And then the D-backs will resume the homestand on Friday, June 1 with the first game of a three-game series against the Miami Marlins.

The opener will pit a pair of right-handers in Clay Buchholz and Elieser Hernandez. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 40 minutes earlier on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

Buchholz (0-1) will be making his third start since joining the D-backs. The good news is he’s allowed one run in each of his outings. The bad news is he’s received only one run of support, period.

For his career, Buchholz is 2-0 in two starts facing the Marlins.

Meanwhile, Hernandez (0-2) is in the midst of a two-start losing streak. The 23-year-old rookie has dropped back-to-back decisions to the Mets and Nationals despite giving up a combined three runs in 10 innings.

The D-backs are 4-1 against the Marlins in their last five home games.

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