Tommy Pham’s big day, Ketel Marte’s double lead D-backs in win over Mets

The Arizona Diamondbacks scored in the eighth and ninth innings to earn a 4-3 win over the New York Mets Monday night on the road.

Tommy Pham hammered a middle-middle cutter to center field for the game-tying home run in the eighth inning. Pham picked up three hits against the team that traded him to Arizona (76-69) at the deadline. He has four multi-hit games in his last six contests.

Ketel Marte hit a jam-shot double down the line in left field that scored Alek Thomas from first to go up 4-3. Thomas entered as a pinch hitter and delivered a single.

Ketel hit it down the line and Alek took it from there. ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/4QMVzRcKrH

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 12, 2023

Arizona has won four of its first five games to start this road trip. The Miami Marlins (74-70) lost on Monday, giving the D-backs slightly more breathing room in the third National League Wild Card spot.

The D-backs built the game’s first lead with a pair of runs in the fourth inning against veteran southpaw Jose Quintana. Pham led off with a double and scored the first run off an Evan Longoria single. Emmanuel Rivera hit a sacrifice fly for the second.

New York responded with a Jeff McNeil solo shot off a hanging curveball by Zach Davies. The right-handed starter walked the next two batters and surrendered the lead on a two-run, 107.8 mph double by Mets prospect Ronny Mauricio.

Davies was done after four innings with three earned runs, four hits, three walks and five strikeouts. It was his second straight start without getting to the fifth inning.

Kyle Nelson, Luis Frias, and Kevin Ginkel bridged the gap to the ninth inning.

Paul Sewald, another former Mets player, entered for the save in the ninth inning and got it done, but not without some drama. He walked two batters and had runners on second and third when Brandon Nimmo flew out to end the game.

Weather delayed

First pitch on Monday was delayed by more than an hour due to inclement weather in New York. The game was scheduled to start at 4:10 p.m. and didn’t get underway until 5:20 p.m. Rain made for a muggy atmosphere with humidity was at 86% when the game started.

The D-backs came out of the gate slow with one hit through three innings.

Up next

Ryne Nelson will make his second start since getting recalled in Tuesday’s matchup against Mets righty Jose Butto.

Nelson allowed one run in 5.2 innings on Thursday in a win over the Chicago Cubs. Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly get the third and fourth games of the series, respectively.

First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 4:10 p.m.

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