ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Joc Pederson’s moon shot starts rally in comeback victory over Pirates

Jul 26, 2024, 9:21 PM | Updated: 10:33 pm

Joc Pederson...

Arizona Diamondbacks' Joc Pederson celebrates with third base coach Tony Perezchica (21) after hitting a solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth inning during a baseball game, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Joc Pederson belted a 453-foot home run that kickstarted a go-ahead rally in the sixth inning to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Friday at Chase Field.

Arizona (54-50) fell behind 3-0 in the second inning as the Pirates (52-51) got to ace Zac Gallen early. From there, the D-backs allowed only three hits, giving the offense plenty of chances to crawl back in.

The Diamondbacks trailed 3-1 entering the sixth inning when Pederson climbed the ladder on an 0-2 heater from Pirates starter L.L. Ortiz.

The home run was the third-farthest hit by a Diamondbacks player this season behind Christian Walker (464) and Ketel Marte (461).

Pederson’s jack and a Christian Walker base on balls ended Ortiz’s night, and the D-backs rallied against Pirates reliever Carmen Mlodzinski. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno singled to tie the game 3-3. After an Eugenio Suarez line out in which Moreno was doubled off, Gurriel scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.

Gurriel finished 3-for-4 and a sliding catch away from four hits.

Make it back-to-back comeback victories for the D-backs, who scored five runs in the ninth inning to beat the Royals 8-6 on Wednesday. Arizona has six comeback wins this month and 18 on the season.

“We prepare for these types of moments,” manager Torey Lovullo said.

“We talk about execution, not just offensively, picking up the baseball, making plays, doing the right things with a high baseball IQ and not being afraid of these games. I think our team embraces these situations, and maybe we learned in the playoffs last year, but it didn’t surprise me when we did it in the playoffs … This is what we do.”

The D-backs are 15-7 since June 29, tied for the most wins in MLB with the New York Mets over that span.

“It’s gritty, and it’s what it takes to be a to be a good team,” Pederson said. “Sometimes you get knocked down and you gotta get up, find a way to fight back and finish the game strong. Our team’s done a great job. I think Zac showed it today when he struggled the first two innings and then came out and really limited the team to no more runs and kept his pitch count low. So it’s very impressive.”

Zac Gallen settles in vs. Pirates

Gallen was not sharp early, walking Andrew McCutchen to lead off the game and hitting Rowdy Tellez with a pitch two batters later. Pittsburgh scored three runs in the first two innings, but from there Gallen settled in.

He retired seven straight hitters, allowed a double and then retired the next seven.

“I honestly felt OK in the first inning,” Gallen said. “The walk to McCutchen obviously stinks, the hit-by-pitch with two strikes sucks … Felt solid the first two innings and then just tried to keep us in the game. We’ve been pretty great offensively. Just got to give these guys a chance to get us back in the game, tried to settle down a little bit and get on the efficient train and see how deep I could get into the game.”

Lovullo kept Gallen in the game for the seventh inning but pulled him after back-to-back walks. Kevin Ginkel stranded the runners after a pair of strikeouts and kept Gallen’s quality start intact.

Ryan Thompson tossed a scoreless eighth, striking out Joey Bart with two runners aboard. Closer Paul Sewald shut the door in the ninth, his fifth straight save after the three blown saves earlier this month.

“Just goes back to the culture, really, guys are bought in,” Gallen said. “We’re going to grind teams out. Even if you happen to get us on a night, it’s more likely than not we’re not going to make it easy on you.”

The Diamondbacks remain one game back of the third wild card spot, as the San Diego Padres have been tough to catch having won six straight games. Arizona also jumped the St. Louis Cardinals and are the top team on the outside looking in.

Arizona will be reinforced in the bullpen this weekend, as trade acquisition A.J. Puk is expected to join the team as soon as Saturday.

Brandon Pfaadt will start Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh left-hander Marco Gonzales. Before first pitch, the D-backs will induct Luis Gonzalez and Randy Johnson into the new team Hall of Fame.

Catch the action on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. 

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