Diamondbacks fail to sweep Pirates, as blown save leads to extra-inning loss

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks held a 2-1 lead with two outs in the ninth inning on Sunday, but the Pittsburgh Pirates came back to steal a victory in extras.

Pirates pinch hitter Joey Bart doubled in a run off D-backs closer Paul Sewald, and Pittsburgh added four in the 10th inning for a 6-5 win to avoid getting swept.

Justin Martinez allowed the ghost runner to score on a wild pitch and let another runner in on a hit-by-pitch in the 10th inning. Two more runs came home on a Ke’Bryan Hayes single off Bryce Jarvis, which proved critical.

The Diamondbacks nearly pulled off a remarkable comeback.

Eugenio Suarez led off the 10th with a two-run shot off Colin Holderman, which stood after a review for fan interference. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. came off the bench and launched a solo home run down the left-field line with two outs.

Corbin Carroll tripled to bring the tying run 90 feet away for Geraldo Perdomo, who rolled out to end the ballgame.

Manager Torey Lovullo called it the type of game that makes him lose sleep.

“I’m sure everybody on this team feels the same way, but as you unpack it, what I want to make sure that we do is learn and grow from what took place in mostly the last two, three innings of the game,” Lovullo said.

“We got to pitch better in the most critical points of this game.”

Geno gets a pair of runs back! pic.twitter.com/878V3gDi9w

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 28, 2024

Late-inning struggles

Sewald picked up his fourth blown save of the season, all of which have come in July. The veteran had a 0.54 ERA entering the month. He has allowed 10 earned runs on 17 hits in 9.2 innings since July began.

Rowdy Tellez, who exited Friday’s game with back issues and missed Saturday, led off with a pinch-hit double. Sewald struck out the next two batters, but Bart got the barrel on a fastball thigh-high off the outer edge of the plate.

“The one to Tellez, couldn’t throw it more in or more up with it still being a strike. So that’s pretty good. And the one to Bart wasn’t and he got the hit, not much more to it,” Sewald said.

Martinez entered with the ghost runner on second base, and Pittsburgh’s Ji-Hwan Bae dropped a bunt to the left side. Martinez picked it up looked to third, looked to first and held on. Lovullo felt this was a critical moment in the game to get corrected.

“He’s a good fielder, he’s very athletic,” Lovullo said. “I thought when I saw him turn and look like he was going to throw the ball to third base, he should have. … You’ve got to be very decisive. There’s no indecision. I think he just locked up, and it cost us.”

Lovullo felt Martinez grew frustrated in the 10th inning, which may have affected him.

“We talked about it,” Sewald said regarding Martinez. “We’ll keep that between Justin and I. I’d be shocked if he isn’t available again tomorrow and ready to dominate like he has all season. He’ll be just fine.”

Arizona took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning, as Jake McCarthy recorded an RBI triple following a Joc Pederson double. Suarez plated McCarthy with a sacrifice fly.

The D-backs did not record another hit until the Suarez homer. They finished with more hits in the 10th inning (three) than the previous nine (two).

The Pirates snapped Arizona’s four-game winning streak.

The D-backs have not completed a three-game sweep since May 9, their only one this year. They are 3-7 in extra innings this year.

In the standings, Arizona remains a half-game back of the third wild card spot.

How did Yilber Diaz pitch?

The Diamondbacks got five scoreless innings out of starter Yilber Diaz, who had an uneven fourth career outing. Diaz walked four hitters, and the Pirates got the first two men aboard twice.

But the 23-year-old struck out seven and only allowed one hit to hold Pittsburgh at zero.

“He was fighting for his life out there and I like that,” Lovullo said. “I like the fact he was trying to do all that he could keep us in the game. … It was a high-wire act at times, but he did a really nice job of making pitches when he had to. That’s one of his intangibles, if you get him in a corner, he’s going to continue fighting.”

The Pirates broke through as soon as Diaz exited, as Oneil Cruz hit a solo shot off Joe Mantiply in the sixth.

Kevin Ginkel, A.J. Puk and Ryan Thompson kept the lead intact until the ninth inning. Puk struck out the side in his second outing with Arizona after Thursday’s trade.

Good morning, good afternoon, and good night. 😴 pic.twitter.com/hOkas5Llql

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 28, 2024

Diamondbacks host Nationals

The Diamondbacks open a three-game set against the Washington Nationals, who traded outfielder Jesse Winker on Saturday as they look to retool for the future, on Monday.

Arizona’s rotation will go Jordan Montgomery, Ryne Nelson and Zac Gallen in that order. Washington will run out Mitchell Parker, Patrick Corbin and MacKenzie Gore, respectively.

First pitch on Monday is at 6:40 p.m. on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. 

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