The Diamondbacks sent Patrick Corbin to the mound looking to stop the hemorrhaging that has suddenly found it's way into Arizona's road trip. The Pirates, looking to protect home field and stay in a race with the Cincinnati Reds, called upon Jeff Karstens to pitch. Both hurlers threw pretty well, but this game was truly a back and forth battle between the hitters.
After a base hit from leadoff batter Stephen Drew, a couple of infield sacrifices by Aaron Hill and Jason Kubel moved Drew to third base. From there, Paul Goldschmidt hit a line drive off of the back of Jeff Karstens, allowing Drew to cross home plate and make the score 1-0.
The Pirates quickly retaliated in the bottom of the first when Gerardo Parra dropped a sacrifice fly, allowing Starling Marte to easily score from third. Luckily, Parra was able to get the force out at second, but the lack of concentration in the outfield is becoming an issue for the Diamondbacks all of a sudden.
Stephen Drew did not stop with the single, though. In the third inning, during his second at-bat, Drew blasted the ball to the stands in right field, giving him his second home run of the road trip and of the season. Paul Goldschmidt then proceeded to slam a double off the wall, pushing Kubel to third base. Unfortunately, the D-backs were unable to more on after Justin Upton struck out swinging and Miguel Montero hit a fly ball to left.
Once again, though, the Buccos were able to match the D-backs' scoring output. Manager Kirk Gibson decided not to issue an intentional walk to Andrew McCutchen, an MVP candidate in his own right. McCutchen should have probably been walked considering he is hitting .443 against left handed hurlers this season, but instead, he hit a single to left field, scoring Travis Snider.
The "seesaw battle" that Mark Grace referred to continued when Drew came through for a third time, hitting a base hit up the middle, scoring Parra from second base. The D-backs found themselves up 3-2 going into the bottom of the fourth inning.
Patrick Corbin managed the game very well, getting himself out of multiple jams, including a bases loaded scare in the fifth inning without letting any runs score. His final line was six innings pitched, two earned runs, three walks and a career high seven strikeouts. Corbin's quality start marks eight straight for Diamondbacks starting pitchers.
But for the second consecutive night, the bullpen decided to collapse. Takashi Saito came on in relief of Corbin only to give up a home run to leadoff batter, Starling Marte on a full count. With the score tied 3-3, Saito let the game spiral out of control by loading up the bases without recording an out. The Pirates went on to score one more run, giving them the lead for the first time going into the eighth inning.
The Diamondbacks mounted a comeback attempt in the eighth, successfully re-tying the game after a single from Montero. From there, newest D-backs acquisition Chris Johnson decided he wanted to go home. With Montero and Upton on base, Johnson nailed a home run to center field, effectively ending the night for the Pirates.
The Diamondbacks decided to tack on a couple more runs in the ninth, with Chris Johnson hitting yet another home run, making that his fifth in seven games with the Diamondbacks.
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