Alek Thomas homered twice as the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks hit five long balls Friday in an 8-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Ketel Marte added a two-run shot and Christian Walker and Jake McCarthy socked solo homers for the Diamondbacks, who have won three of four.
Arizona starter Merrill Kelly (4-3) pitched five innings, giving up three runs, two earned, and five hits. He walked four and struck out two.
Mark Melancon got the final three outs to record his 11th save.
Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a three-run homer and Jack Suwinski had three hits and an RBI for the Pirates, whose season-best, three-game winning streak ended.
Pittsburgh starter JT Brubaker (0-5) allowed six runs, five earned, and eight hits in four-plus innings. He fanned three and walked one.
Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Hayes doubled, and an out later, went to third on Daniel Vogelbach’s groundout. Hayes scored on Daulton Varsho’s passed ball.
Walker began the homer barrage in the second, leading off with his 14th, a game-tying shot to left. An out later, Pavin Smith doubled. Smith went to third when McCarthy reached on second baseman Rodolfo Castro’s error, then scored on Thomas’ sacrifice fly for a 2-1 Diamondbacks lead.
The Pirates tied it in the bottom of the second. Suwinski singled and later went to third on Tucupita Marcano’s fielder’s choice. Suwinski scored on Tyler Heineman’s groundout.
With two outs in the third and Chavis at first after a fielder’s choice, Castro singled. Suwinski drove in Chavis with a base hit to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead.
Thomas hit his fourth homer, to center in the fourth, to tie it.
The Diamondbacks moved in front for good with three runs in the fifth. Josh Rojas doubled ahead of Marte’s third homer, a liner to left that gave Marte a 15-game hitting streak. David Peralta doubled and went to third on a grounder. After Anthony Banda replaced Brubaker, Peralta scored on a wild pitch.
With one out in the seventh, McCarthy (his second, to right) and Thomas (his fifth, to center) hit back-to-back homers to up the lead to 8-3.
Hayes hit a three-run homer, his second, to center in the ninth off J.B. Wendelken.
–Field Level Media