Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a three-run homer and fellow All-Star Zac Gallen pitched seven strong innings to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-3 on Friday night.
NL West-leading Arizona snapped a four-game losing streak, with All-Star rookie Corbin Carroll returning to the lineup a day after leaving a game because of soreness in his right shoulder. The Diamondbacks remained a half-game ahead of Los Angeles for the division lead.
Gurriel also had two doubles and drove in four runs, three of them on his 15th homer in the third inning off Rich Hill (7-9).
“This was what we needed. Zac was dominant, he gave up one run and he was pretty disappointed,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “Obviously, the key blow was the Gurriel three-run homer. Broke the game open and I think the team needed that moment. It was a relief for everybody.”
Gallen (11-3) gave up one run in seven innings, lowering his ERA to 3.05. He gave up four hits, struck out five and walked no one. He is tied with Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan for the majors’ victory lead and could be the NL starter Tuesday night in Seattle in the All-Star Game.
Against the Pirates on May 19 in Pittsburgh, Gallen had his worst start of the season, giving up eight runs in 3 2/3 innings in a 13-3 loss.
“That one has definitely sat with me for the last two months,” Gallen said. “Some extra motivation, we just got swept at home (by the Mets), but it’s kind of a testament of who we are. We’re becoming a good team and good teams put a stop to a four-game skid.”
Carroll’s bunt single drove in the first run of the inning. Carroll was 2 for 5 with two stolen bases - his 25th and 26th of the season.
Carlos Santana drove in two runs for the Pirates, who have lost six of their last seven.
Hill pitched four innings, giving up seven hits and five runs, walking four and striking out three. The 43-year-old lefty is 1-8 against Arizona with a 6.18 ERA, with his only win in 2006 when he pitched for the Cubs.
“It looked like his curveball wasn’t as sharp as it was in the past and when it was in the zone, it was up,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “And they took good swings at it.”
Jake McCarthy stole two bases for Arizona, giving him 20 for the season.
Justin Martinez, called up Friday from Triple-A Reno, made his major league debut, pitching the eighth inning for Arizona. He reached 102 mph on four pitches, gave up two runs, struck out two, walked two and hit a batter.
YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR
Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo was added to the National League All-Star team Friday, replacing the Cubs’ Dansby Swanson, who is out with a left heel injury.
Perdomo is batting .274 with a .381 on-base percentage. Last season, pressed into action with regular shortstop Nick Ahmed sidelined by injury, the 23-year-old Dominican batted just .195 with five homers, a total he has already matched this season.
“That is a tremendous honor for him,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “It’s such a great story. He is ours. He came through our system. He’s developed, after doing what he did last year. He was frustrated and said, ‘I’m never going to let that happen again.’”
Perdomo joins fellow first-time Arizona All-Stars Gallen, Carroll and Gurriel for Tuesday’s game in Seattle.
ROSTER MOVES
Pirates: Placed OF/DH Andrew McCutchen (right elbow inflammation) and 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes (back) on the 10-day injured list. Hayes was just activated for Thursday’s game. 1B/DH Ji Man Choi (Achilles) was activated from the 60-day IL and played his first game since April 13. RHP Cody Bolton was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Diamondbacks: OF Dominic Canzone, the Pacific Coast League player of the month, was called up from Triple-A Reno and OF Dominic Fletcher returned to Reno. Canzone was batting .354 with 16 homers and 71 RBIs, and the 25-year-old led the PCL with a .634 slugging percentage and 1.065 OPS. … Arizona also placed RHP Drey Jameson on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation.
UP NEXT
All-Star RHP Mitch Keller (9-4, 3.52) was set to start for Pittsburgh on Saturday. LHP Kyle Nelson (4-1, 2.76) opens for Arizona.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.