Bryan Reynolds broke a tie with a two-run homer in the sixth inning to help the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-2 win against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.
Joey Bart went 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs for Pittsburgh, which has won four of its past six games. Arizona lost for just the second time in the past 10 games.
Andrew McCutchen led off the sixth with a single off reliever Slade Cecconi (2-7) but left the game with what the team called left quad tightness. Ji Hwan Bae replaced McCutchen on first and Reynolds then stepped up and knocked a 405-foot shot to center field for a 3-1 lead.
Connor Joe followed with a double and Bart drove him in with a one-out single to left field, extending it to 4-1.
Reliever Kyle Nicolas (2-2) allowed one hit in scoreless sixth and seventh innings, Aroldis Chapman struck out three in the eighth, and closer David Bednar held on in the ninth for his 20th save.
Arizona narrowed it to 4-2 in the final frame when Geraldo Perdomo hit a two-out double and scored on Ketel Marte’s single. But Alek Thomas flied out to center on the next at-bat to end the game.
The game went into a rain delay of more than an hour between the top and bottom half of the fourth inning, spelling an early end to the night for starting pitchers Jordan Montgomery (Arizona) and Mitch Keller (Pittsburgh).
The Diamondbacks, who lead the National League in runs and are second in the majors in hits, were held to one hit over the first four innings.
In the fifth, they threatened to blow the game open off reliever Dennis Santana. Eugenio Suarez and Gabriel Moreno each connected for singles to start the inning, and then Perdomo was hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Santana was pulled, replaced by Jalen Beeks.
Beeks limited the damage, getting Corbin Carroll to pop out and striking out Marte. A walk to Joc Pederson tied the game at 1 but Beeks fanned Josh Bell to end the inning.
Bart gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead in the second with a solo home run to left-center field. It was the only run and hit allowed by Montgomery in three innings.
Keller gave up one hit and struck out four with two walks in four innings.
–Field Level Media
