The Arizona Diamondbacks will go for the series win over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday after snapping a five-game losing streak with a rally in the eighth inning Tuesday that included a pair of triples.
Ketel Marte tripled to lead off the eighth and scored on a single by Jake McCarthy. Corbin Carroll later hit a two-run triple in the 3-1 victory, the 26th comeback victory of the season for the Diamondbacks.
“It’s been tough; we’ve had some guys grind, and that’s not fun,” said Carroll, a contender for the National League Rookie of the Year. “No one wants to play like we have been playing, losing five straight games and playing like we’ve been playing the last three weeks (6-13 in July).
“We’re grinding a little bit, but I think it’s a good thing with (NL All-Star Game starter) Zac Gallen on the mound (Wednesday). I think that’s a great place to start the chance to put some wins together,” Carroll said.
Gallen (11-4, 3.18 ERA) will start against St. Louis’ Jack Flaherty (7-6. 4.39) in a battle of right-handers.
Flaherty is 0-2 with a 3.79 ERA in three starts covering 19 innings against the Diamondbacks.
Gallen, a former St. Louis prospect who was drafted in the third round of the 2016 draft by the Cardinals, has just one career start against his former organization.
That occurred in June 2019, when Gallen was making his major league debut while with the Miami Marlins, who received the former North Carolina standout in a trade with St. Louis after the 2017 season.
Another trade landed Gallen with Arizona late in the 2019 season.
In his start against St. Louis, Gallen allowed one run on five hits in five innings with six strikeouts and two walk but did not get a decision.
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo, who celebrated his 58th birthday with Tuesday’s win, likes his team’s postseason chances with Merrill Kelly returning to go with Gallen.
Kelly pitched six innings on Tuesday, surrendering just one run on four hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out five.
“We have a 1A and 1B with Zac and Merrill,” Lovullo said. “They pump out the innings, they make pitches, they keep us in games.
“I love the youngsters that have been coming out, doing their job and helping us win baseball games, but Merrill and Zac give us a different taste, different color each day. Getting him back will be a big push for us.
St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol joked that he was not happy to see Merrill return to face his team, which has lost four its last five games after putting together a six-game winning streak.
“I wish he had gone on another rehab assignment,” Marmol said. “He pitched really well, kept the guys off balance and did a nice job.”
The Cardinals scored their run Tuesday on a rare double-steal that included scoring a run at home.
Brendan Donovan scored and Paul Goldschmidt stole second base after Nolan Arenado struck out swinging.
Goldschmidt broke from first and drew a throw from catcher Carson Kelly, at which point Donovan headed for home. Ketel Marte’s return throw from second base to the plate was not in time.
“That worked out well, Goldy (Goldschmidt) pulling up and allowing Donovan to slide under the throw,” Marmol said. “That was executed well. Just hoping that run would have been enough.”
–Field Level Media
