Hold The Phone: Michael Chavis’ Two Homers Not Enough in Pirates Loss to D-Backs

Facing a four-run deficit in the eighth inning, Michael Chavis hit his second homer of the game, a two-run shot to cut the Arizona Diamondbacks lead to just two.

The Pittsburgh Pirates late rally attempt ultimately fell short, and Arizona defeated the Bucs 6-4 on Tuesday night at Chase Field in Phoenix.

While it took a while for Pittsburgh’s bats to show up, Rodolfo Castro’s cellphone made an appearance earlier in the game and it sent social media into a frenzy.

After drawing a walk to begin the fourth inning, Castro advanced to third on an Oneil Cruz single. As he slid into third base, Castro’s phone popped out of his pocket and landed in the dirt by the bag.

The third base umpire pointed it out to the Pirates’ second baseman, and Castro retrieved the phone and handed it to third base coach Mike Rabelo. File it under things not usually seen before in a Major League Baseball Game.

Rodolfo Castro was safe at third, his phone was not 📞😅

(via @BALLYSPORTSAZ)pic.twitter.com/RS0QpB5mjw

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 10, 2022

The Diamondbacks struck in the first inning against Pirates’ starter Zach Thompson thanks to a Christian Walker RBI single. Walker scored the D-backs second run in the third inning when Jake McCarthy was able to leg out a softly hit infield grounder.

Overall, it was a much better performance for Thompson than his recent outings. Though he lasted just 4.2 innings, the big right-hander was able to limit the Diamondbacks to just two runs on five hits and kept the Pirates in the ballgame.

Arizona added four runs off of Pirates reliever Duane Underwood Jr. in the seventh inning to pad their lead. Those runs turned out to be big insurance runs to hold off the Bucs.

Chavis’ first homer of the night accounted for the Pirates’ first run — and of the series for that matter. It was the lone blemish against D-backs starter Tommy Henry, who cruised through seven strong innings in just his second career start.

Chavis gets us on the board! pic.twitter.com/43h3AJ5tyq

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 10, 2022

Cruz recorded a pair of hits, his sixth multi-hit performance of the season. Ke’Bryan Hayes also had a two-hit night. Ben Gamel drove in Hayes with a double.

The Pirates will look to rebound in game three of the four-game series on Wednesday night. The Pirates’ Mitch Keller (3-8, 4.21 ERA) will square off with with veteran left-hander Madison Bumgarner (6-10, 3.96 ERA).

Takeaways

• A Step Forward: In his previous three starts, Thompson posted a 9.98 ERA (17er/15.1ip) on 24 hits. In those three games, opponents combined for an OPS well north of .900 and he saw his season ERA climb over a point from 4.09 to 5.15. Thompson fared much better in this one, though it wasn’t necessarily a stellar performance.
• Left On Left: Not only did Cruz record a pair of hits, but they both came against a left-handed pitcher. Cruz’s biggest problem this season at the plate has come when he’s faced southpaws, as he’d managed just a .173 batting average and a .546 OPS against lefties entering play Tuesday. Specifically, Cruz has struggled against lefty breaking balls. Both of Cruz’s hits on Tuesday came on sliders, the second on a 1-2 count.
• Two For Chavis: Chavis recorded his 11th and 12th homers and his first two-homer game in a Pirates’ uniform. Chavis recorded three two-homer games while playing with the Boston Red Sox, the last of which came in 2019.