Pirates Unravel in Sixth, Fall 4-3 to Diamondbacks

The Pittsburgh Pirates had an early three-run lead but the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied for a 4-3 win at Chase Field on Friday night.

Andrew McCutchen put the Pirates (52-51) ahead 3-0 in the second inning after driving in Joey Bart with a double. McCutchen’s RBI double was his 1,638th hit in a Pirates uniform, which ties him with Fred Clarke for 10th place on the franchise’s all-time list.

McCutchen’s hit came after Joshua Palacios gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a two-run single.

Arizona (54-50) first got on the board in the bottom of the third on a Ketel Marte sacrifice fly to left off of Luis Ortiz.

Ortiz held the Diamondbacks to one run through five innings but saw the wheels come off in the sixth. The Pirates’ right-hander left an 0-2 pitch over the plate to Joc Pederson, who demolished a 453-foot homer to right field to bring Arizona within a run.

After the homer, Ortiz walked Christian Walker and was lifted in favor of Carmen Mlodzinski. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. singled to left off of Mlodzinski to give the Diamondbacks first and second with nobody out. Gabriel Moreno quickly capitalized on the chance and drove in Walker with a base hit.

After Moreno tied the game, Eugenio Suàrez lined into a double play. Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes caught the line drive and fired to first for two outs. It looked like the Pirates might escape with a tie, but Mlodzinski delivered a wild pitch, which allowed Gurriel to score and put Arizona ahead 4-3.

Ortiz was charged with three runs on five hits in five-plus innings. He walked three and struck out four. Ml0dzinski (2-4) took the loss.

Zac Gallen (8-5) earned the win after allowing three runs in six-plus innings. Paul Sewald converted his 16th save of the season.

The Pirates finished the game 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.

Up Next

Left-hander Marco Gonzales (1-1, 2.70 ERA) will be on the mound for Pittsburgh in the second game of the series on Saturday night. Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt (4-6, 3.74) will start for the Diamondbacks. First pitch: 8:10 ET.

Noteworthy

• First baseman Rowdy Tellez was removed from the game in the third inning with back spasms. He’s considered day-to-day.
• The Pirates placed OF Bryan Reynolds on the Bereavement List and recalled INF/OF Ji Hwan Bae from Triple-A Indianapolis.
• Additionally, the Pirates activated RHP Hunter Stratton from the 15-day injured list and designated LHP Josh Fleming for assignment.