The Sports Xchange
Jul 26, 2017
PHOENIX -- Ketel Marte's two-run, inside-the-park homer followed Daniel Descalso's two-run triple in a breakout third inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks roughed up spot starter Aaron Blair in a 10-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.
Arizona built a 5-1 lead by the third, then added on with a pair of J.D. Martinez two-run homers, his second and third since being dealt last week by Detroit. Martinez followed Paul Goldschmidt's double by homering into the left-center seats in the fourth, then hit a drive deep into the right-field seats in the eighth for his 19th overall.
Patrick Corbin (8-9) stranded 10 runners -- nine in the first four innings -- while lasting six innings in his second win in as many starts after losing three in a row. The left-hander is 4-0 in seven career appearances against Atlanta.
Corbin came into the game with an 0.59 ERA against the Braves -- the best in history for a pitcher making at least four starts against them. That number climbed to 0.98 as he gave up two runs and seven hits, struck out five and walked four.
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo sat down regulars David Peralta, Brandon Drury and Chris Owings as the teams played a day contest following a night game, but the Diamondbacks didn't suffer offensively as they had seven extra-base hits among their 12 hits.
Goldschmidt doubled twice, walked three times and scored three runs and Marte added a double as Arizona won for only the sixth time in 18 games.
With the score tied at 1 in the third, Blair quickly got into trouble by walking Jake Lamb and Goldschmidt. Descalso followed with a long fly ball that turned around center fielder Ender Inciarte, who couldn't make the catch as Lamb and Goldschmidt scored and Descalso ended up on third with a triple.
Marte followed with a drive that Sean Rodriguez couldn't catch as he ran into a notch in the right field corner, allowing the ball to ricochet wildly into foul territory and back toward the infield. Marte scored standing up with his third homer of the season and the 14th inside-the-park homer in franchise history.
Blair, making his first start since striking out 10 in six innings in beating Detroit 5-3 on Oct. 1, left trailing 5-1 after three innings, giving up five runs and five hits and walking five. He didn't get much help from an Atlanta offense that stranded nine runners in the first four innings.
With reliever Luke Jackson pitching in the fourth, Goldschmidt doubled with one out and Martinez homered into the seats in left-center.
Freddie Freeman doubled in a run in the Atlanta first.
NOTES: All three players Atlanta acquired from Arizona in the much-debated Shelby Miller trade in December 2015 were in the lineup: CF Ender Inciarte, SS Dansby Swanson and RHP Aaron Blair. ... The Braves returned RHP Matt Wisler to Triple-A Gwinnett to make a roster spot for Blair, who made his first start of the season Wednesday. ... The Diamondbacks optioned RHP J.J. Hoover to Triple-A Reno after he gave up four runs, three earned, in one-third of an inning Tuesday. ... Arizona RHP Rubby De La Rosa, out since July 6 with shoulder inflammation, was reinstated from the 10-day disabled list and pitched the ninth inning. ... Atlanta still hasn't won a series in Chase Field since 2012. ... The Braves are 3-4 on a season-long 11-game road trip that finishes up with four games in Philadelphia.