BASEBALL: D-backs support Eduardo Rodriguez's gem, blank Pirates

Eduardo Rodríguez delivered a dominant performance on the mound, tossing seven scoreless innings as the Arizona Diamondbacks secured a 9-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night in Phoenix.

Rodríguez (3-0) allowed just two hits and three walks while striking out seven, matching his longest outing of the season. He previously logged seven shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves on April 3 in a no-decision.

Arizona’s bullpen finished the job with ease. Jonathan Loáisiga pitched a clean eighth inning, and Brandyn Garcia struck out two in a perfect ninth to complete the two-hit shutout.

Offensively, Ketel Marte led the way with two hits, two RBIs, and two runs scored, while Gabriel Moreno added two hits and an RBI. Adrian Del Castillo also contributed two RBIs as Arizona snapped a four-game losing streak and earned just its fourth win in 13 games.

The Pirates went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, ending their three-game winning streak.

Bubba Chandler (1-4) took the loss after allowing two runs on two hits over five innings. He issued a season-high six walks while striking out four in his third straight defeat.

Arizona struck first with two runs in the opening inning. Marte opened with a one-out triple, and Corbin Carroll drew a walk. Del Castillo then drove in Marte with a sacrifice fly, and Ildemaro Vargas followed with an RBI double to center field to bring home Carroll.

Rodríguez remained in control until the fifth inning, when Jared Triolo broke up the no-hit bid with a two-out double. The only other hit against him came in the seventh, when Konnor Griffin doubled off the center-field fence.

The Diamondbacks broke the game open in the sixth. Yohan Ramirez issued a walk to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and hit Nolan Arenado with a pitch to put runners on. Moreno followed with an RBI double, and Alek Thomas walked to load the bases. Perdomo then delivered a two-run double just inside the right-field line to extend the lead to 5-0.

Marte later added a run on a fielder’s choice, with Thomas scoring on a throwing error by Griffin, before Carroll capped the rally with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-0.

Arizona added insurance runs in the eighth when Thomas scored on a Marte single, followed by an RBI single from Del Castillo.

Pirates manager Don Kelly served an automatic one-game suspension after reliever Chris Devenski was ejected in a previous game, leaving bench coach Kris Negron to manage the team on Tuesday.

-Field Level Media/Reuters