Lourdes Gurriel Jr. continues to be one of the hottest hitters in the majors.
Gurriel had a home run, a double, two singles and two RBIs while extending his hitting streak to 15 straight in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 6-3 win over the host Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.
Gurriel, who recorded his eighth career four-plus-hit game, will look to lead the Diamondbacks to their fourth victory in a row and ninth in 11 games when they battle the Phillies again on Tuesday.
The 15-game hitting streak is the longest active run in the big leagues. During the streak, Gurriel is hitting 25-for-60 (.417) with six doubles, seven home runs and 14 RBIs.
“Hitting is the hardest thing to do in baseball,” Gurriel said in a postgame interview on Bally Sports Arizona. “I’m just going up there focusing, trying to do the best I can.”
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said, “He’s a great hitter, and it’s fun to watch his approach.”
Pavin Smith also launched a solo homer for Arizona, and Geraldo Perdomo contributed a two-run double.
Gurriel is leading the way, but the balanced Diamondbacks keep winning.
“We’re working together as a team,” Gurriel said. “For example, in my last at-bat, I was trying to put the ball in play and move the runner. That’s the way things are going right now.”
The Diamondbacks will hand the ball to Ryne Nelson (1-2, 5.48 ERA) on Tuesday. The rookie right-hander has never faced the Phillies.
In his latest start, on Wednesday against the Oakland Athletics, Nelson allowed one hit and no runs in 5 1/3 innings.
“This team is really resilient,” Nelson said after that outing, a 5-3 Arizona win in which had wasn’t involved in the decision. “We don’t back down from much. We tend to always punch back.”
After winning two of three against the Chicago Cubs over the weekend, the Phillies scuffled in the opener against the Diamondbacks and lost for the sixth time in eight games.
Kyle Schwarber and Bryson Stott each homered, but errors by Stott and Kody Clemens proved to be costly. Starting pitcher Zack Wheeler also failed to cover first base on a play.
“These are mistakes we’ve got to clean up as a coaching staff,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
Despite the error, Stott kept up his stellar offensive pace. He socked his fifth long ball of the season and extended his hitting streak to nine games.
“He’s had good at-bats, even against lefties,” Thomson said. “His at-bats against lefties are really good.”
Philadelphia’s Trea Turner hit an RBI single in the seventh inning, snapping his 0-for-22 streak with runners in scoring position.
“I’ve just got to keep grinding,” said Turner, who signed an 11-year, $300 million contract to join the Phillies in the offseason. “Ended the game well, but tomorrow is a new day and we’ll do it all again.”
After the game, the Phillies announced that Matt Strahm (4-3, 2.73 ERA) would start on Tuesday.
Strahm began the season as a starter due to injuries to Ranger Suarez and Andrew Painter.
It’s uncertain how many innings Strahm will pitch, according to Thomson.
Strahm is 2-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 20 career games (three starts) against the Diamondbacks.
–Field Level Media
