Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor homered, Ryne Nelson pitched 6 2/3 sharp innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks broke a five-game losing streak with a 5-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday in Phoenix.
Nelson (2-1) gave up four hits and struck out four without a walk in his longest start of the season. He made his second start for Eduardo Rodriguez, who was placed on the injured list May 16 due to shoulder inflammation.
Four relievers finished up the shutout for Arizona, with Ryan Thompson handling the ninth inning in a non-save situation.
Gabriel Moreno had three hits and Ketel Marte had two hits and an RBI for the D-backs, who just finished a stretch in which they played 22 of 25 games against teams with a winning record. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. also collected two hits.
The Pirates loaded the bases in the eighth on an error by Suarez at third base and two walks issued by Scott McGough. Justin Martinez entered and retired the side on a strikeout, an infield fly and a groundout.
Pittsburgh was shut out for the ninth time this year.
Adam Frazier and Alexander Canario had two hits apiece for the Pirates, who had won four of six in their best stretch of the season.
Pirates starter Andrew Heaney (3-4) gave up five runs on eight hits in five innings with two strikeouts and three walks.
Oneil Cruz led off the game with a check-swing double inside the bag at third and reached third with two outs before Nelson got Spencer Horwitz to ground out to end the inning.
The Pirates did not have another runner get beyond first base until Frazier doubled with two outs in the seventh.
Randal Grichuk singled and Moreno doubled to open the second off Heaney, who had given up four runs total in his previous three starts. Tim Tawa hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Grichuk, then Marte singled home Moreno for a 2-0 lead.
Suarez’s 433-foot homer made it 3-0 in the fourth. It was his 15th, tying him with teammate Corbin Carroll for third in the National League.
Suarez walked with one out in the fifth and scored on Naylor’s homer, which just cleared the right field fence for a 5-0 lead. It was Naylor’s sixth long ball of the year.
–Field Level Media
