Andrew McCutchen hits walkoff homer to send Pirates to win over Diamondbacks

PITTSBURGH – Andrew McCutchen hit a leadoff homer in the ninth inning, lifting the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 in a wild ending Monday.

McCutchen sent a 1-1 pitch from Archie Bradley (1-1) over the right field wall to cap off a back-and-forth ninth. It was the eighth homer this season for McCutchen, who was recently dropped to sixth in the batting order for the first time in his career.

BOX SCORE: Pirates 4, Diamondbacks 3

Diamondbacks pinch hitter Chris Iannetta tied the game moments earlier with a two-run homer to left field off closer Tony Watson. Watson (4-1) was credited with the win after blowing his third save in 13 opportunities.

It was a costly victory for the Pirates, as starting right fielder Gregory Polanco left the game with an injury. Polanco got his right ankle caught awkwardly in the railing separating the stands from the playing field while chasing down a foul ball in the sixth inning.

– Associated Press

Pirates grab lead with two-run seventh

Chris Stewart drove a two-run triple into left-center field in the bottom of the seventh to put the Pirates ahead 3-1 on Monday afternoon, their first lead of the day at PNC Park.

The inning started with a leadoff double by Jose Osuna, who entered the game in place of left fielder Gregory Polanco, who suffered a right ankle injury pursuing a foul ball in the sixth.

After a pair of pop outs and a walk, Stewart drove a 3-1 fastball from Diamondbacks reliever J.J. Hoover for a triple, though he appeared to hurt his hamstring on his way into third base. He left the game for a pinch-runner.

The Diamondbacks missed out on a scoring opportunity in the top of the eighth. After putting the first two runners aboard to start the inning, Pirates reliever Felipe Rivero got Paul Goldschmidt (ground out), Jake Lamb (foul out) and Nick Ahmed (ground out) in succession.

Delgado turns in another solid start for D-Backs

Right-hander Randall Delgado threw 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball on Monday, departing with the game tied at PNC Park.

It was Delgado’s second consecutive solid start he’s given the Diamondbacks since right-hander Taijuan Walker landed on the disabled list with a blister on his right index finger.

Delgado threw four innings, allowing two runs (one earned), in his first start on Wednesday in San Diego.

Delgado 92 pitches, well north of what manager Torey Lovullo had said was his target range of 75 pitches. Lovullo did say he’d consider allowing Delgado to throw a few more depending on how the outing progressed.

The only run Delgado allowed came in the fourth, when Josh Bell’s sac fly drove in Jordy Mercer, who tripled one batter earlier.

Delgado’s final line: 5 2/3 innings, five hits, one run, no walks, eight strikeouts.

D-Backs, Pirates tied at 1 after four

Josh Bell’s sacrifice fly to center field scored Jordy Mercer with the tying run off Diamondbacks right-hander Randall Delgado in the fourth inning on Monday at PNC Park.

The Diamondbacks grabbed an early lead, using a replay challenge to positive effect. On a pitch in the dirt that initially was called a ball to David Peralta, the Diamondbacks challenged, contesting that the pitch hit his foot.

They won the challenge and Peralta was awarded first base, and three batters later he scored on Yasmany Tomas’ RBI single.

Delgado gave up a one-out triple to Mercer in the fourth. Bell followed with a sharply hit ball to center field, a ball deep enough to allow Mercer to tag and score.

McFarland is D-Backs’ latest reclamation reliever

Left-hander T.J. McFarland fired three innings in relief for the Diamondbacks on Sunday, helping ease the burden on the rest of the bullpen, an important contribution because Monday’s starter, Randall Delgado, is expected to be on a 75-pitch limit.

The outing was the latest impressive performance for McFarland, whom the Diamondbacks signed to a minor league deal in early March, the latest solid reliever they’ve corralled on a bounceback year.

In 11 2/3 innings, McFarland has allowed just one earned run (and three unearned runs) on nine hits and two walks.

“I’m just throwing strikes, getting ground balls,” McFarland said. “We’ve got an incredible defense, so it makes it a lot easier for the pitcher, especially me being a sinkerball guy. Getting ground balls, throwing strikes, getting ahead in the count — that’s kind of the name of the game for me.”

After spending the past four years with the Baltimore Orioles, McFarland was released in spring training on the heels of a season in which he posted a 6.93 ERA in 24 2/3 innings.

McFarland dealt with a knee injury last year and didn’t feel quite right mechanically after coming back. But he also said he just didn’t pitch well – “Plain old had a bad year,” he said – and is happy to be turning the page with the Diamondbacks.

McFarland is one of four relievers in the Diamondbacks bullpen who originally signed minor league deals before the year, joining J.J. Hoover, Jorge De La Rosa and Tom Wilhelmsen. Fernando Rodney got a guaranteed deal but he, too, was coming off a rough season.

“We do talk about it, but kind of just talk about the game and how everyone just deals with their ups and downs,” McFarland said. “It’s really just about grinding through it. Because everyone that’s here has the talent to succeed, but it’s whether or not you stay consistent with it. I think right now we’re all in a good place in the bullpen and the team is doing really well, and we’re just going to keep moving forward.”

D-Backs may need another start from Delgado

Right-hander Taijuan Walker will throw a 60-pitch simulated game on Tuesday, manager Torey Lovullo said, and assuming all goes well Walker could return to face the Marlins this weekend in Miami.

“We’re going to consider tomorrow a start day for him,” Lovullo said, “so if he starts he’s going to need normal rest in between.”

Essentially, that means Walker would start Sunday, which is one day later than his old spot in the rotation. That means the Diamondbacks might need to turn back to Randall Delgado, who faces the Pirates at PNC Park on Monday.

“It could be,” Lovullo said. “There are options that we have and Randall is certainly deserving of it.”

Herrmann’s homers equal wins

The Diamondbacks’ Chris Herrmann has 17 career homers in 16 different games. His teams – the first six homers came with the Minnesota Twins, the next 11 with the Diamondbacks – are unbeaten in those 16 games.

That makes Herrmann the current holder of a major league record: most career homers in which all came in a win, a stat uncovered by the Twitter account @HighHeatStats.

Herrmann could lose the record as soon as he hits his next homer — since it could very well come in a loss — but that’s not how he’s thinking about it.

“I guess it means,” he said, “that I just need to hit more home runs.”

POWER RANKINGS: D-Backs in tight NL West race

Lineups

Here’s the Diamondbacks’ lineup for the game:

And here’s the Pirates’ lineup:

Monday’s game

Diamondbacks at Pirates

When: 1:05 p.m.

Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh.

Pitchers: Diamondbacks RHP Randall Delgado (1-0, 3.82) vs. Pirates RHP Trevor Williams (2-3, 5.93).

TV/Radio: FSAZ/KMVP-FM (98.7), KHOV-FM (105.1).

Delgado got the start in a bullpen game on Wednesday against the White Sox, giving up two runs (one earned) in four innings, with one walk and three strikeouts. … He threw 61 pitches, and manager Torey Lovullo said Delgado could get into the 70-75 range, if not a bit higher, against the Pirates. … This will mark the first time since 2014 that Delgado made more than one start in a season. … Williams, an Arizona State product, has made four starts since moving into the Pirates rotation, and after a shaky first outing, he’s been decent in the next three, posting a 4.02 ERA in 15 2/3 innings. … He beat the Diamondbacks on May 13, giving up one run in five innings at Chase Field.

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Coming up

Tuesday: At Pittsburgh, 4:05 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray (4-3, 3.45) vs. Pirates RHP Ivan Nova (5-3, 2.83).

Wednesday: At Pittsburgh, 9:35 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zack Godley (1-1, 1.99) vs. Pirates RHP Chad Kuhl (1-5, 6.29).

Thursday: At Miami, 4:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zack Greinke (6-3, 3.24) vs. Marlins RHP Vance Worley (0-2, 5.00).

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Up next

Pittsburgh Pirates

Pirates update: The Pirates entered Sunday having won nine of their past 14 games, a stretch that began with the final two games of their series against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field from May 11-14. The Pirates offense has ticked up during that stretch, averaging 5.2 runs per game. LF Adam Frazier is swinging the bat well, hitting .340 in 106 at-bats. 2B Josh Harrison has a .307/.370/.464 line, and 1B Josh Bell has a team-leading nine home runs. The Pirates rotation ranks eighth in the league with a 4.45 ERA. Their bullpen has been only a little better, ranking sixth with a 3.86 ERA. RHP Ivan Nova leads the way in the rotation, averaging seven innings per start with a 2.83 ERA through 10 outings. LHP Felipe Rivero has been their best reliever, giving up just six runs in 25 2/3 innings (0.70 ERA) with five walks and 28 strikeouts.

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