Arizona Diamondbacks take lead over Chicago Cubs before rain delay

D-Backs reclaim lead after Cubs’ rally

For the second day in a row, Jake Lamb delivered a key, go-ahead hit late in a game, this time lining a two-run single to left field that allowed the Diamondbacks to reclaim the lead over the Cubs at Wrigley Field in the eighth inning.

After blowing a 6-1 lead and watching the Cubs move ahead 7-6, the Diamondbacks took an 8-7 lead into the bottom of the eighth.

In the bottom of the seventh, Willson Contreras, who homered twice in the first six innings, added a two-run, go-ahead single to his list of accomplishments. He shot a 98 mph, 0-2 fastball from Archie Bradley into center field with the bases loaded in the seventh.

The Cubs started the inning with an infield single off Zack Greinke, a ball shortstop Adam Rosales couldn’t make a backhanded play on. They loaded the bases after reliever Andrew Chafin walked Jon Jay and Bradley walked Anthony Rizzo.

But the Diamondbacks answered immediately. Paul Goldschmidt and J.D. Martinez drew consecutive walks to start the inning, and Brandon Drury’s single to right loaded the bases.

Lamb followed by lining a single to left to score two. He had a pair of RBI doubles to account for all of the Diamondbacks’ scoring on Wednesday night.

Contreras homers again to trim D-Backs’ lead

Willson Contreras’ second home run of the game off Diamondbacks right-hander Zack Greinke cut the Cubs’ deficit to 6-5 in the bottom of the sixth inning.

After Kris Bryant and Anthonhy Rizzo singled to open the inning, Contreras got a first-pitch, belt-high fastball from Greinke and destroyed it, launching it into the stands in left field. Greinke seemed to know it was gone off the bat, hanging his head and waiting a half-beat before turning to see it go.

Greinke recovered by striking out the side and keeping it a one-run game.

Goldschmidt’s 2nd homer extends lead

Paul Goldschmidt hit another no-doubt home run, his second of the game, and the Diamondbacks took a 6-2 lead over the Cubs into the sixth inning.

With a runner on in the top of the fifth, Goldschmidt turned on an inside fastball and sent it out to left field. The ball appeared to land somewhere on Waveland Avenue beyond the left field fence.

The blast made it 6-1, but the Cubs got one run back in the bottom of the inning after Javier Baez shot a triple into the right field and scored on a two-out wild pitch.

Greinke, D-Backs lead Cubs after 4

Zack Greinke has allowed just one run through four innings, and the Diamondbacks owned a 4-1 lead over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday at Wrigley Field.

Greinke got out of a first-and-third, one-out jam in the fourth by getting the Cubs’ Ian Happ to bounce into an inning-ending double play.

The only run he’s allowed came on a solo home run by Willson Contreras, the first batter he faced after a 35-minute rain delay during the second inning.

D-Backs start fast but rain halts play at Wrigley

After one-hour, 30-minute rain delay, the Diamondbacks scored four first-inning runs off Cubs left-hander Jose Quintana, but another thunderstorm forced the game to go into another delay.

There were two out in the top of the second when the game was halted.

In the first, the Diamondbacks got a pair of monster home runs. With two on, Paul Goldschmidt mashed a three-run shot that appeared to nearly hit the video board beyond the left-center field bleachers.

Two batters later, Brandon Drury actually did hit the video board with a solo home run.

It’s the second time in as many starts this season the Diamondbacks have hit Quintana hard. They scored eight runs off him in 4 1/3 innings in a start at Chase Field in May.

D-Backs had reasons for not adding a starter

The Diamondbacks added a reliever and an infielder prior to Monday’s non-waiver trade deadline, but they chose not to add depth to their starting pitching reserves, something General Manager Mike Hazen had mentioned as a possibility in recent weeks.

Hazen outlined a few reasons for this on Thursday morning at Wrigley Field, a day before the club will have to reach into those pitching reserves for a starter on Friday in San Francisco.

For one, he said, the prognosis was encouraging on left-hander Robbie Ray, who was struck on the head by a line drive last week. Ray was scheduled to visit with neurologist Dr. Javier Cardenas on Thursday in Arizona, at which point the next steps in his return will be mapped out, Hazen said.

Another factor was the debut of left-hander Anthony Banda, who pitched competitively against the Washington Nationals last month at Chase Field, impressing Hazen with his aggressiveness and strike-throwing ability.

But a less obvious reason for not adding a starter had to do with roster construction. The pickup of reliever David Hernandez created the need to free up one roster spot. Adding a starter would have been another.

“We had to pick and choose which direction we were going to go,” Hazen said. “If you went and acquired a starter, that’d be great, but you had to then assume that the starting pitcher, assuming health for the next month, would have to go in the bullpen for the next month when Robbie came back.

“And so acquiring a reliever and acquiring a starter who was then going to go into the bullpen presented a logistical challenge for us until we got to September. There was no guarantee that that starting pitcher was going to be able to transition into the bullpen for a month or two or three weeks, whatever it would be. So we kind of had to make choices and those were the choices that we made.”

The Diamondbacks still haven’t announced a starter for Friday, something manager Torey Lovullo said he would do after Thursday’s game.

Short hops

Infielder/outfielder Chris Owings had successful surgery on Monday in Phoenix on his broken right middle finger, Hazen said, adding that Owings had a plate inserted. His timeline for a return hasn’t changed, meaning he could be back when he’s eligible to return from the 60-day DL in late September.

*Right-hander Randall Delgado’s throwing program has progressed to 75 feet, manager Torey Lovullo said.

Thursday’s game

When: 11:20 a.m.

Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago.

Pitchers: Diamondbacks RHP Zack Greinke (13-4, 2.84) vs. Cubs LHP Jose Quintana (6-6, 3.88).

TV/Radio: FSAZ/KTAR-AM (620), KHOV-FM (105.1).

Greinke was impressive once again last week in St. Louis, giving up just one run on four hits in seven innings. … In his past seven starts he has a 2.53 ERA with eight walks and 45 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings. … Greinke is striking out 9.8 batters per nine innings, the second-best rate of his career. … He hasn’t faced the Cubs since his second start of the 2016 season, when he gave up four runs in six innings. … Quintana has made three starts with the Cubs since coming over in an All-Star break trade, and he has given up just five runs in 19 innings (2.37 ERA) with five walks and 25 strikeouts. … Quintana faced the Diamondbacks at Chase Field on May 24 and was hit hard, giving up eight runs in 4 1/3 innings. … Quintana is holding left-handed hitters to a .607 OPS, the seventh-best mark in the majors.

MORE D-BACKS: Lamb, pitchers rebound for win at Wrigley

Thursday’s lineup

Banda could get start against Giants

The Diamondbacks have not named a starter for Friday at AT&T Park, but it appears the club is lining up Triple-A Reno left-hander Anthony Banda to face the Giants. Banda hasn’t pitched since July 27, isn’t listed as Reno’s starter for Thursday and is healthy, according to Lovullo, who smiled when asked about Banda’s availability.

“We’ll have an announcement here very shortly,” Lovullo said.

An opportunity for Banda opened up when starter Robbie Ray flew to Phoenix Thursday to be examined by a neurologist, after Ray was struck in the head by a line drive last week. 

Banda turned in a competitive start in his major league debut last month, giving up one run through five innings before the Washington Nationals broke through for three more runs in the sixth inning.

Banda finished having allowed four runs on seven hits and no walks with five strikeouts, showing a firm fastball – he averaged 94.7 mph, topping at 96.6 mph – and a good change-up.

Coming up

Friday: At San Francisco, 7:15 p.m., Diamondbacks TBA vs. Giants LHP Madison Bumgarner (1-4, 2.92).

Saturday: At San Francisco, 6:05 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Taijuan Walker (6-5, 3.55) vs. Giants RHP Matt Cain (3-9, 5.37).

Sunday: At San Francisco, 1:05 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin (8-10, 4.77) vs. Giants RHP Jeff Samardzija (6-11, 4.77).