Everything was going Clay Buchholz’s way. Then
Panthers Cheap Jerseys , a
swing-and-miss led to an injury that turned what could have been a gem into a
routine solid outing.
Buchholz lasted five innings before experiencing tightness in his left side, but the Arizona Diamondbacks completed a four-game sweep of the Pittsburgh
Pirates with a 3-0 win Sunday.
The right-hander retired the first 11 batters he faced before Pirates centerfielder Starling Marte doubled down the right-field line with two out in
the fourth inning. Despite throwing just 53 pitches (42 strikes), he was pulled
to start the sixth inning after informing manager Torey Lovullo of some pain
stemming from swinging at the first pitch of his at bat in the top of the
fifth.
”I’ve had oblique, whatever it is, before. It was a lot worse than this one,” Buchholz said. ”I went out (in the bottom of the fifth) and the last two outs,
that’s whenever I felt it a little bit more. I was just trying to get through
that inning. It’s more precautionary. I’ve gone through things before where I’ve
tried to get through it, pitch through it and go another inning, but that’s
always led me in the wrong direction.”
Lovullo said Buchholz (2-1), who allowed two hits with five strikeouts in five innings for his first win since June 1, would continue to be evaluated
throughout Sunday. More information is expected Monday.
”He was attacking the zone with the fastball and driving his fastball on both sides of the plate, and then throwing some quality secondary stuff,” Lovullo
said. ”We want to give him a night to let everything calm down and evaluate
him.”
David Peralta’s 15th home run, which carried over the wall in right-center field before bouncing into the Allegheny River, and John Ryan Murphy’s ninth
powered Arizona to its 12th win in 16 games.
”It’s nice to get a couple runs in the first, always,” Murphy said. ”I was leading off the second and was looking for a fastball. Got one in a pretty good
spot.”
Brad Boxberger let up a single to Austin Meadows with one out in the ninth before forcing Marte into a double play for his 17th save.
Pirates right-handed starter Trevor Williams (6-5) took the loss after allowing the two-run home run to Peralta with two out in the first inning and a
lead-off solo homer to Murphy, which made it 3-0 in the second. Those three runs
came on five hits in six innings pitched with six strikeouts.
”Unfortunately, that was the game today,” Williams said. ”From there on, I thought I was making all my pitches and being successful the second time through
the lineup.”
Pittsburgh has scored eight combined runs during its current five-game losing streak after winning four of its previous five games.
”We’re going to keep playing,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. ”The season’s not going to stop. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. These guys are
working hard in here to get better. We haven’t gotten better.”
ROSTER MOVE
Diamondbacks: RHP Braden Shipley was recalled from Triple-A Reno on Sunday morning. RHP Jake Barrett was optioned to Reno following the game Saturday.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: 1B Paul Goldschmidt was given the day off after homering and scoring three runs Saturday. INF Daniel Descalso took over at first base and hit
fifth.
Pirates: RHP Michael Feliz was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation on Sunday and recalled RHP Clay Holmes from Triple-A
Indianapolis. Holmes allowed one walk in two innings of relief.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: RHP Shelby Miller (0-0
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expected to come off the 60-day disabled list to make his season debut against
the Marlins on Monday. After undergoing Tommy John surgery for a torn UCL
sustained last season against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miller allowed 10 runs on
20 hits with 28 strikeouts and six walks in a combined 19 1/3 innings during his
four rehab starts, two with Double-A Jackson and two with Single-A Visalia.
Pirates: RHP Jameson Taillon (4-6, 4.03) will look to find some consistency when he starts against the New York Mets on Monday. He is 2-6 since winning his
first two starts of the season against the Minnesota Twins on April 2 and the
Cincinnati Reds on April 8.
Matt Carpenter helped the St. Louis Cardinals beat two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber in a way no one has before,
then he stuck around to make some history of his own.
Carpenter homered twice, matched a career best with five hits and helped chase Kluber in the shortest start of the right-hander’s career in the
Cardinals’ 11-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.
Carpenter, who also scored a career-best five runs, is the 19th player ever with five hits, including two home runs, and five runs in a game. He’s the first
Cardinals player to do it.
”I don’t know, that leaves me kind of speechless,” said Carpenter, who also drove in three. ”It’s pretty cool. Wow, there’s been some really good players
come through here. You would have figured somebody would have put together a
night better than that.”
Kluber (11-4) allowed six runs in 1 2/3 innings and has lost two of his past three decisions. He gave up six hits, including homers to Carpenter and Jose
Martinez, and walked one on 48 pitches.
Prior to Tuesday, Kluber’s shortest start had been two innings against the Tampa Bay Rays in 2013. His previous low this year was a five-inning game on
June 15 against Minnesota when he took his third loss of the season.
”He’s human,” manager Terry Francona said. ”Don’t think guys go 35 starts without having a bump in the road.”
It was a far cry from his only other appearance against the Cardinals. He struck out a career-best 18 in a 2-0 victory on May 13, 2015.
Carlos Martinez (4-4) settled down after a rough first inning for his first victory since May 2. He had lost three straight decisions over his previous five
starts. He went six innings, allowing two runs, six hits and a walk while
striking out eight.
St. Louis has won four straight after struggling through a 2-8 stretch. Cleveland entered the series on a seven-game winning streak before dropping the
first two of this three-game set.
The Indians used three singles and a walk to take a 2-0 lead in the first but had only three more singles against Martinez and none after the starter was
pulled.
Carpenter answered the Indians’ fast start with his 14th home run. It was Carpenter’s third leadoff homer of the year and 18th in his career. He also led
off the eighth with his 15th homer, a solo
shot
Aleksander
Barkov Jersey , on a 5-for-5 night. The five hits matched a mark he set
June 14, 2014 at Kansas City, and he was a triple shy of the cycle.
”I don’t think you wish for a home run not to be a home run, but it would have been cool to do,” he said of the cycle. ”It’s something I’ve never done,
but I’ll take the home run, too.”
St. Louis manager Mike Matheny made several fielding changes in the late innings to let players get some rest. He said he considered pulling Carpenter
but decided the potential cycle meant more than a couple of innings off.
”It was on our mind, but this is special for him and special for our fans,” Matheny said. ”When he’s on, it’s impressive to watch his approach and what he
can do when he’s got his swing going right.”
Jose Martinez’s 12th home run, a three-run blast to left field, chased Kluber. Kolten Wong added a two-run shot in the third, his sixth of the
season.
RAIN DELAY
Tuesday’s game was delayed 1-hour, 26-minutes by rain, marking the second consecutive game between the Indians and Cardinals that was affected by
inclement weather. The first pitch Monday was pushed back 1-hour, 21-minutes
because of a thunderstorm.
TRAINING ROOM
Indians: RHP Carlos Carrasco is scheduled to throw 40 pitches off the mound Wednesday in St. Louis. If all goes well, he could begin his rehab assignment
Saturday. Carrasco is currently on the 10-day disabled list with right elbow
contusion.
Cardinals: SS Yairo Munoz was pulled after the third inning with a left ankle contusion. He fouled a ball off his leg during his last at-bat before grounding
out to short and was replaced by Greg Garcia to start the fourth.
UP NEXT
Indians: RHP Shane Bieber (2-0, 2.45) makes his fourth start of his rookie season. After allowing 18 hits in his first two appearances, he gave up four but
struck out nine and blanked the Tigers through seven innings in his last
outing.
Cardinals: RHP Jack Flaherty (3-2, 2.50) is coming off his best start of his rookie year. He allowed a season-low one hit and tied a season-high with 13
strikeouts but didn’t figure in the decision in the 2-1 loss at Milwaukee. He’s
given up two runs on six hits in his previous 18 1/3 innings over three
games.
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