Diamondbacks Swept By Visiting Pirates
By Blake Benard
It was supposed to be a promising weekend. Manager Chip Hale and the Arizona Diamondbacks came into their weekend slate against the Pirates with an 8-7 record and surprising optimism to start the 2015 season.
Well, that all unwound as the Pirates came into town and shut down what was one of the best offenses in the National League. The combined rotation of Gerrit Cole, A.J. Burnett, and Francisco Liriano held the Diamondbacks to 2 runs during the entire weekend.
Outside the Sunday start from Hellickson, the starting pitching was solid with Collmenter and De La Rosa throwing quality starts. But the offense remained nonexistent and the Diamondbacks suffered their first series sweep of 2015. Here is a closer look at the weekend.
More from Arizona Diamondbacks
- What Eduardo Escobar’s Contract Means For The Arizona Diamondbacks
- Arizona Diamondbacks Little Known Link to Red Sox-Dodgers World Series
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Brad Ziegler Stays Classy in Twitter Farewell
- Arizona Diamondbacks Officially Bounced From MLB Playoff Contention
- Arizona Diamondbacks: Zack Greinke Still Going Strong at 34
Friday – Pirates 4, Diamondbacks 1
Gerrit Cole shut down the typically dynamic Diamondback offense and he was backed by clutch two-out hitting as the Pirates cruised to the 4-1 victory Friday night.
It was a tale of one person on Friday: Gerrit Cole. The Pirates young righty threw into the eight inning allowing only 1 run on 7 D-back hits. Cole picked struck out seven over his 7 2/3 innings and picked up his third win of the season and is now 7-0 since last September. And if that wasn’t enough Cole chipped in with the bat, tallying a single and run scored.
Two-out hits keyed the Pirates offense. Neil Walker kicked off the scoring in the top of the first by continued his six-game hitting streak with a two-out double, driving in Gregory Polanco. With two on, two-out, in the top of the second Josh Harrison laced a RBI double scoring Jordy Mercer and Gerrit Cole.
D-backs starter Josh Collmenter settled down after that, retiring the next 12 batters until a leadoff double in the seventh that chased him from the game. He finished throwing a quality start: 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, and 3 SO’s.
The only offense the Diamondbacks could muster against Cole came in the sixth off a Chris Owings RBI infield single that scored Paul Goldschmidt.
Finally the Pirates tacked on the insurance run off reliever Evan Marshall in the eighth on Walker’s second RBI double of the game.
Saturday – Pirates 2, Diamondbacks 1
Ruby De La Rosa and A.J. Burnett gave the Chase Field crowd a classic pitchers duel on Saturday, but Addison Reed blew the lead in the ninth inning as the Pirates clinched the series winning 2-1.
It was more two-out magic for the Bucs, as Niel Walker continued his hot-streak with a two-out double and came around to score on Starling Marte’s following single.
Reed spoiled an outstanding start from De La Rosa who limited the Pirates to one run through seven innings while striking out 8. It was by far his best start since joining the Diamondbacks during the offseason. The only damage came in the fourth innings on doubles from Neil Walker and Pedro Álvarez.
The Diamondbacks were held to one run for the second straight night. They got on the scoreboard in the second inning due to an Owings single, stolen base and Tuffy Gosewisch’s subsequent RBI single.
More from Heat Waved
- Arizona Coyotes: Slumping Strome Shipped to Chicago
- Arizona Cardinals Paid Sam Bradford $6.75 Million Per TD Pass
- Former Arizona Basketball Star Allonzo Trier Remarkably Efficient Lately
- Arizona Coyotes: How Coach Rick Tocchet Sparked His Offense
- Arizona State Basketball Has Two Transfers Ready to Compete
Sunday – Pirates 8, Diamondbacks 0
In the rubber match, Diamondbacks starter Jeremy Hellickson didn’t get through the fifth inning and the Pirates completed the series sweep winning 6-0.
While Hellickson struggled in his outing, Pirtaes starter Francisco Liriano pieced together a gem, throwing 6 1/2 innings allowing 2 hits while completely shutting down the Diamondbacks.
The Pirates struck early with a two-out RBI single from Pedro Alvarez scoring Gregory Polanco and Josh Harrison. Hellickson actually settled down only allowing two base runners through the next 3 innings. But in the fifth, Hellickson ran into trouble after back-to-back singles from Polanco and Andrew McCutchen. Neil Walter followed with his fourth double of the series that drove in McCutchen and Polanco.
A sacrifice fly in the eight from Chris Stewart tacked on another run and extended the lead to 5-0. They added three more in the ninth off reliever Daniel Hudson.
This marked the first time the Diamondbacks have been shut-out all year. They went hitless from the third to eighth inning and simply appeared lifeless at the dish. Overall in the series they scored two runs in 18 innings against the Bucs.
Up Next
The Diamondbacks will host the Colorado Rockies for a three-game set starting Monday.
First pitch 6:40 p.m.