KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Gabriel Moreno gave Arizona the lead in the ninth inning with a two-run double, Ketel Marte added a three-run homer and the Diamondbacks beat the Kansas City Royals 8-6 on Wednesday night.
“We never shut down. It was a character win. I think the guys dug as deep as they could,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “It was a tough environment against a good team. We just got one guy on and kept the line moving.”
Eugenio Saurez homered for Arizona in the second and Joc Pederson and Christian Walker hit back-to-back shots in the fourth to make it 3-1. Pederson has 200 career homers.
With Arizona down 4-3 in the ninth against closer James McArthur (4-4), Lourdes Gurriel Jr singled with one out, Geraldo Perdomo walked and Moreno slashed the double that rolled to the wall in the right-center gap
“I was really looking for a pitch that I wouldn’t hit into a double play. I was able to stay within myself and go to my side, which is right center,” Moreno said through a translator.
After Corbin Carroll followed Moreno with a single, Marte blasted the three-run homer to center.
“That was a super frustrating inning,” MacArthur said. “I felt like I was pretty close at times of getting out of it and just didn’t make the pitch I needed to.”
Marte homered in all three games in the series.
“He’s a beast, I don’t know what else to say,” Lovullo said about Marte, Arizona’s line All-Star this season. “He doesn’t surprise me. I’ve seen him do it over and over again. He wants to be in the middle of everything, that’s his personality, and it was a big knock for him.”
Joe Mantiply (4-2) pitched the eighth for the victory and Paul Sewald closed it out after allowing Vinnie Pasquantino’s two-run single in the ninth.
The Royals took the lead with a three-run fourth. Michael Massey doubled and scored on Maikel Garcia’s fielder’s choice. Kyle Isbel followed with a triple to tie it and scored on Ryne Nelson’s wild pitch.
“We left some guys on early, so to fight back and get the lead was big for us,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “But you’ve got to give those guys credit for executing and getting balls in play.”
Bobby Witt Jr. went 3 for 4 for Kansas City to raise his average to .344.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: Arizona returns home to face Pittsburgh on Friday night. The Diamondbacks hadn’t announced a starter.
Royals: RHP Brady Singer (6-6, 3.00 ERA) was set to start Friday night at home against the Chicago Cubs.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
