Goldschmidt’s third homer of game lifts D’backs over Cubs
CHICAGO (AP) – The shortest of Paul Goldschmidt’s three home runs on Thursday – the one that went only about halfway up the left-center bleachers at Wrigley Field – turned out to be his biggest.
Goldschmidt snapped a tie in the ninth inning with his third long drive of the game, and the Arizona Diamondbacks pulled out a rain-delayed 10-8 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.
The Diamondbacks first baseman hit a 3-2 pitch from Wade Davis (2-1) deep into the right-center bleachers with one out. J.D. Martinez followed with another solo blast off the Cubs closer.
“Crazy. I’ve never had three home runs and just to win that game back and forth is good for our team,” Goldschmidt said.
Goldschmidt’s first homer was a three-run shot to the top of the left-center bleachers in the first. His two-run shot in the fifth rocketed down the left field line and bounced high on Waveland Avenue to make it 6-1.
In the ninth, Goldschmidt wasn’t swinging for the fences.
“When it’s a tie game and you’re facing Wade Davis who’s one of the best closers in the game, it’s not a guy you try to hit a home run off of,” Goldschmidt said. “I just told myself to get on for J.D. Just try to hit a single and not do too much.”
Brandon Drury also homered for Arizona, which remained percentage points ahead of Colorado for the top NL wild card despite blowing a five-run lead.
“Bottom line is, we won the game and found a way to do that,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “Goldschmidt has one of those special days you dream about and the timing couldn’t have been any better.”
Willson Contreras hit two home runs and had a career-high six RBIs for Chicago, which lost consecutive games for the first time since the All-Star break. The Cubs’ NL Central lead over Milwaukee slipped to 1½ games.
“I feel like I didn’t do enough to help the team to win,” Contreras said. “I’d rather go 0 for 5 with a win than 3 for 5 with 6 RBIs.”
Jake Barrett (1-0), Arizona’s fifth reliever, got two outs in the eighth for the win. Fernando Rodney worked around two walks in the ninth to earn his 24th save in 29 chances.
Jake Lamb singled in two runs in the eighth to put Arizona back ahead 8-7 after blowing a five-run lead. Chicago’s John Jay tied game at 8 in the bottom of the inning when he bounced into fielder’s choice with the bases loaded and Jason Heyward scored.
Jose Quintana was hit hard in his fourth start with the Cubs, allowing up six runs. The lefty had not permitted more than three runs in three starts since moving across town in a July 13 trade with the White Sox.
Arizona starter Zack Greinke allowed a season-high six runs in six-plus innings.
Contreras’ performance had something do with that, manager Joe Maddon said. The Cubs catcher has 13 of his 18 homers since June 19 and is batting .343 since July 9.
“That’s a good test for (Contreras) right there, how he handles a pitcher who knows how to pitch,” Maddon said.
Contreras’ second homer, a three-run drive in the sixth, got the Cubs within 6-5.
The game started 90 minutes late because of storms and then was interrupted for 35 minutes in the second and 30 in the ninth.OUT OF THE PARK, OUT OF THE ORDINARY
Davis, who has converted 22 straight save chances with Chicago, had allowed only one homer this season before Thursday. The All-Star gave up only three homers over the past three years with Kansas City.TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray (concussion) was set to see a specialist in Phoenix on Thursday. He was hit in the head by a line drive last week. Ray had been scheduled to start on Friday at San Francisco, but will be pushed back. . SS Chris Owings had successful surgery on his right middle finger this week and GM Mike Hazen hopes Owings will return in six to eight weeks. . RHP Randall Delgado (right elbow) threw from 75 feet Wednesday and will resume his rehab protocol on Friday. . OF Yasmany Tomas (right groin tendinitis) is “trending in a positive direction” and has been hitting and throwing, manager Torey Lovullo said.
Cubs: Javier Baez was back in the lineup at shortstop. He appeared to favor his left leg coming out of the box on a groundout in the fifth inning on Tuesday, but stayed in the game. He sat out Wednesday.UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: LHP Anthony Banda (0-1, 6.35) will start at San Francisco on Friday in place of Ray. Banda made his major league debut on July 22 and gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings in a loss to Washington. Lefty Madison Bumgarner (1-4, 2.92) pitches for the Giants in his fifth start since returning from the DL on July 15. Against the Dodgers last Sunday, Bumgarner tossed seven scoreless innings and struck out seven in a no-decision.
Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks (4-3, 3.80) makes his third start since being activated from the DL on July 24 and faces Washington RHP Tanner Roark (8-7, 4.93) in an afternoon game. Hendricks allowed one earned run in five innings in a no-decision last Saturday at Milwaukee.