Diamondbacks hang on to defeat Pirates, 4-2

The Arizona Diamondbacks started the season with a respectable 15-13 record. Then, they lost 55 of their next 67 games, almost unbelievable futility.

The Pittsburgh Pirates rolled into Chase Stadium in Phoenix on Monday night carrying a .302 batting average since the Fourth of July, the second-highest in the majors.

Yet, a struggling team confronting an opponent holding hot bats turned into a 4-2 victory for the Diamondbacks (28-68). If the Pirates had won, they would have had a winning record in July, but the loss dropped them to 36-58.

Arizona starting pitcher Caleb Smith held the Pirates to no runs and four hits in his first six innings, retiring 10 batters in a row at one point.

“We got pitches to hit and we knew he was a fly ball pitcher and we just did not barrel him,” manager Derek Shelton said. “He kept us off the barrel.”

Smith struck out seven batters in his longest outing of the season (6⅔ innings), but he left the game with two outs in the seventh after singles by Phillip Evans and Jared Oliva. That’s when the Pirates, who had won three of their previous four games, finally threatened.

Rookie Brett De Geus relieved and surrendered RBI singles to Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds before walking John Nogowski to load the bases.

Shelton had wanted to give Adam Frazier the night off after his All-Star start last week in Denver and another trip to Arizona on Sunday night. But the game hung in the balance, and Frazier got the call to pinch-hit for relief pitcher Duane Underwood Jr. He struck out on the only three pitches thrown by lefty reliever Joe Mantiply.

Frazier stayed in the game in the bottom of the seventh, but not at second base, his accustomed position. He was sent to left field while Wilmer Difo remained at second. Frazier also finished Sunday’s game at PNC Park in left field while Difo shifted to second.

Those moves by Shelton will fuel already rampant speculation that Frazier will be traded, leaving second base to Difo. But Shelton said it was purely a strategic move, mentioning his near collision with Reynolds in left-center on a fly ball by Christian Walker in the seventh.

“This kid can play the outfield at an elite level,” Shelton said. “I think you saw it on the jump on the ball he and Reynolds went after. Where we were at in this ballpark, Difo already in the game and the fact that Frazier has played out there, just decided to keep him in left.”

Frazier didn’t get a second chance at the plate, but the Pirates rallied in the ninth against closer Joakim Soria when Oliva and Hayes singled. But Kevin Newman, who was 0 for 5 batting leadoff in place of Frazier, struck out. Reynolds ripped an 107.5 mph shot directly at Arizona right fielder Kyle Calhoun for the second out, and pinch-hitter Gregory Polanco struck out to end the game.

Pirates starter Chase De Jong allowed three home runs, two triples and a double among the Diamondbacks’ seven hits in the first five innings. De Jong (1-4) has allowed four or more runs in four of his past five starts while never pitching beyond the fifth inning.

The Diamondbacks scored all their runs on homers. In the second, Pavin Smith hit a 403-foot shot, immediately followed by Josh VanMeter’s 108.4-mph blast to the same area of the right-field seats — 411 feet from home plate. Eduardo Escobar hit a two-run homer in the fifth.

“He missed his spots on all of them,” Shelton said. “He was trying to execute either up or away and he missed down and in. When you miss down and in to left-handed hitters, especially in this ballpark, you’re going to pay for it.”

De Jong said he has not commanded his four-seam fastball to the top of the zone in recent outings.

“It’s honestly the only thing I’m missing,” he said. “If I’m able to throw that four-seam to the top of the zone and expand off it, it’s my bread and butter.”

In the third inning, De Jong was not hurt on the scoreboard by Escobar’s leadoff triple. What did hurt him was a one-out line drive by David Peralta that caromed off De Jong’s left knee at 89.5 mph. The ball bounced toward the first-base line, but De Jong chased it down and threw out Peralta while sprawled on the grass. Surprisingly, Escobar remained at third.

After testing the knee, De Jong stayed in the game and struck out Pavin Smith to end the inning.

”When we came in from that inning,” Shelton said, “(the knee) was already bruised and swollen and I give him credit for grinding through it. Our bullpen was a little bit strapped (after Kyle Crick was designated for assignment). I really appreciate the fact that he grinded through that.”

De Jong said he was determined to do his part.

“Once I recognized where I got hit and that I could still bend my knee, I needed to try to get through that and give those boys innings,” he said. “We don’t need to be having starters coming out early in the game right now.”