Joc Pederson homered and had three RBIs as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5 Friday afternoon.
Pederson and Eugenio Suárez were both 2-for-3 at the plate for the Diamondbacks (7-7). Merrill Kelly pitched two no-hit innings and struck out three batters in the victory.
Kyle Hendricks gave up three runs on five hits in 3.1 innings in the Cubs’ (6-7) loss. Chicago was only able to muster five hits in the matinee.
Getting the scoring started, Geraldo Perdomo hit a line-drive single to left field to drive Suárez home to give the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.
Pederson then cranked a two-run homer to left-center, extending the margin to 3-0 in the bottom of the third.
Mike Tauchman responded for the Cubs as he powered a solo shot to center field off of Kevin Ginkel, making it 3-1.
Suárez, Pederson, Ketel Marte and Jorge Barrosa added four RBI singles as the D’Backs constructed a 7-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Cubs reliever Chris Clarke allowed four runs on six hits and only recorded one out before being replaced by Frankie Scalzo Jr.
The Cubs didn’t go down without a fight, however, as Owen Cassie reached first on a fielder’s choice and a catching error by Perdomo, sending David Bote home. Brett Bateman closed the gap to 7-4 in the top of the fifth with a two-run double. In a jam, Miguel Castro gave up three runs on two hits in just 0.1 innings.
Darius Hill closed out the game by homering to center for Chicago, but the D’Backs held on to win 7-5.
Next Games
Diamondbacks: Away vs. Kansas City Royals (10-4) on March 9 at 1:05 p.m. MST
Cubs: Home vs. Colorado Rockies (8-4) on March 9 at 1:05 p.m. MST
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