Marte, Carroll Each Homer Twice to Power D-backs over Braves

The Arizona Diamondbacks took a strong 8-3 victory in the opener of a three-game set with the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night. Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll each belted two home runs, Zac Gallen put forward a solid effort, and Arizona's bullpen was able to preserve the lead.

Marte jumped on Braves' starter Spencer Strider early for a mammoth 445-foot blast to right field in the first inning. He would follow that up his very next at-bat, sending a laser line-drive deep for a two-run shot and spotting Arizona an early 4-0 lead. Marte finished 3-for-3 with two walks and the two homers.

Corbin Carroll later joined the homer party with with a solo shot of his own. Then, riding a 5-3 lead into the ninth, Carroll launched his second of the game, a two-out, three-run blast to right that provided three critical insurance runs and extended the D-backs' lead to 8-3. Carroll went 3-for-4 with a walk and three RBI.

Tuesday's game was the first game all season that both Carroll and Marte collected multiple hits. They combined for six base hits and seven of Arizona's eight runs. It also marked the first time in franchise history that the top two hitters in the lineup both had multi-homer games.

Meanwhile, the scuffling Zac Gallen was in dire need of a Quality Start, and the right-hander delivered just that. Gallen was efficient early, collecting soft contact outs and swing-and-miss.

He spun seven innings with four strikeouts, allowing just four hits, one walk and three runs, though only two were earned. 21 of 27 first pitches went for strikes, as the righty was able to get ahead in counts.

Those two unearned runs marked the only truly problematic inning of Gallen's night. In the bottom of the fourth, he was jumped on for a one-out solo homer by Drake Baldwin and allowed a single.

But on what should have been the inning-ending groundout, Eugenio Suárez let the ball shoot under his glove into left field. The error was Suárez's ninth of the season, as the usually-steady third baseman has struggled defensively this season.

That led to a run and a runner at second — one that was quickly plated by a sharp single off Gallen and allowed Atlanta to pull within one run.

But perhaps most impressively of all, Arizona's struggling bullpen was able to put two zeroes on the board. Though Shelby Miller did put the tying run on base, he was rescued by a nice catch in center field by Alek Thomas, chasing down a deep flyout for the final out.

Ryan Thompson then needed only five pitches to collect three weak ground ball outs, closing the door and keeping closer Justin Martinez from having to enter the game.

Arizona moves to 29-31, and will play for a series win on Wednesday at 4:15 p.m.