Diamondbacks rough up Pirates bullpen in series finale to take 3 of 4 games

Hoping for a series split against Arizona on Thursday, the Pittsburgh Pirates promptly saw those dreams crushed in the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Diamondbacks scored seven runs en route to a 9-3 victory.

It took three pitchers to get out of the inning, with Duane Underwood Jr. getting the final two outs after the D-Backs had their way with Chase De Jong and Yerry De Los Santos.

When the dust settled, Arizona had sent 11 batters to the plate, busting open a game that had been close for much of the afternoon.

Back-to-back RBI doubles by Emmanuel Rivera and Daulton Varsho plated five, three of which were charged to De Jong and two to De Los Santos.

While De Los Santos inherited far from an enviable situation, Pirates manager Derek Shelton noted in his AT&T postgame remarks the reliever allowed back-to-back extra-base hits to batters he’d gotten to 0-2 counts.

“He’s got to be in a situation where he finishes guys,” Shelton said. “It looked like both of those pitches, from watching the replay on the (jumboscreen), were too much in the middle of the plate. We have to execute off the plate in 0-2 counts.”

The Pirates (45-67), who managed five hits, proved incapable of mounting a comeback and dropped three of four games in Phoenix.

When starter JT Brubaker left the game after five innings, the Pirates held a 3-2 lead.

“I think the first three innings, he had a really good tempo about him, (and) he went after guys,” Shelton said. “He gave up the solo to start the fourth, and it looked like he got out of his rhythm a little bit.”

The top of the fourth inning proved fruitful for the Pirates, in large part because of solid baserunning.

After Ke’Bryan Hayes reached on an infield single and Oneil Cruz walked, they executed a double steal, putting runners on second and third with one out.

Tucupita Marcano hit a grounder to the right side that first baseman Christian Walker fired home, attempting to get Hayes. However, Hayes got a good jump from third and slid under the tag of catcher Carson Kelly.

A review confirmed Hayes was safe. Greg Allen singled to center field, scoring Cruz.

With Marcano sliding into third, Allen tried to stretch his single to second base, resulting in a play similar to the previous night, when Jason Delay was caught in a rundown between first and second, but stalling for time to allow Marcano to steal a run.

Allen, who navigated back to first without being tagged out, found himself in Delay’s position, with Marcano again scoring, giving the Pirates a 3-0 lead.

That inning proved to be the only real trouble for Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly, who entered the game 10-5 and having pitched at least six innings for 11 consecutive starts.

His day was over after five innings, as was Brubaker’s, the latter allowing two earned runs and three hits while striking out six with a pair of walks.

Arizona got two back in the bottom of the fourth. Rivera hit a home run to center, and Kelly drove in Josh Rojas from second on a single.

Rojas scoring could be blamed on first baseman Josh VanMeter, who failed to cleanly field a potential double-play ball hit by Walker. VanMeter got Walker out at first, but his rushed throw to Marcano at second was off-target, allowing Rojas to slide in safely.

The Pirates threatened in the top of the seventh, getting Ben Gamel and Bryan Reynolds aboard with one out. But Arizona reliever Kevin Ginkel got Hayes to hit into a 6-4-3 double play, ending the Pirates’ opportunity to add to their one-run lead.

The Pirates failed to get a runner on base in the final two innings.

A three-game series in San Francisco is up next for the Pirates beginning Friday, the final leg of the team’s 10-game road trip, which has resulted in only two wins.

Bryse Wilson (2-6, 5.86 ERA) takes the mound for Pittsburgh, with first pitch scheduled for 10:15 p.m.