Group effort on the mound propels Pirates to win in Arizona, preventing sweep

Riding a four-game losing streak and hoping to avoid a sweep at the hands of Arizona before the All-Star break, the Pittsburgh Pirates got the desired result, utilizing seven pitchers in a 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks on Sunday at Chase Field.

Carmen Mlodzinski, Ryan Borucki, Osvaldo Bido, Angel Perdomo, Yerry De Los Santos, Colin Holderman and David Bednar combined to allow two runs on four hits. Bido (1-1, 4.44 ERA) picked up the win, the first in his MLB career.

A two-run homer by Ji Man Choi in the second inning was key in the victory.

In the top of the ninth, Choi ripped a double into the right-center field gap, setting the stage for the Pirates to add an insurance run, which happened when Jared Triolo singled home pinch-runner Connor Joe.

“We played a really good game against one of the better teams in baseball,” said manager Derek Shelton on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show. “I’m proud of our group finishing this road trip going into the All-Star break, and they did a really nice job.”

Mlodzinski was entrusted with the start Sunday, the first of his young MLB career.

The 24-year-old Mlodzinski, a starter for his collegiate and minor-league career before converting to a reliever this year at Triple-A Indianapolis, pitched just 1 1/3 innings, during which the Diamondbacks scored a run in the bottom of the first.

Geraldo Perdomo and Christian Walker drew walks, with Perdomo coming around to score when catcher Austin Hedges made a bad throw to second base during a double steal. The ball floated into the outfield over the outstretched glove of Nick Gonzales.

“It was cool,” Mlodzinski said of his first start in the big leagues. “It’s an experience I’ll take some positives and negatives from, but definitely a cool experience.”

Borucki followed and pitched 1 2/3 innings, allowing a run on a solo homer to Alek Thomas, which tied the score 2-2.

But from there, Bido, Perdomo, De Los Santos, Holderman and Bednar kept Arizona at bay, preserving the Pirates’ (41-49) lead.

In the fifth, Tucupita Marcano and Gonzales singled, with Marcano scoring a run on a sacrifice fly by Jack Suwinski that put the Pirates up, 3-2.

After Perdomo and De Los Santos pitched a clean combined 2 2/3 innings, Holderman took over in the eighth.

A night removed from allowing the tying run in an eventual 3-2 extra-innings Arizona win, Holderman rebounded Sunday, maintaining the Pirates’ lead.

Holderman allowed a leadoff single to Thomas, who advanced to third on a sacrifice fly by Perdomo and groundout by Ketel Marte, but Holderman then got Corbin Carroll to ground out, ending the threat.

Bednar also didn’t have his finest performance Saturday, as he took the loss, allowing the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the 10th inning.

But, like Holderman, the soon-to-be second-time All-Star performed better Sunday, pitching a scoreless bottom of the ninth and picking up his 17th save of the year.

Choi went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and was the only Pirate with multiple hits.

“Our bullpen was outstanding,” Shelton said. “I think we had two runner-at-third, less-than-two-out situations, and we were able to execute. Really proud of that group and really proud of our pitching group.”