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Diamondbacks' home runs send Pirates to 6-3 loss
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the Pirates' Wandy Rodriguez pitches against the Diamondbacks at PNC Park Thursday afternoon.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks reverted to the game plan that won them Tuesday's game: Hit home runs, and multi-homer games from the same player don't hurt.
Three Diamondbacks home runs sent the Pirates to a 6-3 loss at PNC Park Thursday afternoon and a split of the four-game series.
Thursday it was Jason Kubel who homered twice, two days after Chris Johnson did it.
Wandy Rodriguez allowed four runs, all of them the result of home runs. He pitched six innings, walking two and striking out two.
Rodriguez (7-11) has allowed 10 earned runs and seven walks in 19 innings in the three starts since the Pirates acquired him from the Houston Astros.
The Pirates took a brief lead in the second inning, but Diamondbacks starter Joe Saunders shut them down after that.
Aaron Hill doubled in the first before Kubel hit his first home run of the game, giving the Diamondbacks an early 2-0 lead.
The Pirates took the lead in the second. Three consecutive singles scored their first run, the final hit from Michael McKenry scoring Gaby Sanchez. Jordy Mercer hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Neil Walker.
Rodriguez hit a ball that ricocheted off Saunders to Aaron Hill at second base. Saunders ran to cover first and received the throw from Hill, but first base umpire Brian O'Nora ruled that Saunders' foot was off the bag and Rodriguez was safe.
That kept the inning live for Starling Marte, who singled to right field to score McKenry and give the Pirates a 3-2 lead.
The home run hurt Rodriguez again in the sixth. Johnson singled before Wil Nieves hit his second home run of the season on a high curveball, giving the Diamondbacks a 4-3 lead.
Nieves, who was claimed off waivers from the Colorado Rockies Monday, was playing in his first game for his new team.
Hill singled off Jared Hughes in the seventh before Kubel homered again, his 25th of the season.
First Published August 9, 2012 7:17 pm
