Trevor Cahill simply looked off in the first, not helped by a strike-zone apparently the size of a field-mouse, and with about as much of a fixed location. Still, he didn't help himself by throwing more balls than strikes, and three runs came across the plate before the Diamondbacks even had their first chance. He eventually went five innings, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks, with seven strikeouts, the same as in his first start. However, Cahill's ERA after two outings isn't far short of six.
The Pirates' starter, Wandy Rodriguez, had to leave in the middle of the third inning with hamstring tightness, and the Diamondbacks took advantage to tie things up. Paul Goldschmidt almost delivered a grand-slam, but had to settle for a sacrifice fly, and Alfredo Marte collected his first hit and RBI as a major-leaguer. But, having done the difficult work and locked the score back up at three apiece after three, the Diamondbacks' bat went cold, managing no hits after the first out in the fourth inning. Backup catcher Wil Nieves made the most of his rare start, with a pair of hits.
The teams meet against tomorrow night at Chase. Brandon McCarthy will start for the Diamondbacks. Full recap shouldn't take too long to follow...