PHOENIX, July 19 \u2014 Caleb Smith scattered six hits across 6 2\/3 innings while the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> smashed three home runs to nip the Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a>, 4\u20132, Monday evening.<\/p>\n Caleb Smith pitched himself out of a jam in the top of the second. One-out singles by catcher Jacob Stallings and second baseman Wilmer Difo preceded a walk by right fielder Phillip Evans. That loaded the bases for pitcher Chase De Jong \u2014 who struck out \u2014 and shortstop Kevin Newman, who ended the half-inning with a grounder to short.<\/p>\n The Diamondbacks took the lead in the bottom of the second. With one out, center fielder Pavin Smith and second baseman Josh VanMeter launched back-to-back no-doubt home runs into the right field bleachers to give the home nine a 2\u20130 lead. They could have scored more, however. Catcher Bryan Holaday followed with a double to the left-field corner. After Caleb Smith struck out, shortstop Josh Rojas walked. Right fielder Kole Calhoun could not capitalize, as he flied to the warning track in left to end the inning.<\/p>\n A leadoff triple in the bottom of the third went for naught. It came off the bat of All-Star third baseman Eduardo Escobar, who smacked a towering fly off the face of the home run porch in right-center. First baseman Christian Walker bounced to third for the first out before left fielder David Peralta smoked a comebacker. It went off the calf of DeJong and trickled toward the first-base line. DeJong scooped it up, whiffed on the tag, and threw to first. John Nogowski tagged Peralta on the elbow less than a step before he hit the bag, making the second out. A Pavin Smith strikeout ended the inning.<\/p>\n More scoring came in the fifth. It began with a one-out walk by Calhoun, who scored when Escobar followed with a home run. Two batters later, Peralta hit a one-out triple off the fence in right-center. A called strikeout by Pavin Smith followed, ending the inning with the Diamondbacks holding a 4\u20130 lead.<\/p>\n Caleb Smith continued mowing through the Pirates lineup but got into another jam in the seventh. Two singles followed a leadoff strikeout. That brought up shortstop Kevin Newman, who hit a chopper to third. Escobar stepped on the bag and threw off-balance to first but pulled Walker off the bag, preventing the double play.<\/p>\n Out came manager Torey Lovullo to give him the hook. As Lovullo started out of the dugout, Smith pointed at him and yelled. Lovullo paused before continuing to the mound to take the ball from Smith. Smith turned his back as his skipper arrived, turned around long enough to hand him the ball before quietly heading to the dugout. In came Brett de Geus, who promptly coughed up two consecutive RBI singles. Smith, livid, slammed a water bottle to the floor of the dugout after the first one. After the second, he headed into the tunnel for a moment before returning to the dugout railing. Meanwhile, de Geus walked the third batter he faced, loading the bases. In came Joe Mantiply to face pinch-hitter Adam Frazier in a lefty-lefty matchup. Mantiply struck the All-Star out, ending the frame with the bases juiced.<\/p>\n Chasen Shreve faced four hitters in a scoreless bottom of the seventh, with a two-out double by Peralta as the only blemish. Noe Ramirez pitched a 1-2-3 top of the eighth. After Kyle Keller pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth, Joakim Soria took the hill, trying for his second save in as many games. Jared Oliva led off with a single before Newman fanned. Hayes singled, advancing Oliva to second. Reynolds smoked a liner, but it went directly to Calhoun in right, bringing up pinch-hitter Gregory Polanco as the last hope for the Pirates. He struck out, ending the 4\u20132 Diamondbacks victory.<\/p>\n Caleb Smith did a \u201cfantastic, fantastic job,\u201d according to Lovullo. \u201cIt was a great mixture of pitches \u2014 quick, early outs.\u201d He was throwing a \u201cquality changeup, swing and miss, in and out of the zone.\u201d About the outburst on the mound, Lovullo said, \u201cI don\u2019t think any pitcher in that situation wants to come out of that game.\u201d He added that he has no problem with pitchers showing emotion when being pulled from a game, saying, \u201cI know that (pitchers) are in the moment and never want to come out of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Caleb Smith said about his performance, \u201cI thought I threw the ball well. Me and Bryan Holaday went in with a game plan, and we executed the game plan. We stuck with it. The defense played great behind us. We scored runs \u2014 got ahead early. It was nice.\u201d<\/p>\n This start was a bounce-back for Smith. In his last start<\/a>, the Dodgers scored nine runs off him, and he left the game with nobody out in the second. \u201cI had a lot of time in-between my outings to think about that last one,\u201d Smith said. \u201cPeople tell you to forget about it, but I\u2019m the type of person that doesn\u2019t forget. I let it burn inside and fuel me to do better, because that\u2019s embarrassing. Nobody wants to go out there and give it up like that\u2026. I just go to the fire and let it drive me.\u201d<\/p>\n This start was also a longevity milestone for him. For the first time since July 29, 2019, he lasted into or beyond the seventh inning in a start. \u201cThat was huge. I haven\u2019t been able to make it into the seventh inning in a long time, so it was nice to be able to do that. If I start something, I like to finish it. Every time I step on the mound, I want to go nine innings. That\u2019s my goal. I haven\u2019t achieved that goal yet, but I\u2019m hoping to achieve it pretty soon.\u201d<\/p>\n As a side note, Smith also stole a base in the fifth inning. This made him the first Diamondbacks pitcher to do so since May 15, 2019, when Zack Greinke did so against these same Pirates. Smith said after the game that the last time he stole a base in a competitive game was high school.<\/p>\n About Smith\u2019s reactions in the dugout, Lovullo said he was \u201cnot really\u201d okay with it. \u201cWe ask our guys to be situationally aware (and) know that the camera is on them. I know that he\u2019s frustrated. He had to sit there and watch a couple of his earned runs cross home plate, and he wasn\u2019t even on the field. But that\u2019s what we have teammates for.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith said later, \u201cI could have handled that better. My intentions are never to show a manager up or anybody up, especially Torey. He\u2019s a great person and an even better manager. I just let my emotions get the better of me, and I need to keep that in check.\u201d He also said that he and de Geus spoke in the clubhouse after the game, and that they are fine. \u201cI told him not to worry about (allowing the inherited runners to score). He said I gotcha next time and it won\u2019t happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n After Escobar did not score on the Peralta comebacker in the bottom of the third, the two had a brief yet passionate discussion in the dugout. The coaching staff got between them quickly. Peralta said after the game, \u201cNo creo que haya un problema,\u201d which translates to \u201cI don\u2019t think there was a problem.\u201d He later explained in English, \u201cI think it was a misunderstanding. When the inning was over, he came into the dugout to see what was going on. We talked really quick. [sic] \u2026I don\u2019t think it was a big deal. It looked<\/em> like it was a big deal (chuckle), but no. It was part of the moment of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Peralta later confirmed that he was upset at the situation. He had finally hit a ball hard with a runner in scoring position, but the team had nothing to show for it because it hit the pitcher. After the discussion, Escobar had a two-run homer and Peralta had a triple and a double. Peralta joked that he and Escobar need to have animated discussions in the dugout again if that is going to be the result, even if it means putting on an acting job.<\/p>\n The Diamondbacks (28\u201368) and Pirates (36\u201357) face off again Tuesday night. Their respective starting pitchers will be Taylor Widener (1\u20130, 2.54 ERA) and Tyler Anderson (5\u20138, 4.35 ERA). First pitch will be at 6:40 pm Arizona Time.<\/p>\n Main PhotoDiamondbacks Take Lead over Pirates<\/h3>\n
Dugout Drama<\/h3>\n
Finishing It Off<\/h3>\n
Fantastic Job<\/h3>\n
Three Check Marks<\/h4>\n
Passionate Emotions<\/h3>\n
Escobar and Peralta<\/h4>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>