PHOENIX, July 20 \u2014 The Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> used an eight-run seventh inning to rally from a 5\u20131 deficit and clobber the Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a>, 11\u20136, Tuesday night. Josh VanMeter, who entered the game in a double switch in the fourth, went 3-for-3 \u2014 falling a home run short of the cycle \u2014 to pace the comeback.<\/p>\n Pirates starter Tyler Anderson did not allow a baserunner in the first three innings. His team took the lead in the top of the fourth. After a one-out walk by first baseman John Nogowski, Gregory Polanco belted a no-doubt home run to the right-field bleachers.<\/p>\n The Diamondbacks got one back in the bottom of the fourth on consecutive one-out hits \u2014 a single by left fielder Josh Rojas and double by All-Star third baseman Eduardo Escobar. In the top of the fifth, the Pirates responded with a pair of leadoff singles by second baseman Adam Frazier and third baseman Ke\u2019Bryan Hayes. After a fly to right and 4\u20136 force play, first baseman Nogowski deposited a 2\u20131 slider into the first row of the left-field seats for a three-run homer. This gave the visiting nine a 5\u20131 lead.<\/p>\n The Diamondbacks scored one in the bottom of the fifth while leaving more on the table. Right fielder Josh Reddick poked a leadoff single. After center fielder Stuart Fairchild struck out, Daulton Varsho, VanMeter, and Nick Ahmed notched consecutive singles. Ahmed\u2019s brought in Reddick for the second run. However, since each single was a low liner near an infielder, the runners had to wait to run until the ball got through. This forced them to go station-to-station on each single, meaning that the four hits only brought one run. Up came Josh Rojas to try to extend the hit parade, but he hit a one-hopper to the pitcher. The resultant 1-2-3 double play brought the inning to a screeching halt.<\/p>\n In the bottom of the sixth, a walk by Escobar and follow-up double by first baseman Christian Walker made the score 5\u20133. Walker advanced to third on a grounder to second by pinch-hitter Kole Calhoun, but a pop to third by Reddick and fly to center by Fairchild left him stranded.<\/p>\n The Diamondbacks turned the game around in the seventh off new pitchers Austin Davis and Clay Holmes. A leadoff walk by Varsho turned into the fourth run, thanks to a follow-up triple by VanMeter. He scored the tying run on a single by Ahmed, up next. Rojas walked, putting runners on first and second, before Escobar launched a deep fly to left. Left fielder Ben Gamel leapt with his back to the wall, making an impressive catch before crashing and stumbling.<\/p>\n This brought in Holmes to face Walker with one out in a righty-right matchup. Walker prevailed, taking a walk to load the bases for Calhoun. He fanned, bringing up Reddick, who ripped a single to left-center. Ahmed and Rojas both scored as Walker took third, giving the Diamondbacks a 7\u20135 lead over the Pirates. A pinch-single by David Peralta off the shortstop\u2019s glove brought Walker home, making the score 8\u20135 as Reddick hustled to third. Varsho, batting for the second time in the inning, made the score 9\u20135 when he beat out a slow bouncer to the shortstop, who was playing up the middle in a shift. A base-clearing double by VanMeter cleared the bases and made it an 11\u20135 ballgame.<\/p>\n Matt Peacock and Nick Mears combined for a scoreless eighth for the Diamondbacks and Pirates, respectively. In the ninth, Peacock retired Perez on a 4\u20133 groundout before Phillip Evans laced a pinch-double to the right-field corner. Frazier grounded to second, advancing Evans to third, before Hayes lined an RBI single to center. This finalized the score at 11\u20136.<\/p>\n Widener felt that he \u201cstarted off pretty good\u201d and \u201cdid a decent job.\u201d He said, \u201cThere were a few pitches I left over the middle of the plate. Other than those few pitches, I felt it was pretty good and was something to build off of.\u201d He said his endurance felt good, but that his mechanics went awry in the fifth, and that\u2019s what ended his outing.<\/p>\n Varsho (.144) and VanMeter (.182) had multi-hit games, something that anyone hitting below .200 loves to do. \u201cThese guys are grinding,\u201d manager Torey Lovullo said, \u201cand when you do see (your batting average on the scoreboard) \u2014 every hitter tends to look at it when they\u2019re walking up to home plate. That\u2019s part of the fight that you have every single day. We ask our guys to block it out, have a productive at-bat, and take it pitch-to-pitch. That\u2019s going to yield very positive results.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that they\u2019re not that type of hitter. The entire organization knows that they\u2019re capable of putting up some huge numbers. And they will, but there\u2019s a learning curve here. They\u2019re growing up and maturing, and it\u2019s going to take some time. But for them to have a good day \u2014 they\u2019re both going to sleep well tonight. When you\u2019re grinding the way they have been, and you have this type of night, it\u2019s pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n VanMeter had an unusual accomplishment, hitting both a triple and a double in the same inning. Furthermore, he fell a home run shy of the cycle in a span of three innings. \u201cNormally, guys are more scared to make two outs in an inning than getting two hits,\u201d VanMeter said. \u201cI think that\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve ever (hit both in an inning). To get RBIs in both situations was really cool, too, with where we were in the game. I was a homer short of the cycle in three innings, which I\u2019ve definitely<\/em> never done before, either. It was a really cool game to be a part of, and hopefully we can keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n The Diamondbacks (29\u201368) and Pirates (36\u201359) will conclude their three-game series Wednesday afternoon, with first pitch at 12:40 pm Arizona Time. The Diamondbacks will start Madison Bumgarner (4\u20136, 5.35 ERA) in his second start since returning from a long injured-list stint, while the Pirates starter has yet to be announced.<\/p>\n Main Photo:Diamondbacks Chip Away at Pirates Lead<\/h3>\n
Flipping the Script and Blowing It Open<\/h3>\n
Postgame Reflections<\/h3>\n
\u201cA Really Cool Game to Be a Part Of\u201d<\/h4>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>