Heaney, 5 Pirates relievers combine on 4-hitter, Cruz homers in 2-0 win over Diamondbacks
Heaney, 5 Pirates relievers combine on 4-hitter, Cruz homers in 2-0 win over Diamondbacks
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andrew Heaney and five relievers combined on a four-hitter, Oneil Cruz hit his team-leading 17th home run and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-0 on Saturday night.
Heaney (5-9) pitched five innings and allowed two hits with four strikeouts and no walks. It might have been his last start for the last-place Pirates, with Heaney on an expiring contract and the trade deadline Thursday.
David Bednar worked a perfect ninth inning for his 100th career save and 16th this season.
Merrill Kelly (9-6) might have pitched his last game for the Diamondbacks, too, as he can become a free agent at the end of the season. Kelly gave up two runs — one earned — and six hits in 6 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking one.
Cruz’s two-run homer in the second inning carried 410 feet to right-center field and accounted for all the scoring. It came after Tommy Pham reached base on third baseman Eugenio Suarez’s fielding error.
Suarez, who has 36 home runs, has topped trade speculation.
The Diamondbacks pulled outfielder Randal Grichuk in the fifth inning and traded him to Kansas City for reliever Andrew Hoffman. The move came two days after the Diamondbacks shipped first baseman Josh Naylor to Seattle for two pitching prospects.
The Diamondbacks were 10 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West entering play Saturday. They also were four games out of the third wild card position.
The Pirates won for the fourth time in five games and the Diamondbacks lost for the fourth time in five games.
Diamondbacks center fielder Alek Thomas missed his third game while on the bereavement list, but it expected to play Sunday.
Key moment
The Diamondbacks had runners on first and second with two outs in the sixth inning, but Yohan Ramirez struck out Jorge Barrosa, who replaced Grichuk, to end the threat.
Key stat
The Pirates have 12 shutouts this year.
Up next
Pirates RHP Paul Skenes (5-8, 1.91) was set to face RHP Zac Gallen (7-11, 5.58 ERA) on Sunday in the series finale.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
By JOHN PERROTTO
Associated Press
