|
 Goldschmidt's two-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning tied
the game at 4 before Ahmed capped his first career three-hit game
with a walkoff single into the left-field corner with one out in the
13th inning for a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Chase Field.
Catcher Tuffy Gosewisch doubled on an eight-pitch at-bat against
left-hander Zac Rosscup (1-1) with one out to bring up Ahmed, who
hit his first homer of the season off Cubs starter Jon Lester in the
fifth inning.
"That at-bat doesn't happen if Tuffy doesn't get on base there,"
said Ahmed, who has a seven-game hitting streak. "I was just trying
to get something up in the zone to drive him in."
Ahmed was hitting .153 when the Diamondbacks (20-21) left for a
seven-game road trip last Wednesday but has had four multiple-hit
games in his last seven starts and is at a season-high .212.
"I made some improvements, made some adjustments," Ahmed said.
"Starting to put the barrel on the ball. Starting to see it a lot
better. My teammates, to stick with me and stay behind me when I was
struggling, that really helped a lot."
Right-hander Randall Delgado (2-2) got second baseman Addison
Russell to ground out with the bases loaded in the top of the 13th
as the D-backs extended their season-long winning streak to five
games, their longest streak since July, 2013.
Third baseman Kris Bryant and shortstop Starlin Castro gave the Cubs
a 4-2 lead with RBI singles off right-hander Addison Reed in the top
of the 10th inning, but the Cubs ran themselves out of a bigger
inning when first baseman Anthony Rizzo was thrown out at third base
on the front end of a double-steal attempt for the second out.
Center fielder A.J. Pollock doubled with two outs in the last of the
10th inning before Goldschmidt hit his 11th homer of the season off
right-hander Hector Rondon, who blew his third save chance in 12
opportunities.
"The swing and miss slider was there, he just got the pitch in a bad
spot," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Rondon. "Two strikes with
both hitters. We had a chance to win the game and we didn't. It is
always about executing and location and making the pitch, because
stuff-wise he had really good stuff tonight."
Goldschmidt had three hits, three RBIs and two stolen bases for the
Diamondbacks.
Pollock, who was a triple short of the cycle, had four hits and
scored two runs. He has 10 hits in his last four games, one as a
pinch-hitter. He doubled on an 0-2 slider off Rondon to bring up
Goldschmidt.
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"The crazy part is, I'm not shocked," Pollock said of Goldschmidt's
homer. "I've seen him do it so many times, coming up through the
system with him. That's what he does. It's crazy, but it's not big
deal to him. He hits homers to tie games and win games."
Center fielder Dexter Fowler homered and right fielder Jorge Soler
doubled and scored for the Cubs (23-18), who had won two in a row
and eight of 10.
Cubs left-hander Jon Lester gave up two runs in seven innings in his
fifth straight quality start. He had won his previous four games.
"I wouldn't say it was grind but it definitely wasn't the sharpest I
have been," Lester said. "Getting to the seventh with two is half
way decent. Giving our team a chance."
NOTES: With homers in a 3-0 victory at San Diego on Thursday, 3B
Kris Bryant and 2B Addison Russell became the first Cubs rookie
infielders to homer in the same game since 1B Andre Thornton and 3B
Ron Dunn on Sept. 13, 1974. ... Arizona LHP Patrick Corbin (Tommy
John surgery) was given a few days off when he experienced soreness
after an extended spring training outing on Monday. The Diamondbacks
were shooting for a June 4 return, but it will be "a little later
than that," manager Chip Hale said. ... The Cubs are 12-8 in one-run
games, with a major-league high in victories. ... Arizona 3B Yasmany
Tomas singled but had a streak of six straight multiple-hit games
broken. He was one short of LF Luis Gonzalez's team record set in
2001.
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