LDN - Sports

Goldschmidt's three homers lead D-backs past Cubs

[August 04, 2017] CHICAGO -- Not that long ago, Paul Goldschmidt was grinding with his swing in an attempt to discover a rhythm at the plate.

On Thursday, the Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman found his groove -- and then some.

Goldschmidt hit three home runs, including a go-ahead solo shot in the ninth inning, and drove in a career-high six runs to lift the Diamondbacks to a 10-8 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

J.D. Martinez also homered in the ninth off Cubs closer Wade Davis (2-1), who worked the inning following a 30-minute rain delay, the third delay of the day.

However, it was Goldschmidt, who has 25 home runs on the season, who landed a critical punch on a day when the Diamondbacks had to keep fighting to hold the Cubs off. Afterward, he said he stepped to the plate just looking to make contact.

"It's a tie game and you're facing Wade Davis -- who's one of the best closers in the game -- and he's not a guy you try to hit a home run off of," Goldschmidt said. "I told myself, 'Just to try get on for J.D. -- maybe he'll get you in.'"

Goldschmidt took care of that before Martinez followed to cap a win that Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo ranked as the best his team has registered all season.

"It was one of those moments and one of those days where things could have gone backwards on us, and they didn't," Lovullo said. "We would get grounded, kind of get back in a neutral corner and punch back a little bit, but the bottom line is we won the game. We found a way to do that."

Fernando Rodney picked up his 24th save by pitching a scoreless ninth for Arizona, which took two of three games from the defending World Series champions. Rodney walked two before striking out Ian Happ and Jason Heyward to close out the victory.

Jake Barrett (1-0) got the last two outs in the eighth to earn the victory.

The Diamondbacks won after Chicago erased a five-run deficit and then rallied again from a run down in the eighth inning. The Cubs, who got two home runs and six RBIs from Willson Contreras, took their first lead on a two-run single by Contreras in the seventh inning.

"We just made a couple mistakes (in the ninth) and didn't throw the ball where we wanted to," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.

Arizona regained an 8-7 advantage in the eighth inning on a two-run single by Jake Lamb before Chicago responded when Heyward scored on a Jon Jay fielder's choice.

The Cubs rallied from behind in the sixth inning on a Contreras three-run homer that cut the deficit to 6-5 before Chicago took its first lead an inning later.

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Cubs starting pitcher Jose Quintana (62) throws the ball against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

"I'm still disappointed -- I don't feel like I did enough to help the team win," Contreras said. "I'd rather go 0-for-5 with a win than go 3-for-5 with six RBIs (in a loss)."

Arizona build a 6-1 lead on Goldschmidt's two-run homer in the fifth off of Cubs starter Jose Quintana. The Diamondbacks jumped on Quintana for four runs in the first inning. After Gregor Blanco and Adam Rosales singled to start off the inning, Goldschmidt tagged a three-run homer to give the Diamondbacks an early advantage.

"He's so consistent, he's so professional, every approach is the same, and sometimes it doesn't work out," Lovullo said of Goldschmidt. "Today was a special day for him."

Two batters later, Brandon Drury followed with a solo shot before Quintana got out of the inning with a strikeout.

Contreras got the Cubs to within 4-1 in the second inning with a solo home run off of Arizona starter Zack Greinke. Javier Baez scored on a wild pitch in the fifth inning following a one-out triple.

Greinke allowed six runs in six innings, while Quintana yielded six runs in five innings.

NOTES: Diamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray saw a concussion specialist Thursday in Phoenix, six days after being hit by a 102 mph line drive. ... Arizona RHP Randall Delgado, who is on the disabled list due to right elbow inflammation, threw from 75 feet Wednesday and felt very good, manager Torey Lovullo said Thursday. Delgado is expected to be re-evaluated Friday. ... Diamondbacks OF Yasmany Tomas (groin tendinitis) is initiating baserunning activities and has been hitting and throwing. He has been on the DL since June 6. "Things are trending in a very positive direction," Lovullo said. ... The game was delayed by 90 minutes as rain showers moved through the area just prior to the scheduled first pitch. There was another delay for 35 minutes in the top of the second inning and finally a 30-minute stoppage in the ninth inning.

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