PHOENIX — Christian Walker and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit back-to-back RBI doubles in the first inning, Jordan Montgomery threw six quality innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks held on for a 3-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Saturday night.
The D-backs — the defending National League champions — are 11-7 since May 5 as they try to get back to .500 for the season. They improved to 25-27.
Paul Sewald worked the ninth for his fourth save in as many chances, retiring the Marlins in order. He returned from the injured list on May 7, solidifying the back end of the team's bullpen.
The Marlins jumped ahead 1-0 in the first. Dane Myers hit a leadoff double into the right-field corner and Josh Bell drove him home with an RBI single.
The D-backs wasted no time responding, taking a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning after the RBI doubles from Walker and Gurriel. Arizona pushed the lead to 3-1 in the second on Corbin Carroll's sacrifice fly.
Walker and Eugenio Suárez both had two hits.
The Marlins cut the margin to 3-2 on Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s double to deep center, but Chisholm was thrown out at third trying to stretch the hit into a triple, which stifled a potentially bigger rally.
Montgomery (3-2) gave up two runs and nine hits over six innings, walking one and striking out four. Arizona also got some good work from lefty reliever Joe Mantiply, who struck out Chisholm and Tim Anderson to strand Emmanuel Rivera at second in the eighth.
Marlins right-hander Sixto Sánchez (0-3) gave up three runs and five hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out two. The Marlins' bullpen trio of Anthony Bender, Andrew Nardi and Calvin Faucher combined to throw three hitless innings.
The D-backs won despite not having a hit after the fourth inning.
UP NEXT
The three-game series wraps up Sunday. The D-backs haven't announced a starting pitcher, while the Marlins are expected to throw LHP Ryan Weathers (2-4, 3.49 ERA).
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
12Sports on YouTube
Get the latest news and stories from 12Sports on the 12News YouTube channel. And don't forget to subscribe!
