*Photo from Arizona Sports*
Ketel Marte and Gabriel Moreno each drove in two runs, Jordan Montgomery had a strong return, and the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Kansas City Royals with a 6-2 victory Tuesday in Kansas City.
After losing the first game of the series by 6 runs, the D-Backs rebounded in game two to win for the 7th time in 10 games, sitting at 52-50 on the season. With the series on the line Wednesday, Arizona needs to win, as they haven't lost a series since June 25-27 against the Minnesota Twins.
Christian Walker got the D-Backs on the board in the first inning, scoring Corbin Carroll with a sac fly to right field. Gabriel Moreno then opened up the D-Backs lead, tripling it to 3-0 with a two run single that scored Marte and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Bobby Witt Jr got the Royals on the board in the bottom of the first, hitting an RBI double to left field.
The score stayed 3-1 until the 5th inning, when Marte hit his 21st home run of the season, this one a two run shot to right field to make it a 5-1 game. In the 8th, Marte extended the lead to 6-2 when he scored on an error. In the 9th inning, Salvador Perez cut into the Royals deficit with an RBI single that scored Vinnie Pasquantino.
In his start since being activated from the IL, Montgomery allowed one run on 3 hits and a walk in 5 innings pitched for the D-Backs, his first start since June 27 due to right knee inflammation. Seth Jarvis, Joe Mantiply, Ryan Thompson, and Kevin Ginkel pitched in relief to seal the win, with Ginkel being the only reliever to allow a run.
Montgomery said after the game "I felt comfortable out there and pain free, and that was nice to be pain free. I think it just messed with my delivery a little bit, where I was yanking everything and I didn’t want to put any pressure on my legs, but I grinded it out and I’m glad to be here now."
Alec Marsh started for the Royals, giving up 5 runs on 5 hits and two walks in 5 innings pitched, striking out 6 hitters. James McArthur allowed a run in the 8th inning while Sam Long, Angel Zerpa, and Kris Bubic all had scoreless appearances out of the bullpen.
Kansas City right fielder Hunter Renfroe kept it short after the loss, saying "Marsh went out there, pitched his butt off, and gave us a chance to win. That’s all we can ask for. We need to go out there and do a little better job of hitting and put some runs up for him."
The series finale is set for Wednesday night. Both teams are going for the series win, with Ryne Nelson getting the start for the D-Backs against Kansas City's Michael Wacha.
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