Christian Walker belted a three-run homer and Carson Kelly added a solo shot as the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks snapped a four-game losing skid with a 6-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday.
Zac Gallen (6-2) yielded three runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings. Kyle Nelson and Joe Mantiply combined for two scoreless innings before Ian Kennedy struck out the side in the ninth for his fifth save.
Luke Maile had two hits and two RBIs for Cleveland, which opened the three-game interleague series with a 6-5, 11-inning victory on Monday.
Walker gave Arizona an early lead with a three-run homer in the first against Triston McKenzie (7-8). The 432-foot blast was Walker’s second in as many games and 25th of the season.
Cleveland responded with a run in the bottom of the first when Steven Kwan hit a leadoff double, moved to third on Amed Rosario’s groundout and scored on Jose Ramirez’s single.
Kwan is batting .361 (26-for-72) with 15 runs and five RBIs during his career-high, 16-game hitting streak.
Maile’s RBI single in the second brought Cleveland within 3-2.
The Diamondbacks extended their lead to 5-2 with one out in the fifth when Alek Thomas delivered a two-run double down the right field line.
Pitching on his 25th birthday, McKenzie allowed five runs (four earned) and six hits over six innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
Gallen departed after allowing Maile’s two-out RBI double in the sixth.
Enyel De Los Santos replaced McKenzie in the seventh, and he served up Kelly’s one-out solo homer to left-center field.
Arizona received a spark from the bottom of the order. Kelly had three hits from the eighth spot while Sergio Alcantara added a pair of singles as the No. 9 hitter.
Guardians rookie right fielder Oscar Gonzalez returned to the lineup following a one-month absence caused by a right abdominal strain. He went 1-for-4 while batting seventh.
–Field Level Media
