Christian Walker and Abraham Almonte homered, and Mike Leake won despite giving up his 39th and 40th homers of the season in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 5-4 victory over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday afternoon in Phoenix.
Sep 18, 2019; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker (53) hits a solo home run against the Miami Marlins during the fifth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Walker, Alex Avila and Jarrod Dyson had two hits each, and Domingo Leyba tripled and had two RBIs for the Diamondbacks (78-75), who entered the game 5 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers in the race for the second National League wild-card spot.
Starlin Castro had three hits, his 20th homer and two doubles, and Austin Dean also homered for the Marlins (53-99), who have lost eight of 10 and are nearing the third 100-loss season in franchise history. Miami lost a record 108 games in 1998.
Castro has a career-high 79 RBIs.
Leake (12-11) gave up eight hits and three runs in 6 2/3 innings, striking out four without a walk. Leake, who leads the majors in homers allowed, is 7-2 in nine career starts against Miami.
Archie Bradley got the final out of the eighth inning after Jorge Alfaro’s single closed the gap to one, then pitched a hitless ninth for his 15th save.
Almonte’s homer leading off the first inning or the Diamondbacks was his first since May 5, 2018, when he played for the Kansas City Royals.
Castro homered and Harold Ramirez had an RBI single for a 2-1 lead for the Marlins in the top of the second inning. But Leyba and Dyson had RBI hits in the bottom of the second to make it 3-2
Leyba drove in a run with a groundout before the teams traded solo homers, with Dean’s shot for the Marlins in the fourth before Walker’s in the fifth gave the D-backs a 5-3 lead. Dean was 4-for-9 with two doubles, a homer, three RBIs and three walks in the three-game series.
Miami right-hander Sandy Alcantara (5-14) gave up seven hits and five runs (four earned) in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked two.
Arizona played without injured regulars Ketel Marte and Nick Ahmed. Marte was removed from Tuesday’s game with back stiffness and Ahmed missed his second straight game with a lacerated finger on his throwing hand.
—Field Level Media