Marte picks up Pfaadt, leads D-backs past Twins

PHOENIX -- As Brandon Pfaadt walked into the dugout after issuing a three-run game-tying homer in the seventh inning, Ketel Marte waited patiently for the young pitcher with a simple message.

“[Marte] told me, 'Hey, we got your back,'" Pfaadt said. “‘We’re going to win this game.’”

It didn’t take long for the D-backs second baseman to fulfill that promise. In the seventh inning, with runners on the corners and two outs, Marte used his speed to stretch out what appeared to be a routine ground ball into a game-winning single. Geraldo Perdomo crossed home plate en route to a 5-4 win over the Twins on Tuesday night under the roof at Chase Field.

Marte wasn’t sure if he had enough speed to beat out the play, but the 10-season veteran has always preached about playing to your fullest in every play, no matter the situation. His hustle gave the D-backs their seventh series-opening win and helped lift Pfaadt’s spirits.

“He’s a good person, a good kid,” Marte said in Spanish via interpreter Alex Arpiza. “He deserves for us to give full effort and play hard for him.”

Marte, who currently leads National League second basemen in All-Star voting, didn’t need his speed to jolt the offense early in the game.

After Corbin Carroll singled to start the first inning, Marte stepped up to the plate against Joe Ryan. The 30-year-old only needed to see two pitches before finding an offering he liked, a four-seam fastball on the inside part of the plate. Marte sent the ball into the Twins' bullpen for his 16th homer of the season.

It set the tone for what followed in the second inning. Eugenio Suárez, who came into the game batting .194, slugged an RBI triple to the base of the wall in right-center field to give the D-backs a three-run lead. Tucker Barnhart made it 4-0 in the next at-bat by singling in Suárez.

“He's working his butt off and he can do it a lot of different ways,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “And today, he saw with a little bit of power and a little bit of legs and a little bit with the glove. That's pretty special.”

Pfaadt returned to the third with four runs of support and only 15 pitches thrown. Despite allowing a homer to Byron Buxton in the fifth inning, the 25-year-old pitcher was in control. That was until the seventh inning rolled around. Ryan Jeffers took him deep after Pfaadt gave up a walk to Carlos Santana and a single to Buxton to start the inning.

All Pfaadt could do was stare at the ball and remain standing with his glove on his hip before Lovullo replaced him with Kevin Ginkel.

His performance was reminiscent of his outing last week against the Nationals. After dealing for six innings, Jesse Winker tied up the game with a long ball.

“I was disappointed,” Pfaadt said about giving up the lead. “I think the way the game was going the whole time, we wanted a different outcome. But I think the ability to come out of the game still with the chance to win the ballgame, that's all that matters. And we did that tonight.”

His skipper knows that tough lessons like these will help Pfaadt ascend into the high-caliber pitcher the D-backs saw blossom in last year’s postseason run.

“He'll find his way,” Lovullo said. “I think with each situation that he gets himself into, [whether] it stalls out or accelerates, he's going to continue learning and growing and that's what we need him to do. It's part of his development.”

It wasn’t the happiest flight back home when the D-backs boarded their plane in Philadelphia on Sunday. Over the past two weeks, the team went 8-7 and struggled offensively in those losses.

If there’s something to learn from last year’s improbable World Series run, it's that every play matters when October inches closer. For a D-backs team that has struggled with consistency and injuries, an effort like the one Marte had Tuesday-- whether it was a 379-foot home run or a ground ball that traveled five feet -- could play dividends when the dog days of September arrive.

“We haven't played our best baseball,” Lovullo said. “And when we do, you'll see it show up in wins like this today. So hopefully this will be a good catalyst that pushes forward.”