Diamondbacks save game with single run in final inning to beat favourites Rangers.
Texas pitcher Yu Darvish surrendered a game-tying home run with two outs in the eighth inning and Cliff Pennington singled home the winning run in the ninth to give Arizona a 5-4 victory Monday.
Japanese right-hander Darvish struck out 14 batters, boosting his Major League Baseball-leading season total to 105, but was foiled by Arizona’s Dutch shortstop Didi Gregorius in his bid to collect his eighth victory of the year.
Gregorius tagged Darvish for a run-scoring triple in the first inning and crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly by Eric Chavez to give the Diamondbacks a 2-0 lead.
The Rangers battled back for a 4-2 edge while Darvish began dominating but Gregorius struck again in the eighth by blasting a two-run homer to pull Arizona even at 4-4 and prompt Texas to replace Darvish with southpaw reliever Michael Kirkman.
The Diamondbacks won in the final inning when Venezuelan catcher Miguel Montero doubled and scored on a single down the right-field line by Pennington.
Darvish, 7-2 this season with a 3.03 earned-run average, threw 7 2/3 innings, tossing 83 strikes in 116 pitches while scattering seven hits without walking an Arizona batter.
He left with no decision in his first start since losing for the first time since April 12. Darvish, 26, lost 1-0 last week at Oakland when he surrendered the game’s only run on a homer by Yoenis Cespedes.
Arizona swept the double-header with the Rangers, having taken the opener 5-3.
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