Gabriel Moreno’s go-ahead two-run double in the ninth inning on Wednesday evening rallied the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks past the Kansas City Royals 8-6 to capture the rubber game of the series.
Moreno drove James McArthur’s slider to the wall in right-center with one out to push Arizona ahead 5-4. After Corbin Carroll’s infield hit, Ketel Marte followed with a three-run homer to straightaway center.
Marte homered in all three games of the series and has 22 this season.
McArthur (4-4) allowed five runs on four hits and a walk for his fifth blown save.
Joe Mantiply (4-2) struck out one in the eighth to earn the win for the Diamondbacks, who have won eight of their last 11 games and have not lost a series since June 25-27.
The teams traded leads through the first four innings.
With two outs in the second, Eugenio Suárez connected on his 12th homer to put Arizona up 1-0.
The Royals promptly tied the game in the bottom half of the inning on Drew Waters’ RBI double.
The Diamondbacks regained the lead in the fourth on consecutive homers by Joc Pederson – his 14th – and Christian Walker – his 23rd. Pederson’s homer was the 200th of his career.
Wednesday marked Arizona’s first four-home run game since July 3 at the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kansas City again answered in the bottom half of the frame, tying the game on Maikel Garcia’s grounder and Kyle Isbel’s RBI triple. Isbel scored on Ryne Nelson’s wild pitch for a 4-3 lead.
Nelson finished six innings, allowing four runs on nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
Marte and Suárez each had two of the Diamondbacks’ 10 hits.
Royals starter Michael Wacha surrendered three homers for the first time since Oct. 2, 2022. Wacha allowed three runs on six hits, exiting with runners at the corners and two out in the fifth.
Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino each had three singles for Kansas City. Pasquantino’s two-run ninth-inning single capped the scoring.
Arizona pitchers induced three double-play grounders.