PHOENIX (AP) — Jake McCarthy knows his value to the Arizona Diamondbacks lies in a few areas, particularly his elite speed that can cause havoc when he gets on base.
The outfielder didn’t really need to show off those wheels on Saturday night. He did anyway.
McCarthy led off the eighth with a go-ahead homer, rookie Corbin Carroll added a two-run shot three batters later and the Diamondbacks launched three long balls in the inning to beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-3.
McCarthy’s second homer of the season gave Arizona a 3-2 lead and the 25-year-old sprinted around the bases in celebration, looking as though he was trying to leg out an inside-the-park homer rather than one that cleared the fence.
“Yeah, I was excited,” McCarthy said, grinning. “We’ll have to see the time on that. Maybe I’ll start going for the fastest one of the season or something.”
The surprising NL West leaders have taken the first two games of the series and will go for a sweep on Sunday.
McCarthy connected off starter Shane Bieber, who also gave up the no-doubter by Carroll. It was a frustrating end to the night for the Cleveland ace, who was excellent until his final few batters.
“Feeling really good, really strong,” Bieber said. “But five runs on three homers is not generally going to work. Tough one tonight, tough one to swallow. Hopefully, we bounce back tomorrow.”
Bieber (5-4) allowed five runs on seven hits over 7 1/3 innings, walking two and striking out five.
“When you’re going against a pitcher of Bieber’s ability and quality, you’re just trying to grind out the day,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “He had good stuff, but we hung in there.”
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. capped the eighth with a solo homer off reliever Nick Sandlin. Arizona scored all its runs on four homers.
The Guardians jumped ahead 1-0 in the first when Andrés Giménez coaxed a bases-loaded walk. Giménez extended Cleveland’s advantage to 2-0 in the third with a long homer down the right-field line.
Christian Walker tied it in the fourth with a two-run homer that just cleared the right-field wall. It was his 14th of the season.
Diamondbacks left-hander Tommy Henry gave up two runs and seven hits over six innings, bouncing back after two rocky starts. He walked two and struck out three.
Scott McGough got two outs for his third save. He entered with two on and gave up José Ramírez’s sacrifice fly with the bases loaded before retiring Josh Naylor on a game-ending grounder.
Steven Kwan and Amed Rosario, the top two batters in Cleveland’s lineup, both had four hits.
MCCARTHY’S BREAKOUT
McCarthy was considered part of the D-backs’ young nucleus before the season, but got sent to Triple-A after a rough April.
He returned to the big leagues in late May and has been much better, hitting .318 with three doubles, two triples, a homer and 12 stolen bases since May 26.
WALKER’S WEB GEMS
Walker earned his first Gold Glove last season and the first baseman made a pair of excellent defensive plays on Saturday.
He snared a hard grounder from Ramírez for the third out of the fourth inning to save at least one run. Then in the seventh, Walker started a 3-6-3 double play, cleanly fielding the ball and throwing to second before getting back to first for the return throw.
“When you have a defense like this, you can trust it,” Henry said. “It makes it easier to settle into an outing, because you can get back over the white of the plate, trust that the elite outfielders and infielders are going to make the plays needed.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Guardians RHP Triston McKenzie was placed on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow sprain.
ROSTER MOVES
Cleveland called up catching prospect Bo Naylor from the minors. Guardians manager Terry Francona said the 23-year-old will start on Sunday. LHPs Daniel Norris and Tim Herrin were also promoted from Triple-A. RHP Touki Toussaint was designated for assignment.
UP NEXT
The Diamondbacks send RHP Zach Davies (1-2, 5.46 ERA) to the mound Sunday against rookie RHP Tanner Bibee (2-2, 3.91).
