Lourdes Gurriel Jr. smashed a three-run home run, and Ryne Nelson pitched well for six innings, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night.
Gurriel’s homer in the sixth inning gave Arizona a 4-1 lead. He hit a low fastball from Kyle Gibson into the left-field seats.
Gurriel, who is 30 years old, has started the season strongly with a .317 batting average and four home runs. He signed a $42 million, three-year deal with the NL champions in the offseason.
Nelson, who had struggled earlier in the season with an 8.22 ERA, had his best outing. He allowed one run on seven hits and a walk, pitching into the seventh inning before giving up a leadoff single to Masyn Winn.
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo praised Nelson’s performance, saying he executed a good game plan and pitched into the seventh inning.
The Diamondbacks scored first with Joc Pederson’s sacrifice fly in the first inning. Ketel Marte contributed with two doubles, and Gurriel had two hits.
The Cardinals tied the game in the fifth inning with Winn’s RBI single. However, they made baserunning mistakes, including a costly one in the sixth inning when Paul Goldschmidt got caught in a rundown between third and home.
