PHOENIX — Ketel Marte hit a tying solo homer with two outs in the ninth, and Randal Grichuk won it with a pinch-hit RBI double in the 10th, lifting the Arizona Diamondbacks to a wild 12-11 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.
The teams split the first two games of the series, which both went into extra innings. They’ll play the finale on Wednesday.
Grichuk ripped the second pitch he saw from Drew Smyly (2-2) into the left-center gap, easily scoring Christian Walker from second as D-backs players poured onto the field to celebrate.
“It was a lot of ups and downs,” Grichuk said. “Thought we had it in the bag, then it didn’t look good, then we got back in there. Roller coaster of emotions for everyone, but it’s good to be able to come in and help the team win.”
The Cubs rallied from two three-run deficits, but still couldn’t get the win. Ian Happ hit a go-ahead grand slam as part of a six-run seventh inning that gave the Cubs an 11-8 lead, but the D-backs slowly clawed back. Arizona cut the margin to 11-9 in the seventh on Blaze Alexander’s double and 11-10 in the eighth on Joc Pederson’s sacrifice fly.
Then came Marte’s homer off Cubs closer Adbert Alzolay — a liner that barely cleared the right-center wall. After an official review, the homer was confirmed. Marte finished with four hits.
“Regardless of the situation, the game has to be played the same way,” Marte said through an interpreter. “It’s not over until the last out is made.”
Happ hit his first homer of the season off lefty Kyle Nelson, turning on a cutter and sending a line drive into the D-backs’ bullpen. Christopher Morel had a sacrifice fly and Garrett Cooper added an RBI single before Happ’s crucial homer.
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Nico Hoerner had four hits for the Cubs, including a double and triple.
“Our guys did great, Nico had a huge night, Ian had a really big night,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “We put 11 runs on the board. We just didn’t pitch well enough tonight.”
The game was marked by big swings, with the D-backs taking a 4-1 lead after four innings. The Cubs responded with four runs in the fifth before the D-backs scored four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning for an 8-5 advantage.
It was another tough outing for Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks, who gave up seven earned runs over 4 1/3 innings. The veteran right-hander has been hit hard in all four of his outings this year and now has a 12.71 ERA.
Michael Busch’s five-game streak with a homer came to an end. The Cubs rookie — who tied a franchise record with his long-ball streak — was 0 of 4 with a walk and run scored.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a two-run homer and Pederson added a solo shot in the third inning to give the Diamondbacks a 4-1 lead. Gurriel has five homers and 20 RBIs through 17 games.
D’backs left-hander Tommy Henry gave up five runs and nine hits over 4 1/3 innings. Kevin Ginkel (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless 10th inning.
