Bell stars in D-backs debut after anchoring 3 straight HRs in 1st

PITTSBURGH -- The D-backs could not have had a better start just four batters into their game against the Pirates on Friday night at PNC Park, as they raced ahead thanks to three homers in a row -- four if you count Little League home runs -- to start a five-run inning.

Arizona would need those runs and a few more as the team had to hang on for a 9-8 win, and in the process, new addition Josh Bell and Ketel Marte ended up with two-homer games.

“Josh Bell, what a great introduction to this ballclub,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “Gets a home run from both sides of the plate. A special day for him and just a big win for us.”

The big first inning started with Corbin Carroll lining a ball down the right-field line for a triple, and when shortstop Oneil Cruz threw the ball past third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, Carroll came home with the game’s first run.

Carroll showed off his speed on the play, and the D-backs then put on a power display.

Marte, Joc Pederson and Bell followed with back-to-back-to-back home runs to right field leaving the crowd at PNC Park stunned. After Marte's landed in the right-field seats, Pederson's cleared them and bounced into the Allegheny River. He is the 50th player to reach the river since PNC Park opened in 2001.

The homer for Bell came on the first pitch he saw since being acquired by the D-backs from the Marlins just prior to the Trade Deadline. It was the first time the D-backs hit three homers in a row since June 10, 2019 vs. the Phillies. Jarrod Dyson, Marte and David Peralta went deep to begin that game.

“It was a crazy first couple of batters of the game,” Bell said. “I was just trying to start on time, had my attack plan and didn't really change it after the inside-the-parker and a couple of homers. Got a pitch just enough off of me, enough that I could put in the air and then drive it, and I was happy to be able to do that.”

Bell added a second homer in the seventh to tie the game at 7. The homer came on a 102.9 mph fastball from Aroldis Chapman, making it the fastest pitch hit for a homer since pitch-tracking began in 2008. Bell also homered from both sides of the plate on Friday, marking the second time he’s done that (also on Aug. 9, 2023, with the Marlins).

It marked the first time Bell had gotten a hit off Chapman in his career after going 0-for-7 with two strikeouts. The homer came after Bell fell behind 0-2 in the count, and he laughed as he noted that the exit velocity of 100 mph on the hit was slower than the pitch itself.

“Everything he throws seems like it's 120 mph,” Bell said. “I know that he threw two balls on the black inside and then tried to get me to swing and miss on a sinker, which is virtually what I’ve been doing my entire career against him, but happy to get the barrel there.”

Then, Marte slugged his second homer of the game in the ninth inning as an insurance run.

Lovullo was exhausted after watching his team jump out to such a quick lead, then fall behind, only to rally again.

“They’re fighters,” he said. “They had every reason to feel sorry for themselves, and they didn’t. They had every reason to shut down, and they didn’t. And they believed they were going to win this game even when things were very, very desperate. As frustrating as it was, they balanced the frustration, they slowed the game down and had quality at-bat after quality at-bat.”