Nola, Realmuto help Phillies beat Diamondbacks

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Aaron Nola pitched six shutout innings in his first win of the season, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-2 on Saturday night.

J.T. Realmuto and Max Kepler homered for Philadelphia in its sixth win in seven games. The Phillies will try for a sweep of the weekend series on Sunday.

Nola (1-5) struck out eight in his first start since he pitched seven sparkling innings in a no-decision against the Cubs last weekend. The veteran right-hander went 0-5 with a 6.43 ERA in his first five starts of the year.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a two-run homer for the Diamondbacks in the seventh.

The Phillies went ahead 3-0 in the second on Kepler’s two-run shot and Brandon Marsh’s RBI double.

Realmuto hit a three-run drive to deep left in the third, and the Phillies opened a 7-0 lead when Trea Turner scored from third on a throwing error by third baseman Eugenio Suárez in the fourth.

Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt (5-2) was charged with six earned runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings.

Key moment

Nola allowed a pair of singles to lead off the second before striking out Gurriel and getting Alek Thomas to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Key stat

39 — Kyle Schwarber extended his career-high on-base streak to 39 games when he was hit on the right foot by a Pfaadt pitch leading off the third inning. It was one of three hit batters in the game, with Nola plunking Corbin Carroll and Pfaadt also hitting Alec Bohm.

Up next

Diamondbacks left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (1-3, 6.06 ERA) pitches on Sunday, and left-hander Ranger Suárez makes his season debut for the Phillies.

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