Suárez hits 22nd homer and drives in 4 and Diamondbacks beat Blue Jays 9-5 to avoid sweep

TORONTO (AP) — Eugenio Suarez homered and drove in four runs, Ryne Nelson pitched 5 2/3 innings for his second straight win and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-5 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Pavin Smith also homered and drove in three runs for the Diamondbacks. Arizona had gone two games without homering after connecting in a season-high 10 straight.

Suárez finished 3 for 5. Ketel Marte had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run.

Suárez opened the scoring with a two-run blast in the second inning, his team-leading 22nd homer.

Smith extended the lead with a two-run blast in the fifth, his sixth.

Both homers came off Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman, who lost his second consecutive outing.

Gausman (5-6) allowed a season-worst seven runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Gausman is 0-2 with a 7.65 ERA in four June starts.

Nelson (4-2) allowed one run, walked two and struck out four.

Alejandro Kirk’s solo homer in the second was the only Toronto hit off Nelson.

Kirk also connected off Anthony DeSclafani in the seventh, his fifth career multi-homer game. The homers were his sixth and seventh.

DeSclafani allowed four runs, three earned, in two innings.

Arizona’s Corbin Carroll did not play. The 2023 NL Rookie of the Year left Wednesday’s 8-1 loss after being hit on the left hand by a pitch.

Key moment

Suárez hit a two-out, two-run double in the third, extending Arizona’s lead to 4-1.

Key stat

Toronto’s Andres Gimenez was hit by two pitches Thursday. Giménez was hit at least once in all three games.

Up next

Diamondbacks: RHP Zac Gallen (4-8, 5.19 ERA) is scheduled to start at Colorado on Friday against Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (0-0, 0.00).

Blue Jays: RHP Spencer Turnbull (1-0, 2.08 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday’s game against the White Sox. RHP Davis Martin (2-7, 3.79 ERA) goes for Chicago.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb