PHOENIX — Caleb Smith threw three solid innings in his first outing with Arizona, long reliever Alex Young worked into the ninth and the Diamondbacks beat the Seattle Mariners 4-3 on Friday night.
Smith gave up one hit — Dylan Moore’s solo homer in the third — in his first start since the Diamondbacks acquired him in a trade with the Marlins. The left-hander struck out three and walked one.
The 29-year-old hadn’t pitched in a big league game since July 25. He was one of 17 players placed on the Marlins’ injured list following the team’s COVID-19 outbreak in late July.
The D-backs hope Smith can hold down a spot in their rotation after they traded longtime starter Robbie Ray to the Blue Jays.
Young (2-3) gave up two runs on two hits over 5 1/3 innings and got the first out of the ninth by striking out Kyle Seager. Stefan Crichton retired the last two batters to finish the three-hitter for his first career save.
Seattle’s Yusei Kikuchi (2-3) alllowed four runs over six innings. The left-hander gave up six hits, walked one and struck out five.
Arizona jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first. Christian Walker’s triple scored Josh Rojas, Eduardo Escobar’s sacrifice fly scored Walker and Nick Ahmed’s single brought home Kole Calhoun, who hit a double.
The Diamondbacks led 4-1 after six innings. The Mariners got a run-scoring single in the seventh from José Marmolejos. Ty France homered in the eighth — his first with Seattle since being traded from the Padres — to make it 4-3.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Mariners: Seattle placed 2B Shed Long on the 10-day injured list with a stress fracture in his right shin. The 25-year-old was hitting .171 with three homers. He was replaced on the roster by RHP Brady Lail, who has pitched in four games with the Mariners this season.
MARINERS MOVES
Seattle put starting shortstop J.P. Crawford on the bereavement list on Friday and called up infielder Donovan Walton. The Mariners also put outfielder Mallex Smith on the Triple-A Tacoma roster. The 27-year-old was optioned to Seattle’s alternate training site on Aug. 18 after batting .133 in 14 games this season. Smith led the big leagues with 46 stolen bases last year.
UP NEXT
Mariners: Seattle sends LHP Justus Sheffield (2-3, 4.34 ERA) to the mound on Saturday.
Diamondbacks: RHP Zac Gallen (1-1, 2.29) has been Arizona’s best pitcher this season but is trying to bounce back from his worst outing of the season on Monday, when he gave up four runs in five innings.
