Reds 10, Diamondbacks 7
Shin-Soo Choo collected four hits and homered during an early offensive surge as host Cincinnati held off a valiant rally from Arizona.
Choo also scored three times for the Reds, who closed to within 2 1/2 games of Pittsburgh in the National League Central. Mike Leake (11-5) allowed four runs over six frames while Aroldis Chapman notched the first two-inning save of his career and his 32nd of the season.
Brandon McCarthy (2-8) suffered his fifth straight loss, surrendering a season-high seven runs and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings in his shortest outing since September 2008. Ohio native Adam Eaton and Gerardo Parra each homered as Arizona fell six games behind Cincinnati in the race for the second wild-card spot and 8 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
Choo needed only two pitches to put the Reds ahead with his sixth leadoff homer – which barely cleared the 328-foot fence in left – and capped a three-run second with a two-run single after Leake’s two-run ground-rule double. Chris Heisey doubled home a run in the third and Mesoraco closed the book on McCarthy with his second single, which drove in a pair.
Arizona cut the eight-run deficit in half in the fifth when Jason Kubel ripped a pinch-hit two-run single to right and Eaton belted a two-run homer. The Diamondbacks added a run in the seventh and two in the eighth, but RBI singles from Todd Frazier and Brandon Phillips restored a three-run margin for Chapman.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Choo’s leadoff homer leaves him two shy of Kal Daniels’ single-season team record set in 1987. … Arizona 2B Aaron Hill went 0-for-5, snapping his 13-game hitting streak. … Leake, the No. 8 overall selection in the 2009 draft out of Arizona State, snapped a four-start winless streak and improved to 2-0 in five career starts against the Diamondbacks.