PHOENIX — Seth Maness came into the game in a tight spot and got some big outs for St. Louis Cardinals.
Maness got three straight outs after coming in with the bases loaded in the eighth inning to help the Cardinals hold off the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 on Thursday night.
Steve Cishek started the inning and walked the bases loaded before being replaced by Maness, who struck out David Peralta and Welington Castillo and got Jake Lamb to roll out to first to end what could have been a big inning for Arizona.
"You try not to think too much," Maness said. "You know the bases are loaded but it’s just one pitch at a time, trying to execute that pitch and on to the next pitch."
Cishek said he felt fine, but the ball was taking off out of his hand. He then got to sit and watch Maness work.
"It was amazing. It was a huge relief. That’s what we do, pick each other up." Cishek said. "He was incredible."
Brandon Moss hit his first home run with St. Louis after being acquired in a trade with Cleveland almost a month ago and Tony Cruz hit his first home run of the season, leading the Cardinals to the win and a four-game series sweep.
It was the Cardinals’ fifth straight win overall and they finished 7-0 against the Diamondbacks this season.
Carlos Martinez (13-6) earned the win with six innings of four-hit ball, allowing three runs and striking out six with two walks. Trevor Rosenthal got the last three outs for his 41st save as the Cardinals improved to a season-high 37 games above .500 (82-45).
Moss’s tiebreaking two-run shot in the fifth inning put the Cardinals ahead 5-3. He’d hit 15 home runs with Cleveland.
"It felt good just to contribute," Moss said. "Offensively it’s been a grind, but the guys have been playing great. That’s the silver lining in that."
Arizona’s Rubby De La Rosa (11-6) gave up all five runs and five hits in five innings. He struck out four and waked four in his first loss since July 12.
De La Rosa threw eight balls on the first nine pitches of the game, and Kolten Wong followed with an RBI double to put the Cardinals ahead 1-0.
Cruz’s homer and Matt Carpenter’s RBI double in the second stretched St. Louis’ lead to 3-0.
The Diamondbacks tied it in the bottom of the third on Lamb’s RBI single and Ender Inciarte’s two-out, two-run single off Wong’s glove.
Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale lamented the lost opportunity to score in the eighth.
"Another situation where the anxiety just gets to you," Hale said. "Guys see it right in front of them, they have a chance to be a hero and want it to bad. That is something with experience we should get better at."
GOLD STAR Defence
The Diamondbacks’ Paul Goldschmidt prevented a run from scoring in the first inning when he made a diving stop of a hard one-hopper to first base by Moss. Goldschmidt underhanded to De La Rosa for the final out of the inning.
The Cardinals’ Greg Garcia went to the ground to catch a line drive and take a hit away from Arizona’s A.J. Pollock with two outs in the second inning, also preventing at least one run.
LONG REVIEW
A replay review in the second inning that came after Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale challenged a safe call at second base on a sacrifice bunt lasted 4 minutes, 47 seconds. The call was upheld. The time of the review was the longest of the season at Chase Field.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: OF Jon Jay (wrist injury) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Friday. He’s been on the disabled list since July 2.
Diamondbacks: Relief pitcher Daniel Hudson left the game in the top of the ninth inning with a torn fingernail. Hale said he hopes to have Hudson available by Saturday … LF David Peralta was back in the starting lineup Thursday after a foul ball off his bat bounced up and hit him in the face on Wednesday.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Michael Wacha (15-4) is scheduled to start for the Cardinals in the series opener at San Francisco.
Diamondbacks: RHP Chase Anderson is coming off 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 23. He’s 2-1 in his last four starts and 6-5 overall this season.
