Marlins Look To Bounce Back From Tough Loss Against Arizona
(AP) -- David Peralta was impressing the Arizona Diamondbacks so much at the Double-A level that they decided to promote him to the big club June 1.
He's surpassed any expectations heaped upon him thus far.
The rookie looks to extend his hitting streak Tuesday night and provide some support for Vidal Nuno, who makes his Diamondbacks debut against the visiting Miami Marlins.
Peralta was hitting .297 with an OPS of .839 in the minors when he got the call to join Arizona (38-53). Since that point, he set a franchise record by hitting safely in eight straight to start his career and is hitting .331 in 32 games.
The 26-year-old is batting .467 during a nine-game hitting streak after having a two-run double and an RBI triple in Monday's 9-1 win over the Marlins.
"We knew what he was about and how he played the gameand his swing, but to come up from Double-A and do what he's doing is pretty impressive," manager Kirk Gibson said.
Paul Goldschmidt also stayed hot, going 2 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored. He's 13 for 25 during a seven-game hitting streak in July and will start at first base for the NL at the upcoming All-Star game.
Goldschmidt's 33 doubles before the break are a franchise record, but he's also getting caught up Peralta's emergence.
"It's been unbelievable," Goldschmidt said. "He came up right off the bat, had that hitting streak to start it. He's put together really good at-bats every time."
Arizona seeks its fourth three-game winning streak of the season as its hands the ball to Nuno, who was acquired Sunday from the New York Yankees in exchange for Brandon McCarthy.
Nuno went 2-5 with a 5.42 ERA in 14 starts and three relief appearances before the deal. The left-hander gave up four runs and eight hits in five innings of a 6-3 loss to Tampa Bay on Wednesday, and he'll get an extra day of rest because of the trade.
"We thought about having him start on his regular day, but I thought it'd be better to let him come in and get acclimated a little bit for a day," Gibson told MLB's official website.
Nuno will get his first look at the Marlins (43-46), who have split the first four of a nine-game road trip.
Garrett Jones went 3 for 4 Monday, but All-Star Giancarlo Stanton struck out in each of his four at-bats and is batting .160 over his last six.
Casey McGehee, who could join Stanton in Minnesota via the fan vote, is batting .390 during a career-best 14-game hitting streak. He's also batting .435 during a major league-best 21-game road hitting streak.
The Marlins will look to get back on track with help from Brad Hand, who seeks a more complete effort from his last outing.
Hand (0-1, 6.21 ERA) pitched five scoreless innings Thursday before exiting after allowing three straight singles to start the sixth. He was charged with three runs in his first start since April 14 as Miami fell 5-4 to Philadelphia.
The left-hander's 99 pitches were the fourth-most of his career, with the other three outings coming in 2011.
"He gave us everything he had," manager Mike Redmond said. "His command, it was like some of those strikes were running out of the zone. But he was able to make pitches when he really needed to."
Hand hasn't faced the Diamondbacks since losing 5-1 on June 12, 2011.
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