Marte hits 9th inning go-ahead HRs in back-to-back Dbacks games, from each side of plate at Texas

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Ketel Marte went deep for the Arizona lead with two outs in the ninth inning again against the Texas Rangers. The big swing this time came from the other side of the plate.

Martel's three-run homer batting left-handed capped a two-out rally in the ninth inning for the Diamondbacks in their series finale at Texas on Wednesday, a 6-4 win that came less than 24 hours after the switch-hitter's upper-deck solo shot from the right side in the final at-bat for a 3-2 victory.

“He’s one of a kind. He’s just a special player. When his timing’s right and his body’s right, he’s capable of carrying a ball club,” manager Torey Lovullo said after the All-Star second baseman's latest game-winner. “And it was a great moment for him. The smile on his face as he was rounding the bases is something that I know we all enjoyed.”

The 413-foot homer to right was Marte's fourth hit Wednesday.

His first three hits were singles, one driving in their first run, off former teammate Merrill Kelly, who made his third start for the Rangers since they acquired him from Arizona at the trade deadline two weeks ago.

“What you saw today is him in a nutshell. He hits good pitches, he hits bad pitches,” said Kelly, who exited the game after six innings with a 3-2 lead. “He can work the count, he could work the AB and punch a single into left or hurt you with a big-time homer from either side of the plate. Obviously, he proved that the last two nights. He’s kind of the guy that you circle in that lineup that you don’t want to beat you. ... Unfortunately, we let him beat us the last two days.”

Marte's solo homer with two outs in the ninth Tuesday night, on a two-strike 79.8 mph sweeper thrown by Danny Coulombe, went 445 feet.

In the series finale, Phil Maton had entered with two outs in the bottom of the eighth and struck out the first three batters he faced on nine pitches. James McCann then homered with two outs in the ninth, No. 9 batter Blaze Alexander was hit by a pitch and Geraldo Perdomo walked on four pitches before Marte went deep on a 76.4 mph curveball.

Marte is hitting .297 with 23 homers and 54 RBIs in 88 games, and has an NL-best .329 batting average in road games after going 6 for 9 the last two games in Texas. He missed nearly a month early in the season with a left hamstring strain.

“I'm feeling good. My body is good, I'm healthy,” Marte said.

“He can take it to a whole new level like, you know, a league above the major leagues, and that’s hard to do. There’s only a few players who can do that,” Lovullo said. “Everything happened kind of in order to lead up to that moment. He didn’t let us down. ... This was a team moment, and Marte made it all happen.”

Kelly and Zac Gallen, who started for Arizona on Wednesday, were the dynamic duo atop the Diamondbacks rotation when they made their run to the World Series two seasons ago that ended with a loss to the Rangers.

Gallen allowed two runs over five innings in his 161st start for the Dbacks, one fewer than Kelly made during their time together. Gallen’s 61 wins with Arizona are one shy of matching Kelly for the third-most in team history.

Kelly, a 36-year-old right-hander who spent 7 1/2 seasons with the Diamondbacks, struck out five over six innings in his first start against them.

“It was cool. I’m glad it’s over, but it was fun just seeing the guys in the box,” Kelly said. “It’s obviously a very different vantage point that I’m used to seeing them from the dugout. But kind of what I expected, a little anxiety to begin leading up to the game. But once the game starts, it’s still executing baseball as usual.”

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

Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte and Jorge Barrosa, right, celebrate the team's win in a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte follows through on his three-run home run in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte celebrates after hitting a three-run home run in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte celebrates his three-run home run in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

CHICAGO (AP) — Matt Shaw was watching TV with his wife when she got a notification on her phone: Alex Bregman had agreed to a contract with the Chicago Cubs.

Shaw was Chicago's regular third baseman during his rookie season, so he wondered what the move meant for him.

“You're kind of looking at it like ‘Oh man, where am I going to play?’ And you get a little anxious about those things,” Shaw said Friday at the team's annual fan convention. "The team knows me good enough at this point to know I just want to be prepared when the season comes around.

“So of course I immediately have questions like ‘Am I going to go here? Am I going to go there?’”

The answer to many of those questions was yes.

Shaw is preparing for a super-utility role after Chicago finalized a $175 million, five-year contract with Bregman on Wednesday. In addition to backing up Bregman at third and Nico Hoerner at second, Shaw also is expected to play in the outfield.

There is always the possibility of a trade with Hoerner, who is going into the last year of a $35 million, three-year contract, or Shaw, a first-round pick in the 2023 amateur draft who turned 24 in November. But the Cubs sound as if they are inclined to hold on to their infield depth as an insurance policy for injuries.

“I don’t think we have enough guys yet,” manager Craig Counsell said with a chuckle. “If you think there’s too many, I don’t know what you’re looking at.”

Counsell said the team was “fortunate” last year in terms of injuries.

“We’re now protecting a lot against what can happen, but I think that’s an important part of building a roster and building a team,” he said.

Hoerner, 28, was a key performer last season as Chicago won 92 games and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2020. He batted .297 with seven homers, 61 RBIs and 29 steals in a career-best 156 games. He also won his second Gold Glove.

Amid increased trade speculation in the wake of Bregman's deal, Hoerner said he loves the Cubs and attributed the rumors to his contract situation and playing in a big market.

“I think, above all, just remembering that it’s not a personal thing and that the team’s job is to always make the best possible roster that they have the ability to do for this year and for years to come,” he said. “And you look at the things that we’ve done this offseason, I think it’s pretty evident that’s their goal. And we’re in a really strong place.”

Dansby Swanson, Hoerner's double-play partner at shortstop, said the second baseman was irreplaceable.

“Nico means the world to me and to this team, just who he is as a person,” Swanson said. “He brings the same type of energy and competitive spirit that Alex does.”

Shaw was relatively inexperienced at third base going into last season, but he was named a Gold Glove finalist in October. Shaking off a slow start and a stint in the minors, he hit .226 with 13 homers, 44 RBIs and 17 steals in 126 games with the Cubs.

Shaw was a shortstop growing up in Massachusetts, but he spent some time as an outfielder early in his collegiate career at the University of Maryland.

“I played outfield growing up a lot, so I look forward to running around out there,” he said. “Outfield's definitely fun. And the at-bat stuff, I think there's at-bats there, and obviously it's up to me as it's up to all the guys to earn their spots and to play well.”

Shaw also is looking forward to playing with Bregman, a two-time World Series champion with Houston.

“We had a great year last year. We had a lot of great pieces,” Shaw said, “and then you add Bregman and it's like, you look at this team up and down and we're in an amazing spot.”

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

FILE - Chicago Cubs' Nico Hoerner hits a sacrifice fly ball during a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Sept. 30, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Huh, File)

FILE - Chicago Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw prepares to field the ball during the a baseball game, Oct. 6, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf, File)