Eugenio Suárez homers again in the Diamondbacks’ 5-3 victory over the Rockies

DENVER (AP) – Eugenio Suárez and Geraldo Perdomo homered, Ketel Marte went 4 for 4 and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 5-3 on Saturday night in hot conditions for their third straight victory.

The Rockies said the first-pitch temperature of 98 degrees was highest for a major league game this season.

A night after homering twice to reach 300 in his career in a 14-8 victory, Suárez hit his 25th homer of the season – a solo shot in the third for a 3-2 lead – to tie Los Angeles’ Shohei Ohtani for the National League lead and push his major league-leading RBI total to 67.

The slugger has homered in three straight games. He had a sacrifice fly to open the scoring in the first.

Marte led off the fifth with a single off reliever Jimmy Herget (0-1) and Perdomo followed with his eighth homer to cap the scoring.

Merrill Kelly (7-3) allowed three runs – two earned – on six hits in six innings. He is 9-3 in 17 career starts against Colorado, which has lost three straight.

Ryan Thompson worked out of a jam in the seventh and Jalen Beeks pitched a 1-2-3 eighth. Shelby Miller struck out three in the ninth for his eighth save in 12 opportunities.

Marte had a leadoff double for the second straight game and the Diamondbacks loaded the bases with no outs in the first off Rockies rookie Carson Palmquist, but managed only a run onSuárez’s sac fly.

Jordan Beck hit a two-run homer in the Colorado first for a 2-1 lead and his double-play grounder tied it at 3 in the third.

Thompson came in with two on and nobody out in the seventh and picked off Mickey Moniak at second base for the first out. He retired Orlando Arcia on a shallow fly to center and struck out Ryan Ritter to keep it 5-3.

Marte, who hit a three-run homer, doubled twice and matched a career high with five RBIs on Friday night, walked his last time up and is 7 for 10 in the series.

Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (8-4, 5.38) was set to start the series finale Sunday opposite RHP Antonio Senzatela (2-10, 6.72).