Pirates aim to extend win streak in clash with Diamondbacks

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Pittsburgh Pirates pay a visit to Chase Field on Friday night to kick off a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Pirates were in action Thursday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs before boarding a plane to Phoenix. After losing the first two games of that four- game series, they won the final two to force a split and bring some momentum into this weekend's series.

Gregory Polanco was the spark plug in Thursday's 5-4 come-from-behind victory. His RBI double in the sixth inning ignited a three-run rally for Pittsburgh, then he gave the Pirates the lead for good with an RBI single in the seventh off Cubs reliever Phil Coke.

"Arguably for us, it's one of the best team wins since I've been here with what we had and what we went out there with and how we were able to battle," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of his team rallying from a 4-1 deficit.

Polanco finished 3-for-4 to raise his season's batting average to .300. Pirates starter Jeff Locke exited after giving up four runs in five innings, but the bullpen picked him up by yielding only one hit the rest of the way.

Meanwhile, this marks the third contest of an eight-game homestand for Arizona. The Diamondbacks were idle Thursday, their second off-day this week.

They split a pair of games against Texas this week after notching an 8-5 victory on Wednesday to rebound from a 7-1 setback a day earlier. Rookie right-hander Archie Bradley walked three batters and hit another in the first inning. However, he eventually settled down and went on to best an Opening Day starter for the third time in as many outings, as he gave up just one run on two hits over six innings.

"He didn't have his control to start the game," manager Chip Hale said of Bradley's 37-pitch opening frame. "But he stayed the course and really showed a lot of heart tonight."

Chris Owings went deep and Mark Trumbo each drove in a pair of runs for the D'backs.

Josh Collmenter gets the start for Arizona in Friday's opener. Collmenter, the team's Opening Day starter, notched his first win of the season last time out as he went the distance against the Giants in San Francisco. The right-hander allowed just four hits and notched the first shutout in the majors this year as Arizona cruised to a 9-0 win.

His counterpart, Gerrit Cole, is seeking a third win in as many starts. The righty has allowed a total of only two earned runs across 12 innings, registering victories over Detroit and Milwaukee. He owns a 2.65 ERA with 20 strikeouts and five walks after three turns through the rotation.

There is some bad blood between these two teams. When they last faced each other in August of last season, Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt had his left hand fractured by a pitch from former Pirates hurler Ernesto Frieri. Randall Delgado would later peg Pittsburgh's All-Star outfielder Andrew McCutchen with a pitch the following night, which caused some tense exchanges between the dugouts.