Dennis Santana: Works Seventh Inning
Santana threw a scoreless seventh inning while walking one to earn a hold Thursday against the Diamondbacks.
Santana blew a save and allowed four earned runs on April 27 and has not gotten a save chance in three appearances since. Meanwhile, Gregory Soto has earned two saves in that span, both of which have come in Pittsburgh's last two games.
While the closer situation has been fluid between Soto and Santana early on this season, Santana has allowed at least one run in four of his last 10 appearances and has only a 5.4 K/9 across 16.2 innings on the campaign.
Brandon Lowe: Homers Again Thursday
Lowe went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored against the Diamondbacks in a 4-2 victory Thursday.
Lowe didn't take long to make an impact, drilling a 436-foot homer to right field in the first inning. He went on to add a pair of singles, notching his second straight multi-hit game and extending his on-base streak to 11 contests.
Lowe has homered in each of his past two games and now has 10 long balls on the campaign. His first season with the Pirates is off to a great start -- through 32 contests he has a .941 OPS, which is on pace to be a career-best mark.
Joey Bart: Clubs Second Homer
Bart went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a 4-2 win over Arizona on Thursday.
Bart produced the final run of the game with a solo blast to left-center field in the sixth inning. That marked his first long ball and first RBI since he went deep against Washington on April 14.
Bart has played behind Henry Davis for most of the campaign, but he may be making inroads toward more playing time. Bart has started behind the plate in three of Pittsburgh's past four contests and has gone 3-for-9 over that span.