Aces face off as D-backs host Pirates (May 11, 2017)

PHOENIX -- After a little bit of a downturn, the Arizona Diamondbacks found their bats Wednesday.

The Pirates are still looking for theirs as the teams prepare for the opener of a four-game series on Thursday at Chase Field in a matchup featuring each team's No. 1 starter -- Arizona's Zack Greinke and Pittsburgh's Gerrit Cole.

Arizona (19-16) got homers from Nick Ahmed, Yasmany Tomas and Brandon Drury in a 7-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, ending a streak in which the Diamondbacks scored just 29 runs while losing seven of 10.

"The bats have been a little quieter than usual lately," said Ahmed, who also doubled, was intentional walked and scored twice Wednesday. "It's good to kind of get the bats going again and get some guys early feeling good at the plate.

"We talk about linking our at-bats together and having team at-bats up and down the lineup and not having one guy try to do it all. When we are going good, it is everybody contributing up and down the lineup."

Pittsburgh's lineup was silent Wednesday until Francisco Cervelli hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to break up Los Angeles right-hander Kenta Maeda's shutout bid in Dodger Stadium. The Pirates fell 5-2, their fourth consecutive defeat.

Cervelli has reached base in 23 of his 25 starts and is hitting .402 (9-for-22) in his past six games. However, he is still batting .250 with three homers and 15 RBIs.

"Cervelli has swung the bat pretty well," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. "Doesn't have much to show for it."

Pittsburgh has lost six of eight but has found success on recent visits in Arizona. The Pirates are 9-4 in the desert since 2013 and have won five of their past six in Chase Field.

Greinke is 3-2 with a 3.09 ERA in seven starts this season. He has given up more than two earned runs in a game twice and more than three only once while posting five quality starts, second in the NL. He has made four straight quality starts, giving up seven earned runs in 27 innings for a 2.33 ERA. He has 33 strikeouts and three walks in his past four starts.

He is 6-3 with a 5.04 ERA in 10 starts against the Pirates but has faced them only twice in the last three years. Greinke is 13-7 with a 3.94 ERA at Chase Field, and after getting off to a slow start in his first season in Arizona last year, he is 2-0 with a 2.66 ERA in four home starts this season.

Cole is 1-3 with a 3.14 ERA in seven starts, a deceptive record inasmuch as he has made six straight quality starts since giving up five runs in the season opener at Boston. He is 0-2 with two no-decisions in his last four starts despite a 1.73 ERA in 26 innings. He has given up 15 hits and five walks while striking out 31 in that stretch.

The 26-year-old has received one or fewer runs of support in four of his starts. He gave up one run in seven innings in a no-decision in his last start against Milwaukee on Saturday, a game the Pirates won in 10 innings.

Cole, a West Coast native who attended UCLA, has feasted on the NL West in his short career. He is 13-4 with a 2.81 ERA in 20 career starts against teams in that division. He is 2-1 with a 2.49 ERA in four starts against Arizona, and he won his only starts at Chase Field, giving up one run in 7 1/3 innings on April 24, 2015.