Diamondbacks’ loss tightens NL West race

Adam LaRoche drove in three runs in the Pirates’ 5-1 victory.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks are running into major difficulty in the most unlikely of places.

Adam LaRoche drove in three runs with a pair of doubles and Matt Morris pitched effectively over seven innings as the Pirates beat Arizona for the second night in a row, a 5-1 decision Wednesday that further tightened the NL West race.

The Diamondbacks, in position when the series started to clinch the division before going to Colorado to finish the season, have dropped three in a row.

They took a two-game lead into the night over San Diego, which played later at San Francisco, and their magic number for clinching the division remained at four. Colorado was a game behind San Diego.

Change of pace

For two nights, the Pirates haven’t resembled the team that had lost nine in a row entering the series and has long since been assured of a 15th consecutive losing season, one off the major league record.

Pirates rookie Nyjer Morgan tormented Arizona again by reaching base three times, getting a pair of hits and making an excellent catch that possibly prevented the Diamondbacks from taking a lead in the second inning.

Xavier Nady added a solo homer against Livan Hernandez (11-11), who struggled yet again in PNC Park by allowing 10 hits and four runs over four-plus innings.

Familiar face

The Diamondbacks don’t know much about Morgan, who wasn’t with the Pirates for their previous two series against Arizona, but they’re very familiar with Morris (10-11) from his nearly two seasons with the Giants.

Not that it mattered, as the right-hander limited them to one run and six hits in the longest of his 11 starts since being traded to Pittsburgh on July 31.

Morris is only 1-2 in four starts against Arizona this season but has a 2.48 ERA, losing a 1-0 decision on June 6.

The Pirates, only 7-15 in September before the series began, jumped on Hernandez in the third following a 59-minute rain delay the inning before. Morris, a .228 hitter, started it with the first of his two singles and Morgan singled ahead of LaRoche’s two-run double.