Chris Iannetta homered early for Arizona, and later was bloodied by a fastball to the face as the Diamondbacks beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-4 Friday night in what became the latest episode of ill will between these teams.
Iannetta turned into a pitch from reliever Johnny Barbato in the seventh inning and appeared to be struck in the nose. Iannetta was down in the dirt for several minutes with blood dripping off his face.
Iannetta eventually was helped to his feet and walked off, holding a cloth to his nose.
In the ninth, Arizona reliever Tom Wilhelmsen hit Pittsburgh’s Chris Stewart in the leg. Stewart trotted to first base without incident.
Back in 2014, Diamondbacks star Paul Goldschmidt was hit by Ernesto Frieri of the Pirates in August and missed the rest of the year with a broken hand. The next day, Pirates star Andrew McCutchen was drilled in the back with a fastball.
Last May, Arizona’s Jean Segura was hit in the face during a game in Pittsburgh, setting up another round of retaliation.