PHOENIX (AP) Cody Bellinger hit a go-ahead solo homer in the sixth inning, Hayden Wesneski threw four innings of scoreless relief and the Chicago Cubs beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3 on Wednesday.

The Cubs took two of three in the hard-fought series, which included two extra-inning games.

Wesneski (1-0) earned the win in his first game of the season just hours after being called up from Triple-A Iowa. The right-hander saved a tired bullpen, giving up just one hit while striking out two.

ā€œI thought it was our best pitching performance considering everything,ā€ Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.

Wesneski said he got the call to the big leagues at 1 a.m. after last night's Triple-A game and had to fly from Des Moines, Iowa, to Chicago before taking another flight to Phoenix. He got to Chase Field about 1 1/2 hours for the afternoon game and delivered a gem on essentially zero sleep.

ā€œFilling up the zone, getting ahead,ā€ Wesneski said. ā€œIt's hard to think when your brain's off, so just did my thing and didn't overthink it.ā€

Bellinger homered off Arizona right-hander Brandon Pfaadt - launching a sweeper into the right-center seats - for a 3-2 lead. Pfaadt (1-1) gave up three runs, including two earned, over seven innings.

ā€œGoing into extra innings two times in one series takes a toll on the bullpen, so going seven today was big,ā€ Pfaadt said. ā€œI think there's some good to come out of it, for sure.ā€

The Cubs added two more runs in the eighth, including one on Michael Busch's RBI single. The rookie recently tied a franchise record with homers in five straight games. Mike Tauchman added an RBI double.

Ketel Marte gave the D-backs a 1-0 lead with his third leadoff homer of the season and eighth of his career.

It was the second baseman's second at-bat in a row with a homer after he hit a tying solo shot with two outs in the ninth during the team's come-from-behind 12-11 win on Tuesday. He followed Wednesday's homer with a double in the third and an RBI single in the fifth that tied the game at 2-all.

Joc Pederson hit a solo homer in the ninth to cut the Cubs' lead to 5-3.

D-backs third baseman Eugenio Suarez had a tough day in the field with two errors, including one that led to an unearned run.

ā€œWe just didn't execute in a couple critical areas,ā€ D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. ā€œDefensively, you saw there were some miscues. We had some opportunities offensively, but we couldn't cash in and get the big hit. It's frustrating.ā€

Cubs starting pitcher Jordan Wicks gave up two runs and five hits with a walk over 4 1/3 innings. The lefty struck out five. Drew Smyly earned his first save of the season, getting the final two outs.

MAKING MOVES

Cubs: Called up RHP Colten Brewer and Wesneski. Sent LHP Luke Little and RHP Daniel Palencia to Triple-A Iowa.

Diamondbacks: Called up RHP Justin Martinez and selected the contract of LHP Logan Allen. Sent RHP Luis Frias and LHP Tommy Henry to Triple-A Reno. Transferred LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (left shoulder strain) to the 60-day injured list.

UP NEXT

The Cubs host the Miami Marlins in a four-game series starting Thursday. Pitchers haven't been announced.

The Diamondbacks travel to the San Francisco Giants for a four-game series starting Thursday. The D-backs will send RHP Ryne Nelson (1-2, 5.27) to the mound, while the Giants counter with RHP Logan Webb (1-1, 3.80)

---

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Copyright 2024 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.