Goldschmidt supports Cahill with homers 11 and 12

MIAMI -- Paul Goldschmidt took his talents to South Beach on Friday and the Marlins were the worse for it.

Goldschmidt smacked a pair of home runs and Trevor Cahill kept the Marlins' bats in check as the D-backs won, 9-2, at Marlins Park.

The win was the third in a row for the D-backs as they opened a six-game road swing. Coupled with a Giants loss in Colorado, it also moved them into a tie for first in the National League West.

"It's fun to watch," Cahill said of Goldschmidt. "He's just kind of carrying us right now. He's that guy in the lineup, the guy you can tell that other teams don't want to beat them."

Goldschmidt has 12 homers on the season, two behind the Braves' Justin Upton for most in the Majors. It was the second time in his career that he's homered multiple times in a game with the other coming nine days ago.

Over his past 15 games, Goldschmidt is hitting .440 (22-for-50), so it's probably not a coincidence that the D-backs are 8-3 over their past 11 games.

"Every time we get here, we just jump on his back and he carries us," Martin Prado said. "I'm telling you. Every day, it's like, 'How many guys are you going to carry today?' He's like, 'The whole team.'"

It was Goldschmidt who got the D-backs on the board in the first as he hit a two-run homer to left off starter Kevin Slowey.

"He's a guy who throws a lot of strikes and we were trying to attack and be aggressive with him," Prado said of Slowey. "I think Goldy set everything up for us, hitting the first homer. We knew from that point that we had to keep attacking."

Eric Chavez followed with a homer of his own against Slowey, who wound up allowing six runs on seven hits in lasting just three innings.

Goldschmidt was in the middle of another rally in the third as he worked Slowey for a 13-pitch at-bat -- fouling off six straight pitches on a 3-2 count -- before hitting a two-run homer.

"However many I fouled off, all of them were down and away, mostly really good pitches," Goldschmidt said. "Then, fortunately for me, he made a mistake. I don't know if he was trying to come in or not, but the pitch I hit out ended up being middle of the plate, maybe a little in."

"I'm just trying to make a good pitch at that point," Slowey said. "For me, making pitch after pitch away, you feel like maybe you can get a ball inside. Looking back at the replay, I didn't get it inside where I wanted, and he put a great swing on it. He's a great hitter, and he's swinging the bat really well right now, too."

Goldschmidt has been able to remain hot for pretty much the entire season due to his ability to notice how pitchers are trying to get him out.

"I feel like the way some guys get him out, the next series he'll be crushing that pitch," Cahill said. "Guys will come in on him and then all of a sudden he's pulling his hands in and hitting homers on pitches in. And then they'll try to go away and get him out away, and the next thing you know he's hitting balls to the opposite field on pitches away. He makes adjustments quick. He's a smart hitter."

Goldschmidt and Chavez finished with four hits apiece as Gerardo Parra and Prado added three each.

That was more than enough run support for Cahill, who put together his fifth straight solid outing.

Cahill (3-4) allowed just one run on five hits in eight strong innings, though he needed a bit of a pep talk of sorts from catcher Miguel Montero in the bottom of the third inning.

The D-backs were leading 6-0 at that point and Cahill walked Slowey and Juan Pierre to start the third, his third and fourth walks of the game. Montero had seen enough and stalked to the pitcher's mound for a meeting.

"I got mad a little bit," Montero said. "All I told him was: 'I mean you're winning, 6-0, what are you doing? Just throw strikes. I mean really? Trying to guide and nibble?' I don't know what he was running away from. Throw the ball right there and let them hit the ball, let your freaking defense play for you."

What did Cahill say back to him?

"He was like, 'I'm trying,'" Montero said. "Well, stop trying and do it."

Cahill did not walk another batter the rest of the night.