ARLINGTON, Texas — A day after blasting the go-ahead, ninth-inning homer from the right side of the plate, Ketel Marte did the same from the left side on Wednesday, Aug. 13, demolishing a three-run blast to lift the Diamondbacks to a 6-4 win over the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field.

The day began with the focus on the pitching matchup — Rangers right-hander Merrill Kelly facing not just his old team two weeks after being traded but also lining up to pitch against his close friend Zac Gallen — but Marte stole the spotlight.

“He can take it to a whole new level, like, you know, a league above the major leagues,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “That’s hard to do. There are only a few players that can do that.”

Trailing by two runs and down to their final out, the Diamondbacks rallied. James McCann ripped a solo homer off right-hander Phil Maton to cut the Rangers’ lead to 4-3, and, after Blaze Alexander was hit by a pitch and Geraldo Perdomo took a four-pitch walk, Marte hit a 1-1 curveball out to right field.

“I was in the training room watching it, thinking, ‘Just let Marty get up with some runners on and see what happens,’” Gallen said. “He got a mistake and didn’t miss it.”

Marte’s homer, his fourth hit of the day, left his bat at 105.7 mph and landed about 10 rows deep in right field.

The Diamondbacks departed town with a series victory, their third in the past four. They are still a ways away from calling themselves contenders again — at 59-62, they remain six games out of the final wild-card spot — but with four games on deck against a putrid Colorado Rockies team in Denver, they have a clear opportunity to make things interesting.

McCann was chatting with friends on the Texas Rangers before one of the games when the topic turned to the Diamondbacks’ offense. He said both players — pitchers Jacob deGrom and Danny Coulombe — commented on the strength of the lineup, noting that it is not an easy one to navigate, even after the departures of Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor at the deadline.

“This is still a really good ball club,” McCann said. “There are still some really good pieces. We’ve got multi-time All-Stars in here. We’ve got guys who have had Cy Young consideration in the past. This is still a very good team that’s going to come out and compete.

“Talking to the guys with Texas, that’s one thing they say, ‘Y’all’s lineup – your team is really good, and that’s after selling the pieces that you sold.’”

The ninth-inning comeback overshadowed what had been a strong performance by Kelly, whom the Diamondbacks traded less than two weeks ago. He gave up two runs in six innings, outdueling Gallen, who allowed three runs in five innings.

“I think he threw like we’ve been watching Merrill throw all year,” Gallen said. “I’m sure it was a little bit weird for him, but he went out and did his thing. He does a really good job of just kind of shutting that off and making pitches.”

Said Kelly: “It was kind of what I expected. A little anxiety to begin, leading up to the game, but then once the game starts, I’ve got to still execute. It’s baseball as usual.”

Over the past two days, Marte stood out, at various points, in every facet. He made a pair of tough defensive plays in the second game of the series. He blasted homers, collected hits and grinded through tough at-bats. He even tagged up from first on a routine fly ball, surprising the Rangers’ Josh Smith in the first inning of the series finale.

“There’s a reason why he was top three in the MVP last year,” Kelly said. “What you saw today is him in a nutshell.”

He added: “He’s kind of the guy you circle in that lineup that you don’t want to beat you. But, unfortunately, we let him beat us the past two days.”

DBacks place Anthony DeSclafani on IL

Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani was placed on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, Aug. 13, with right thumb inflammation, opening a spot in the Diamondbacks’ starting rotation.

DeSclafani had been dealing with a thumb issue for a few days leading up to his outing on Tuesday night, Aug. 12, vs. the Rangers. He tried to pitch through it but showed diminished velocity and allowed two runs in three innings before manager Torey Lovullo removed him from the game.

DeSclafani was replaced on the roster by right-hander Casey Kelly, who is expected to pitch out of the bullpen.

The Diamondbacks have not yet decided who will move into the rotation in DeSclafani’s place. Right-hander Jake Woodford, who tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of DeSclafani on Aug. 12, is an option.

The club is also considering a number of options in Triple-A Reno, including right-handers Bryce Jarvis and Dylan Ray and lefty Spencer Giesting. Another possibility is left-hander Kohl Drake, whom the Diamondbacks acquired from the Rangers as part of the Merrill Kelly deal.

Ray, Giesting and Drake have yet to make their major league debut, and the club will have to decide if it wants to ask them to do so on Sunday, Aug. 17, at Coors Field, the most hitter-friendly ballpark in the majors.

Coming up

Thursday, Aug. 14: At Colorado, 5:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (4-7, 5.68) vs. Rockies RHP Bradley Blalock (1-3, 7.89).

Friday, Aug. 15: At Colorado, 5:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (12-7, 5.03) vs. Rockies RHP Tanner Gordon (2-5, 8.37).

Saturday, Aug. 16: At Colorado, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (6-3, 3.46) vs. Rockies RHP Chase Dollander (2-9, 6.35).

(This story has been updated to add new information.)