Arizona Diamondbacks down Pittsburgh Pirates as Tommy Henry earns first career win

Diamondbacks left-hander Tommy Henry’s hair was wet, his left eye bloodshot. Earlier in the evening, his approach was clear: He was on the attack. In the clubhouse after the game, as teammates celebrated his first career victory, he took a different tact.

“I closed my eyes,” he said, “and I braced for impact.”

After firing seven innings of one-run ball in a 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night, Henry was treated to more than just a celebratory beer shower from his teammates. He was doused in, well, everything, from the sound of it.

“I think the better question is, what we didn’t we pour?” left fielder Jake McCarthy said. “You talk about a collective effort. Everything from the kitchen, everything from the bathroom. He should shower a few times today.”

First baseman Christian Walker had three hits and made a pair of good defensive plays. McCarthy, Josh Rojas and Geraldo Perdomo each had two hits apiece. The Diamondbacks won for the fourth time in the past five games. They improved their record to 50-59, leaving them two wins shy of last year’s season.

Henry is the latest Diamondbacks starter to turn in a strong outing, following solid performances from Merrill Kelly, Zach Davies and Zac Gallen. In giving up just four hits and walking two, Henry worked quickly, threw strikes and mixed pitches effectively.

“It’s not a secret recipe,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “When we get good starting pitching, we give ourselves a very good chance of winning a baseball game.”

After throwing five innings in his major league debut last week in Cleveland, Henry admitted to needing a couple of innings to calm his nerves and get into the rhythm of the game. He said things felt different on Tuesday night.

“I’d say pretty significantly different,” Henry said. “I felt like I could breathe a little bit today, settle in a little bit. I think that comes with being more familiar with everyone, familiar with the routine. … I felt a little bit more calm and able to get into a groove.”

After working between starts with pitching coach Brent Strom, Henry tweaked the grip on his slider and curveball and had better success with those pitches.

“It was nice to see a little positive feedback from the work that we put in,” Henry said. “Just kind of freed it up to let it rip a little bit and not to have to aim it or manipulate it.”

Said Lovullo: “I think he started to land his breaking ball and you could see him really take off from there.”

He seemed to have more trouble after the game than he did during it, admitting to having to “battle” with his hair to remove some of the substances his teammates had rubbed into it.

“I think it was a combination of shaving cream and oat milk or something,” Henry said. “It clumped up. Not in my best form right now. But it was all worth it. It was a lot of fun.”

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: D-Backs down Pirates as Tommy Henry earns first career win