Corbin Carroll hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks opened a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds with a 3-2 victory on Thursday in Phoenix.
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Cincinnati scored two runs in the top of the eighth before Arizona answered in the bottom half against Alex Young (4-2). Lourdes Gurriel Jr. drew a leadoff walk and scored on Carroll’s one-out blast to right field. It was Carroll’s 22nd homer of the season.
Gabriel Moreno had three hits for the D-backs, who have won five straight and 10 of their past 12. Miguel Castro (6-6) earned the win in relief, and Paul Sewald worked around a one-out walk in the ninth for his 28th save.
Cincinnati was held to three hits and fell a half-game behind Arizona in the chase for the final National League wild-card spot.
The first six innings featured a pitchers’ duel between Arizona’s Merrill Kelly and Cincinnati’s Brandon Williamson. Kelly set the tone early by retiring the Reds in order in the first inning on just nine pitches.
Over seven shutout innings, Kelly allowed one hit with no walks while matching a career high with 12 strikeouts. He exited with a trainer after completing his warmup tosses in the eighth inning, having thrown 86 pitches on the night.
Williamson gave up six hits and one walk while striking out six over six shutout innings. He threw 98 pitches.
Arizona broke a scoreless tie in the seventh on pinch hitter Jace Peterson’s RBI single off Buck Farmer. The D-backs’ attempt to add another run on the play failed when Moreno was thrown out at the plate.
In the top of the eighth, Nick Senzel hit a leadoff homer off Kyle Nelson to tie the game. Castro entered with a runner on first and two outs, and Noelvi Marte stole second. Tyler Stephenson then singled home Marte.
The Diamondbacks recorded 10 hits and won despite leaving nine runners on base. Arizona outfielder Tommy Pham had a leadoff single in the sixth to extend his hitting streak to 14 games, the longest active streak in the majors.
—Field Level Media
