Rookie Adrian Del Castillo on Monday hit his first career grand slam and drove in six runs to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Miami Marlins 9-6.
The Miami native homered for the third time since he was brought up from the minors on Aug. 6. Del Castillo, who played at the University of Miami, also hit a two-run single and had his first career stolen base. He is hitting .333 with 14 RBIs in nine games with Arizona.
“Just trying to keep having fun with these guys and have to keep winning for sure,” Del Castillo said.
Photo: Sam Navarro-USA Today
Del Castillo is the third major league catcher to record at least six RBIs and a stolen base in a single game, joining Jerry Grote in 1981 and Johnny Bench in 1974, according to STATS.
Joc Pederson and Jake McCarthy also went deep for the Diamondbacks, who are a major league-best 29-13 since July 1, despite getting swept in a three-game series at Tampa Bay over the weekend.
Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt allowed four runs and nine hits in 5-1/3 innings. Pfaadt (8-6) struck out four and walked two.
“Our stuff wasn’t as sharp as we expected,” Pfaadt said. “We got through it and got the team win. That’s all you can really ask for.”
On the second pitch of his at-bat against Adam Oller in the third inning, Del Castillo hit a drive that curved foul near the upper-deck stands in right field. Del Castillo then drove a 3-1 fastball over the wall in center for a 4-0 lead.
“That’s usually not a good thing — home run foul — they say strikeout comes after that,” Del Castillo said. “Definitely was not trying to strike out there. Just adjust my sights and thinking bigger part of the field on the next pitches.”
The Diamondbacks loaded the bases without a hit after Oller (0-1) plunked McCarthy and Lourdes Gurriel Jr, and then walked Pavin Smith.
Del Castillo said he lost count of the amount of his family and friends in attendance, but there was a noticeable ovation after his drive.
“He had an army of people here supporting him,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “We were with him in celebration. We needed every bit of his offensive support tonight.”
Nick Fortes homered in the third inning for Miami, but Pederson connected for a solo drive in the fifth for his 20th homer.
The Marlins chased Pfaadt on Connor Norby’s RBI fielder’s choice and Kyle Stowers’ run-scoring single that narrowed the deficit to 5-4. Kevin Ginkel relieved Pfaadt and induced a double-play grounder by Fortes, ending the threat.
Del Castillo singled home two more runs for Arizona in the seventh inning and McCarthy added a two-run shot in the eighth.
“We’re about creating traffic, giving ourselves opportunities and having the right people in the right spot coming up and slug,” Lovullo said.
Oller gave up five runs and three hits in 4-2/3 innings. The 29-year-old Oller walked four, hit two batters and struck out two on his Marlins debut.
“Oller has good stuff, good breaking ball,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “They only got three hits off him, but when you give up six free passes, that will cost you at the big league level.”
Elsewhere, the Mets edged the Orioles 4-3, the Rangers pipped the Pirates 4-3, the Reds beat the Blue Jays 6-3, the Astros overcame the Red Sox 5-4 and the Royals downed the Angels 5-3.
The Dodgers sank the Mariners 3-0, the Padres tamed the Twins 5-3, the Athletics routed the Rays 3-0 and the Giants defeated the White Sox 5-3.
Additional reporting by staff writer
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
RSS