PHOENIX — It was a historic night of sorts at Chase Field on Friday with a pair of players coming up with noteworthy accomplishments in the Diamondbacks’ 9-1 win over the Rangers.
Here are a few takeaways from the game:
1. The Diamondbacks didn’t lose ground to the Padres
The Diamondbacks are locked in a battle with the Padres for the final NL Wild Card spot and they entered play one-half game behind San Diego with a three-game series between the two clubs set for the end of the regular season.
With the win, the Diamondbacks held serve as the Padres picked up a win over the Giants.
Arizona skipper Torey Lovullo managed the game almost like it was a postseason game, pulling veteran starter Merrill Kelly with one out in the fifth inning and going to high-leverage reliever Kevin Ginkel, who managed to pitch out of the jam and keep the Rangers lead at 1-0.
Said Lovullo, “My discussions with [pitching coach Brian Kaplan] were, ‘We better have somebody ready, because if this thing gets away from us, it could spiral out of control pretty quick, and we don’t want that to happen.’ We know what our bullpen is capable of doing.”
After Ginkel got out of the fifth, three more relievers finished up the final four innings without allowing a run.
2. Justin Martinez was immaculate
Martinez tossed the fourth “immaculate inning” in the big leagues this season and the second one for the Diamondbacks when he struck out all three Rangers hitters he faced in the sixth inning.
An immaculate inning is when a pitcher strikes out all three batters in an inning on nine pitches.
Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Jake Burger each went down on three pitches in the inning as Martinez matched teammate Michael Soroka, who accomplished the feat earlier this year.
“That was amazing,” Martinez said. “I knew I was close when I struck out the second hitter. I thought, ‘[Shoot] I might get an immaculate inning.’ And I told myself, ‘Don’t think about that, just keep throwing strikes,’ and then it happened. Really happy about that, but we’ve got another game tomorrow. We gotta come back ready for tomorrow.”
3. Corbin Carroll doing Corbin Carroll things
Carroll was back in the lineup after an MRI of his lower back did not show any structural issues and his two-run homer in the sixth was his 20th of the season.
It is the 10th time an individual has recorded a season with 20-plus homers, 20-plus stolen bases and 15-plus triples in a season.
Carroll is the only person to have two such seasons.
Milestones aside, just having Carroll back in the lineup is a boost for the Diamondbacks, and the three days off he had in a row seem to have helped his back.
“I feel good,” Carroll said. “You know, the three days off, a lot of tissue work, kind of everything’s in a good spot now. Definitely felt a lot more freed up today.”
4. Merrill Kelly understands the quick hook
Since 2019, Kelly has been one of the Diamondbacks’ most consistent pitchers, but this year has been more of a struggle for him to find consistency.
In previous years, Lovullo probably gives Kelly a longer leash, even in a pennant race, but that was not the case this time around and Kelly said he understood.
“I just don’t think I’ve earned it this year, which isn’t a good feeling for me,” Kelly said. “I’m more hard on myself for that rather than trying to point the finger at Torey. I just don’t think I’ve done what I need to do to earn those spots this year, and it’s unfortunate, but with what our bullpen has done this year, I’m confident coming out of the game that they’re going to get the job done.”