MIAMI — Rookie Adrian Del Castillo hit his first career grand slam and drove in six runs to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Miami Marlins 9-6 on Monday night.
The Miami native homered for the third time since he was brought up from the minors on Aug. 6. Del Castillo, who played collegiately 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.
According to STATS, 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.
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 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 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, 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 in 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.”
Before the game, Arizona placed All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte on the 10-day injured list because of a sprained left ankle and recalled Smith from Triple-A Reno.
Miami recalled Norby from Triple-A Jacksonville and designated infielder Emmanuel Rivera for assignment.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: 1B Christian Walker (strained left oblique) hit off the tee and soft toss. He also did some light running.
Marlins: LHP Josh Simpson (left elbow ulnar neuritis) is scheduled to move his rehab schedule to Triple-A this week after two appearances each in Single-A and Double-A.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (1-0, 5.06 ERA) will start the second game of the series on Tuesday. RHP Edward Cabrera (2-4, 5.76 ERA) will go for the Marlins.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
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The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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