The Diamondbacks spent most of the night looking like they had this one under control, then watched it slip away, then found a way to steal it back.
Arizona beat the Pirates 8-7 in 12 innings, a game that had the full baseball roller coaster: a fast start, a brutal bullpen collapse, and then Gerardo Carillo stepping in to rescue the whole thing. By the end, the Dbacks had evened the series and kept themselves in the hunt.
The early innings belonged to the Diamondbacks offense. They kept stacking runs across the first four frames and looked like a lineup that had found its rhythm.
Arizona finished with 16 hits over the 12 innings, led by James McCann’s four and Nolan Arenado’s three. But the box score also carried a glaring warning sign: the Dbacks set a franchise record with 24 outs with runners in scoring position.
What looked like a clean offensive night slowly turned into another reminder of how much this team has struggled in those spots.
Then the game flipped.
After the seventh, the offense went quiet, and Pittsburgh suddenly had life. The Pirates erased Arizona’s 6-0 lead with three runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth.
A bullpen that has been a strength for much of the season turned into a problem in a hurry. Thompson couldn’t get through his work, allowing four hits and a walk in just .2 of an inning.
Then Paul Sewald came in with a three-run lead in the ninth and gave up a hit and back-to-back home runs to wipe it out immediately and tie the game. Sewald had entered the night with only two blown saves in 24 chances, which made the collapse sting even more.
Arizona needed somebody to stop the bleeding, and Carillo was the one who answered.
Working in a role that had mostly been low-leverage long relief, Carillo was thrown into one of the biggest spots of the season and handled it like he’d been doing it for years. He threw two scoreless innings, allowed no hits, struck out three, and picked up his first career major league win.
He needed just six pitches to get through the 11th, then came back and posted another zero in the 12th to keep the Diamondbacks alive. Carillo’s upper-90s fastball, along with his cutter, splitter, and sinker, has made him an interesting arm in the upper minors.
Tonight, he showed something even more valuable for a late-inning reliever: he had that dog in him.
Brandon Pfaadt deserved a better ending. He was excellent over seven innings, allowing just seven baserunners while striking out four.
His stuff was working, and he gave Arizona exactly the kind of start it needed. Considering where his season began, the fact that he’s back in the rotation with a 4.00 ERA going into August is a major turnaround.
With the contract extension in place, Pfaadt has become one of the season’s biggest wins for the Diamondbacks, looking again like the frontline starter they believed he could be.
Arizona will try to take the series tomorrow afternoon with Eduardo Rodriquez on the mound. A win would give the Dbacks the season series against Pittsburgh and move them two games back of the final wild card spot.
In Other News...
Diamondbacks Top 10 Shakeup Puts New Pressure On Rising Prospects
MLB Pipelines latest update to the Diamondbacks Top 30 list arrived with the trade deadline approaching, and the reshuffling says plenty about how quickly the organizations minor league picture is changing. Demetrio Crisantes has moved into the role of top hitting prospect, David Hagaman has climbed to the front of the pitching group, and a wave of upward movement from players like Alberto Barriga, Junior Ciprian and Eom shows how much the system is being shaped by performance, promotions and health.
For Arizona, the bigger story is the pressure that comes with those gains. Barrigas breakout and jump to Double-A Amarillo is the kind of rise the front office wants to see, while Hagaman appears to be on the same track as he nears his own move up. At the same time, the list also reflects how fragile prospect momentum can be, with some young players sliding after uneven production and others forced to reset because of injury or inconsistency. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Suddenly Have A Ninth-Inning Problem They Cant Ignore
The ninth inning has become a moving target for Arizona, and Torey Lovullo is treating it that way. After a rough stretch from Paul Sewald and a bullpen collapse in Pittsburgh, the Diamondbacks are leaning into a closer-by-committee setup, with several late-inning arms now in the mix as they try to steady games that have started slipping away after the lead is already in hand.
Brandyn Garcia, Juan Morillo, Jonathan Loisiga and Kevin Ginkel are among the relievers who could end up handling save chances, while the club still has to wait on Justin Martinez to work his way back from injury. For a team trying to stay afloat in the race, the bigger question is whether this is a temporary patch or the shape of the bullpen for the rest of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Deadline Approach May Frustrate Fans Hoping For A Bigger Push
With the trade deadline approaching, the Diamondbacks appear far more likely to shop in the margins than chase the kind of splash that can jolt a fan base. John Gambadoro reported that Arizona is not expected to make blockbuster moves, a sign the front office is leaning toward lower-cost roster additions while trying to keep the payroll in check and protect the farm system.
For a club trying to stay competitive without pushing past the competitive balance tax threshold, thats a delicate balance. The path forward looks less like a headline-grabbing deal and more like a series of smaller moves, with the front office banking on internal help and financial discipline to carry the roster through the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]