Grand slam in 8th inning lifts Diamondbacks over Mets
PHOENIX — Corbin Carroll hit a go-ahead grand slam off Edwin Díaz in the eighth inning, part of a two-homer night that lifted the Arizona Diamondbacks over the New York Mets 8-5 on Wednesday.
The Diamondbacks trailed 5-4 heading into the eighth, but staged a two-out rally against the Mets' closer. Díaz (5-3) entered with a runner on first and promptly walked pinch-hitter Pavin Smith and Geraldo Perdomo before Carroll smacked his second homer of the game into the right-field seats.
"The right man in the right spot stepped up," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "Corbin Carroll picked us up with one swing of the bat."
It was Díaz's sixth blown save of the season. Carroll connected on a slider the right-hander left over the plate.
"My command wasn't that good today," Díaz said.
New York fell four games behind the Atlanta Braves for the final NL wild card. The D-backs — defending National League champions — have won 21 of 27 to keep pace in a torrid NL West race that includes the Dodgers and Padres.
Carroll has 14 homers over the past 37 games, spearheading the team's surge up the standings following the All-Star break. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year was hitting just .213 with two homers at the end of June.
"I'm not trying to carry the team. I'm not trying to be the hero," Carroll said. "I'm just trying to do something to help the team win every day. That's been the goal, and I'm back in the space where I can do that."
The Mets overcame an early four-run deficit and pushed ahead 5-4 in the sixth on Pete Alonso's sacrifice fly to left field.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. charged in on the liner and made a perfect throw to the plate, but Starling Marte was able to avoid the tag from Adrian Del Castillo, getting his right hand around the glove and onto home plate. Marte reached on a bunt single, stole second and advanced to third on a groundout.
The Mets trailed 4-0 heading into the fifth but tied the game with a four-run inning. Harrison Bader had the big blow, drilling a two-out, two-run homer to left that made it 4-all. The line-drive shot left Bader's bat at 110 mph.
"I thought we did a good job fighting back. We put together some good at-bats," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. "At the end of the day, we didn't get the job done."
Luis Guillorme put the D-backs ahead 1-0 in the second with a two-out RBI single. Arizona signed the veteran infielder on Aug. 20 to provide depth while All-Star Ketel Marte is out with an ankle injury.
Joc Pederson's two-run homer put Arizona up 3-0 in the third. Carroll added a solo shot in the fourth that traveled 440 feet and made it 4-0.
Mets right-hander Luis Severino struggled through much of his start, needing 100 pitches to navigate 4 2/3 innings. He gave up eight hits and four runs, striking out nine.
Diamondbacks lefty Eduardo Rodriguez threw four perfect innings to start the game, but was tagged for four hits and four runs in the fifth. He was making his fourth start of the year after missing much of the season with a shoulder injury.
"I missed on three pitches and gave up four runs," Rodriguez said.
Justin Martinez pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save. Ryan Thompson (7-3) earned the win with a scoreless eighth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Mets: RHP Dedniel Núñez wasn't available out of the bullpen. Mendoza said the reliever isn't recovering well from outings and has "tightness in the forearm area." He's day-to-day. ... Severino was hit in the right foot by a liner from Carroll in the third, but stayed in the game. Mendoza said Severino had X-rays after the game and they were negative.
UP NEXT
Arizona will start RHP Ryne Nelson (9-6, 4.29 ERA) on Thursday afternoon. The Mets counter with LHP David Peterson (8-1, 2.85).
