Carroll’s historic – With Arizona’s pitching staff battered by injuries on Friday, June 19, Corbin Carroll delivered a franchise-record-tying 52nd career triple—scoring three runs in the eighth—to turn a tense, late collapse scare into a 9-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
The Diamondbacks didn’t just come out of Friday night’s chaos with a win—they came out with a little proof that their season can still swing back when it looks like it’s slipping away.
At Chase Field. with the roof shut on Friday. June 19. Arizona took a 6-3 lead that already felt shaky. then watched it narrow as starting pitcher Michael Soroka left before throwing a pitch to begin the second inning because of what the team later described as left glute discomfort. His exit forced manager Torey Lovullo to lean hard on a bullpen that couldn’t fully quiet Minnesota’s momentum.
Kevin Ginkel, the sixth of seven relievers used on the night, allowed back-to-back solo home runs to Josh Bell and Royce Lewis to open the top of the eighth. Arizona’s lead shrank to 6-5, and the dugout had that tense quiet that follows too many bad breaks in a short stretch.
Lovullo had reason to be on edge. Earlier in the day. Ryne Nelson was placed on the injured list with a strained flexor tendon and a slight ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right arm. Left-handed reliever A.J. Puk. already on the injured list after elbow surgery last June. was also dealing with a capsule sprain in his arm—an update that could push his rehab back by an additional four weeks. Lovullo called the run of injuries “brutal,” and Minnesota’s late bursts made it feel personal.
But then Corbin Carroll took over in a way that didn’t ask permission.
With the Diamondbacks threatening in the bottom of the eighth, the rally started with Jordan Lawlar. He led off with a bunt single that was initially called out. but was ruled safe after a successful Diamondbacks’ challenge. Lawlar’s lead didn’t last long—he strained his right hamstring running to first and was removed for pinch runner Tommy Troy.
Pavin Smith followed with an infield single up the middle. One out later, Geraldo Perdomo drew a walk, loading the bases and bringing Carroll to the plate.
Carroll answered with his historic triple—his franchise-record-tying 52nd career triple and the ninth of the season. It came in the eighth inning and scored three runs, breaking open the game and giving Arizona enough breathing room to finish 9-5 winners.
“This is a moment you don’t take for granted,” Lovullo said. “What can you say about Corbin that hasn’t already been said or something that we’ve all thought about?. He’s an amazing athlete. He’s a great human being. He happens to be a really good baseball player. and I’ve got a front-row seat to it every single night. and I don’t take that for granted.”.
Carroll later said, “Yeah, it felt good, especially there in that situation to give us some breathing room after they responded late. I’m happy to do it.”
Lovullo described the swing as the turning point for a clubhouse that had been running out of smiles. “But the smiles came back with one swing of the bat,” he said.
Lawlar’s role mattered even beyond the baserunner math. He said he knew immediately something wasn’t right with his hamstring. but pushed the play anyway because the inning was moving and Arizona needed a start. “I knew it was a close game. I knew I was leading off and I wanted to make a difference. ” Lawlar said. “I knew if I could get on base. we had one guy in the 9 hole. and Pavin was going to hit and then could flip the lineup over and let those guys do what they do. And Corbin did what he does.”.
Soroka’s night ended quickly, and it carried its own kind of unfinished business. He tried throwing one warm-up pitch before the start of the second inning but said he “felt the grabbing in the left glute area.” He was going to throw another warm-up pitch. but didn’t feel he could “lock and rotate over it. ” and he handed the baseball to Lovullo.
Soroka said, “We’ve got a bunch of games in a row and I knew (Lovullo) was going to have to run a bunch of guys out there, but they did an incredible job for the team.”
In his one inning of work, Soroka faced four batters, allowing an infield hit to Kody Clemens and a Byron Buxton single. Buxton was cut down trying to stretch his drive off the wall into a double. Soroka entered Friday with an 8-3 record and a 3.07 ERA.
Arizona’s offense had sparked earlier, too. It scored four runs in the fifth after trailing 3-1. and Ketel Marte hit a solo home run in the sixth to put the Diamondbacks up 6-3. But after Ginkel surrendered the consecutive homers in the eighth. the margin tightened fast. and the game turned into a test of whether Arizona’s injury-hit pitching would hold.
Jonathan Loaisiga pitched 1 1/3 innings to earn the win for the Diamondbacks.
Even with Carroll’s big swing, Friday’s win couldn’t erase what was happening behind the scenes.
The rotation picture changed again when Nelson was placed on the 15-day injured list. Lovullo confirmed Nelson has a flexor tendon strain and a slight ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right arm, describing it as a significant blow for a rotation that has relied on Nelson to “eat up innings.”
The hope is that Nelson can return at some point this season. Lovullo said Nelson will rehab on a “no-throw” basis for four to six weeks, followed by another imaging test. If things look well, Nelson would begin a four-week ramp-up process.
Nelson suffered the injury during his most recent start against the Angels, but he pitched through it to finish seven innings.
Lovullo said, “I hurt for the athlete. I know he’s taking it in stride and doing the best he can to stay positive. I think the way it happened should show what a good teammate and what a warrior-type mentality he has. He felt something during the game, yet completed the outing and didn’t say anything until after the outing.”.
Lovullo added, “He did the right thing in speaking up. When he gets back here, we’ll need him and I’ll be anxious to see him go out there and pitch and compete again.”
Brandon Pfaadt, who is in the process of getting stretched out again as a starter in Triple-A Reno, is likely to move into Nelson’s vacated spot in the rotation. Nelson had been scheduled to pitch next on Sunday, June 21, in the series finale against the Minnesota Twins.
Lovullo said the team could instead choose to start right-hander Merrill Kelly. who last pitched on Tuesday. June 16. though no decision had been reached. “Brandon Pfaadt is going to somehow, some way fall into this equation for sure,” Lovullo said. “And he deserves it. But we want to make sure that when and if he gets back here that he gets built out to a certain number of pitches.”.
For now, right-hander Yilber Diaz was promoted to take Nelson’s spot on the roster, giving Arizona an extra arm in the bullpen until June 21.
Then came the second wave of difficult news involving Puk. Lovullo said the Diamondbacks learned on Friday, June 19, that left-handed reliever A.J. Puk—already on the injured list after elbow surgery last June—was dealing with a capsule sprain in his arm. Lovullo said it could push his rehab back an additional four weeks.
Puk will not throw during that time and will have another imaging test to determine his status.
“That’s also another big loss,” Lovullo said. He added that Puk had been doing everything he could to get back with the team, but felt something under his arm during competition and mentioned it. “I’m glad that he did,” Lovullo said. “We’ll see what happens in the next couple weeks.”
The Diamondbacks still have a series to play, even with so many bodies needing attention. Saturday. June 20 at Chase Field starts at 7:10 p.m. with Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (3-5. 5.35) facing Twins RHP Taj Bradley (5-3. 4.14). Sunday, June 21 at Chase Field begins at 12:15 p.m., with Diamondbacks TBD against Twins RHP Mike Paredes (0-0, 4.20).
Monday, June 22 at St. Louis is set for 4:45 p.m., with Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (5-6, 5.81) against Cardinals RHP Andre Pallante (8-4, 3.76). Tuesday, June 23 at St. Louis also begins at 4:45 p.m., with Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (6-2, 2.45) taking on Cardinals RHP Kyle Leahy (5-4, 4.63).
Friday’s game ended with Arizona ahead. But it started with the kind of injuries that don’t wait for a better inning. That’s what made Carroll’s triple feel bigger than a single highlight—especially in a night when the next bad break could have changed everything.
Corbin Carroll Diamondbacks Twins Chase Field Torey Lovullo Michael Soroka Ryne Nelson A.J. Puk Kevin Ginkel Jonathan Loaisiga Jordan Lawlar Pavin Smith Geraldo Perdomo Ketel Marte Josh Bell Royce Lewis