Corbin Carroll’s eighth-inning grand slam off Edwin Díaz, his second home run of the night, powered the Arizona Diamondbacks to an 8-5 win over the New York Mets on Wednesday.
Trailing 5-4 heading into the eighth, the Diamondbacks mounted a two-out rally against Mets closer Díaz (5-3). After allowing a single, Díaz walked pinch-hitter Pavin Smith and Geraldo Perdomo before Carroll launched a slider into the right-field stands for his second homer of the game.
“The right guy came through at the right time,” said Arizona manager Torey Lovullo. “Corbin Carroll delivered when we needed it most.”
This marked Díaz’s sixth blown save of the season, as his slider missed its mark.
“My command was off tonight,” Díaz admitted.
The loss dropped the Mets four games behind the Braves in the NL wild-card race, while the Diamondbacks, the reigning National League champions, have won 21 of their last 27 games. Carroll, who has hit 14 home runs in his last 37 games, has been instrumental in Arizona’s push in the competitive NL West, which also features the Dodgers and Padres. Carroll, who was batting just .213 with two homers at the end of June, emphasized his focus on contributing to the team’s success.
“I’m not trying to be the hero,” Carroll said. “I just want to do my part to help the team win every day. That’s my goal, and I’m finally in a place where I can do that.”
The Mets had earlier rallied from a 4-0 deficit, taking a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning on Pete Alonso’s sacrifice fly. Starling Marte managed to score after reaching base on a bunt single, stealing second, advancing to third on a groundout, and avoiding a tag at home.
Harrison Bader had tied the game at 4-4 in the fifth inning with a two-run homer. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza acknowledged his team’s effort but lamented the missed opportunity to secure the win.
“We fought back well and had some good at-bats,” Mendoza said. “But in the end, we couldn’t close it out.”
Luis Guillorme had put the Diamondbacks on the board with an RBI single in the second inning, followed by a two-run homer from Joc Pederson in the third and a solo shot from Carroll in the fourth, extending Arizona’s lead to 4-0.
Mets starter Luis Severino struggled, needing 100 pitches to get through 4 2/3 innings, allowing eight hits and four runs while striking out nine.
Diamondbacks left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez was perfect through four innings before surrendering four runs in the fifth in his fourth start of the year after returning from a shoulder injury.
“I missed on three pitches and paid for it,” Rodriguez said.
Justin Martinez closed out the game with a perfect ninth inning for his seventh save, while Ryan Thompson (7-3) earned the win with a scoreless eighth inning.