Miami native Adrian Del Castillo had a game to remember in a Diamondbacks 9-6 win over the Miami Marlins. Playing his first game in loanDepot Ballpark, in front of friends and family, Del Castillo delivered the game’s two biggest hits of the night.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“It’s awesome,” said Del Castillo in a postgame interview with Jody Jackson on Dbacks TV. “Seeing everybody’s face, everywhere I look it’s different faces. Love for all of them, it’s awesome.”
The young catcher has gotten off to one of the hottest starts in franchise history, logging three home runs and 14 RBI in his first nine games. Per MLB researcher Sarah Langs, Del Castillo’s 14 RBI is the second-highest mark since RBI became an official stat in 1920 behind Mitchell Page’s 15 in 1977.
Adrian Del Castillo now has 14 RBI, tied with 1929 Dale Alexander for 2nd-most in first 9 career games since RBI became official in 1920, behind only:
1977 Mitchell Page: 15
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 20, 2024
“It was a special night for Del,” said Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo in his postgame breakdown on Dbacks TV. “He didn’t back down from the challenge, he had an army of people here supporting him. He’s just in a locked-in spot, and it was a special moment for him. It was a great night him, and he paced us, and we needed every bit of his offensive support tonight.”
The Diamondbacks were gifted three baserunners in the third by Marlins starter Adam Oller. Jake McCarthy and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were hit by pitches. Pavin Smith, in his first game back, worked an eight-pitch walk to load the bases for Del Castillo. After launching a tape measure blast just inches foul, three pitches later he launched one out to straightaway center to plate them all. As he circled the bases, there was an audible cheer ringing throughout the stadium from those who came to watch him fulfill his major league dereams.
ADC is having a grand homecoming. pic.twitter.com/MIeniJknc2
— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) August 19, 2024
“I’m just looking for a good pitch to hit,” said Del Castillo. “He gave me it over the plate, 3-1 was the count, and I got a good swing on it.”
The early run support would be enough for Brandon Pfaadt initially. After cruising through the first four innings, the only blemish a solo home run, he ran into some trouble in the fifth and sixth innings. While he was able to minimize the damage in the fifth, Pfaadt would run into a wall in the sixth and was removed with the tying run at third and one out.
Kevin Ginkel inherited a tough situation, with the tying and go-ahead runs on base with one out. However, Ginkel proved to be up for the challenge as he induced a double play ball from Nick Fortes to escape the inning with the lead. Ginkel then followed it up with a clean seventh inning with a strikeout to punctuate his night, needing to only face four hitters to get five outs. It’s the type of outing that deserves to be highlighted in what ultimately turned into a blowout.
“I feel like Brandon might have fatigued in his sixth inning of work and got some great protection from Kevin,” said Lovullo. “That was a huge double play on a hitter that had been swinging the bat really good in Fortes. Ginkel did a great job of saving the moment for us.”
Once again it was Del Castillo who provided the big hits that gave the Diamondbacks more breathing room. With two runners in scoring position, he ripped a 100 MPH grounder through a drawn-in infield to give Arizona a three-run lead. Jake McCarthy tacked on two more runs to push the lead to five.
The game got a bit closer for comfort, as Paul Sewald surrendered two runs in the ninth inning that affected only the game’s final score. The Marlins never got the tying run to the plate.
The Diamondbacks will try to restart their series win streak with a win on Tuesday night. Left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez (1-0, 5.06 ERA) takes the mound for Arizona while right-hander Edward Cabrera (2-4, 5.76 ERA) goes for Miami. First pitch at loanDepot Park is scheduled for 3:40 P.M. MST.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
