Diamondbacks need their stars to be stars, and on Friday they were

PHOENIX — Ketel Marte crushed RBI doubles in back-to-back plate appearances on Friday, while Gabriel Moreno singled Marte home each time. Corbin Carroll started 0-for-3 after missing two games with a back injury, but then he tattooed a ball into the left-field seats for his first home run of September.

The best thing that can happen for an Arizona Diamondbacks offense that had been leaking oil recently is production from its stars, and while Friday’s 9-1 win was a lineup-wide breakout, the faces of Arizona’s franchise delivered the biggest blows.

“It felt good,” Carroll said. “Offense did a great job, a lot of great at-bats, hard-hit balls, line drives, all that.”

“It’s good to see Corbin and Ketel doing what they did tonight in the same game,” starting pitcher Merrill Kelly said.

The Diamondbacks did their damage in the middle innings after what looked like more of the same execution shortfalls through four frames. Arizona plated nine runs between the fifth and sixth innings, the most runs they’ve scored in a game since Aug. 28 and most runs at home since Aug. 5.

Arizona’s last five wins had come by one run or in extra innings, so Friday provided quite a stark contrast.

Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll get going

Marte — who was cheered, not booed at Chase Field — extended his hitting streak to nine games, but Friday was the first time in this stretch in which he delivered multiple hits.

And they came from opposite sides of the plate. With two runners in scoring position and no outs, right-handed Marte crushed a ball into the left-field corner off Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore. He was fired up at second base after his biggest hit at home since coming off the injured list. An inning later, left-handed Marte delivered a two-out double into the right-field corner to kickstart a rally that eventually brought five runs home.

Carroll had been on the snide, hitting .118 over his last 14 games and missing time after a back spasm. His first three at-bats did not look the most comfortable either, as they resulted in a strikeout and couple balls chopped right into the ground.

Carroll did what he needed to do in that fourth at-bat. He got ahead in the count, saw a fastball (which have given him trouble) over the middle and had to crush it. The blast gave Arizona an 8-1 lead, and Nolan Arenado followed with another home run, his team-leading 24th.

The All-Star, despite the ups and downs, has reached 20 home runs for the fourth straight season.

“I just want to do what I can to help this team,” Carroll said. “The homers are awesome, put runs on the board for us.”

“It was nice to see a left-on-left swing and that carry to the opposite field,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “I keep saying, when you’re doing that and driving the baseball the opposite way, it doesn’t happen by accident.”

Here is the list of players with multiple seasons of 20 home runs, 30 doubles, 15 triples and 20 stolen bases in the history of Major League Baseball:

• Corbin Carroll (2025, 2026)

That’s it. Those numbers have been reached seven times in MLB history, and Carroll has done it in each of the last two seasons.

Carroll said he felt a lot more freed up after giving his back a few days of rest. His MRI on Thursday came back clean, and he wanted to get back in the outfield the next day.

Diamondbacks’ bullpen keeps going

The Diamondbacks leaned heavily on their bullpen again, as Kelly got through 4.1 innings with one earned run, but the sizable lead allowed Arizona to rest most of its higher leverage arms.

Justin Martinez was the standout, as he threw the fifth immaculate inning in franchise history and second of the season (Michael Soroka). His dominant frame came between Arizona’s run-scoring innings, creating one of the most electric in-game stretches of the season at Chase Field.

Lovullo was quick with the hook for Kelly at 80 pitches. With two runners in scoring position, the D-backs acted with urgency to get Kevin Ginkel in to limit the damage. The plan worked, as Ginkel escaped the jam, and the bullpen was lockdown from there.

“We better have somebody ready because if this thing gets away from us, it could spiral out of control pretty quick and we didn’t want that to happen,” Lovullo said. “We know what our bullpen is capable of doing.”

Kelly was honest that he would have been upset by the decision to get a reliever up that early in the past, but he acknowledged that he has not earned that this season given his inconsistencies.

“I just don’t think I’ve done what I need to do to earn those spots this year,” Kelly said. “It’s unfortunate, but with what our bullpen has done this year, obviously I’m confident coming out of the game that they’re going to get the job done.”

Friday attendance

32,849

Saturday starters

Brandon Pfaadt (3.53 ERA) will pitch for Arizona with a chance to claim a third straight series.

Right-hander Kumar Rocker (4.61 ERA) will go for Texas.

First pitch is at 5:10 p.m. MST on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. The first 20,000 fans will receive a Merrill Kelly bobblehead. 

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