Why did the Diamondbacks pinch hit for Gabriel Moreno?

SAN DIEGO — Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno did not hit in the ninth inning of Saturday’s 10-7 loss to the San Diego Padres because his left hamstring injury was bothering him.

With the bases loaded and nobody out against Padres superstar closer Mason Miller, the Diamondbacks pinch hit Adrian Del Castillo for Moreno, which immediately sounded alarm bells.

Moreno had suffered a left hamstring injury while running the bases on Friday, and he started at designated hitter on Saturday for that reason.

Del Castillo struck out, the D-backs ended up scoring three runs off Miller anyway but they stranded two runners on base to end the game.

Moreno went 1-for-3 as the DH, but in the batting cage between his last at-bat and the ninth inning, he was really struggling with his ailing leg.

“I felt like I can’t push anything down,” Moreno said. “Trying to hit in the cage, I couldn’t.”

Moreno said his hamstring felt worse on Saturday than on Friday, so he will see how he feels Sunday morning.

Manager Torey Lovullo said the expectation for the time being is that Moreno will start as the DH again.

“He got in, got treatment and he’s in the lineup tomorrow,” Lovullo said.

Moreno is batting .311 this season, in line to become the Diamondbacks’ first NL batting champion.

The Diamondbacks need to win Sunday’s regular season finale in order to have a chance to make the postseason, as they trail the Philadelphia Phillies by one game.

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