Diamondbacks’ Jake McCarthy walks off Rockies for series win

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks had the right guy up with the bases loaded, trailing 3-2 and down to their last out in the bottom of the ninth inning at Chase Field on Tuesday.

Colorado Rockies hard-throwing closer Victor Vodnik walked Adrian Del Castillo and Geraldo Perdomo to bring up Jake McCarthy, who had already recorded multiple hits for the fourth game in a row.

McCarthy fell behind 1-2, but he stayed short on a 100 mph heater up-and-away, punching it into left field for a walk-off single, 4-3. McCarthy took off for right field as his teammates chased him after the D-backs captured a fifth straight win.

Jake McCarthy delivers for the @Dbacks #walkoff! pic.twitter.com/B7vEcRXR5e

— MLB (@MLB) August 14, 2024

“Just trying to get something good to hit,” McCarthy said. “Obviously, the pitch I hit wasn’t that good of a pitch to hit, 100 above the letters. Just trying to at least put it in play. The guy’s got a really good fastball, just trying to see it deep and I was able to flick it to left.

“You’re gonna see that highlight, but Del Castillo, Perdomo, Corbin, that was awesome, you know? If they go 1-2-3, I don’t hit. I just think that’s a testament to this team, the no quit.”

Arizona has won nine consecutive series.

Carroll tripled to get the offense started in the ninth. Del Castillo came off the bench to hit for Jose Herrera and walked. Perdomo battled for eight pitches, fouling three of them off, and reaching base on balls, as well.

“That inning was built because guys went up there and really stayed with their plan, got stubborn to the pitch they were looking for, didn’t come out of their approach and they understood if they got on base in any way, it was going to advance somebody 90 feet,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “It was going to give us a chance to win a baseball game.”

Since July 1, the Diamondbacks have seven wins after trailing in the seventh inning or later, which leads the major leagues, per the club. The Answerbacks are in excellent form.

McCarthy finished the game 3-for-5, having grounded into the first double play of his season to end the seventh inning with multiple runners on. He put away that failure to drive in his 14th and 15th RBI over his last six games when it mattered most.

Only Steve Finley and Matt Williams — both in 1999 — have driven in as many runs in a six-game stretch in D-backs history, according to Stathead.

“I just think when you tell yourself, ‘Hey, I really need to come through here,’ I think that’s when you run into some trouble,” McCarthy said. “I try to treat it just like I’m leading off the inning or whatever. It just comes down to my approach, my plan. And sometimes you’re gonna come through, sometimes you’re not.”

McCarthy is batting an absurd .460 (29-for-63) over his last 17 games played, dating back to July 27. He has become an everyday fixture in the lineup, which was not a sure thing coming into the season with so much outfield depth on the roster.

“You go out there and you do your job, you’re going to get rewarded with playing time,” Lovullo said.

Jake McCarthy since July 27:

.460/.477/.730

he has multiple hits & multiple RBI in 4 straight games, tied for the longest such streak in D-backs history, with 2024 Christian Walker, 2018 Paul Goldschmidt & 2000 Steve Finley https://t.co/YeyAODJeSo

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 14, 2024

The D-backs trailed 3-0 early in Tuesday’s game and cut the deficit to 3-2 on a Josh Bell RBI double in the third inning.

Pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez hit some early bumps in his first home start with Arizona. But he retired the last seven hitters he faced to get through five innings while on a pitch count. Dylan Floro, Kevin Ginkel, Paul Sewald and Joe Mantiply shut down the Rockies in relief, as Colorado’s last hit of the game was back in the third inning.

“I feel like we trust each other, that’s the main thing we have here,” Rodriguez said. “That’s great to have as a team, as an organization … That’s a winning team right there.”

Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Padres all win

Arizona improved to 68-53 on the season and kept pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West race at 3.5 games back. L.A. also won its fifth straight game. The San Diego Padres picked up a win to stay even with the D-backs as the top two wild card teams.

The Diamondbacks will play for a sweep on Wednesday with first pitch at 12:40 p.m. Jordan Montgomery will get the ball for Arizona against Colorado right-hander Tanner Gordon.

Catch the game on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. 

Follow @alexjweiner