Arizona Diamondbacks rookie catcher Adrian Del Castillo is set to play his first pro game in his hometown of Miami on Monday.
Del Castillo, a former Miami Hurricanes star who made his MLB debut Aug. 7, has taken over the starting job after Gabriel Moreno was placed on the injured list because of a left groin injury earlier this month.
Del Castillo is expected to be in the lineup when the Diamondbacks visit the Miami Marlins to begin a three-game series Monday.
Del Castillo made an immediate impact, helping Arizona win in his first six big-league appearances. He hit an RBI double in his first major league at-bat.
In his second MLB game, Del Castillo hit a walk-off homer. He became the first Diamondbacks player to hit a walk-off homer for his first big-league blast.
A Diamondbacks second-round pick in 2021, Del Castillo hit .319 with 24 homers, 86 runs and 70 RBIs in 100 games at Triple-A this year.
In his first three games for Arizona, Del Castillo went 7-for-12 with two doubles, one homer and five RBIs.
Del Castillo has been working with a pitching staff that includes three former Marlins: starter Zac Gallen and relievers A.J. Puk and Dylan Floro.
Neither team has announced a starting pitcher for the series opener.
The Diamondbacks rank 25th in the majors with a 4.46 ERA, three spots ahead of the Marlins (4.59).
Miami’s bullpen ranks 15th in ERA (3.92), while Arizona’s comes in tied for 19th (4.14).
Offensively, the Diamondbacks have a big advantage. They lead the majors with 656 runs scored. The Marlins rank 29th with 456.
The Marlins are coming off a stirring 3-2 win over the host New York Mets on Sunday.
Miami played an exceptional defensive game, including a rare type of double play that started with a catch in deep center field by Derek Hill and ended 400 feet away with a play at the plate. Hill fell after crashing into the wall, but he had the presence of mind to flip the ball to right fielder Jesus Sanchez. The relay then went to second baseman Otto Lopez, whose throw home beat Mark Vientos as he tried to score from second on a sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Mets got two straight singles against closer Calvin Faucher. But New York couldn’t get them home — thanks in part to another great play in the outfield, this one by Cristian Pache.
“I was fired up,” Faucher said of his save. “Getting out of that spot for the team was big.”
The Diamondbacks, who had won nine straight series, are coming off three straight losses to the Rays. Before Saturday, Arizona hadn’t lost consecutive games since July 21-22.
On Sunday, the Rays beat Arizona 8-7 in 12 innings. Despite the loss, the Diamondbacks can feel good that they battled back after trailing 6-0 in the seventh inning. Del Castillo hit a game-tying three-run homer in the ninth.
Prior to the Rays series, Arizona had gone 30-10 over its past 40 games.
“Everyone wants to talk about us losing a series,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “But I’m not concerned about that. I’m concerned with us playing our best baseball.”
–Field Level Media
