Del Castillo makes his first homer a walk-off
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PHOENIX -- Adrian Del Castillo knew it the moment the ball left the barrel of his bat.
He pointed to the sky triumphantly, peering in the direction of the D-backs’ dugout as his slow saunter out of the batter’s box turned into a light trot, the ball sailing a Statcast-projected 416 feet into the right-field bleachers at Chase Field on Friday night.
“I don’t even know how to describe it in words,” he said. “Just sick.”
It was the 24-year-old catcher’s first big league homer, a ninth-inning, walk-off blast that sealed the D-backs’ 3-2 victory over the NL-best Phillies to even the series. Yet the confidence exuded in that moment felt as if it came from an established superstar.
But for Del Castillo, who became the first player in D-backs history to hit a walk-off for his first career home run, it was nothing but a blur.
“Goosebumps,” he said with a smile.
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The Phillies tied the game, 2-2, following the departure of D-backs starter Ryne Nelson in the eighth inning after his masterful nine-strikeout performance. That set up a dramatic finish in a playoff-like atmosphere vaguely reminiscent of last season’s NLCS between the teams.
Del Castillo led off the bottom of the ninth against All-Star reliever Jeff Hoffman, who had allowed just three homers in 49 appearances this season. Hoffman fired a 97 mph fastball over the heart of the plate to begin the at-bat.
Then Del Castillo promptly ended it.
The solo shot left his bat at 105.9 mph into a sea of roaring spectators who provided the soundtrack for Del Castillo’s trip around the bases.
“I get so excited for the kids that come up through our player development,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “I felt like I was 18 years old again for a few minutes. And that’s always a nice feeling. And I think everyone felt that for Adrian.
“It was a special moment for him. He hits his first Major League home run. It’s a walk-off in a pennant race, and it doesn’t get any better. I couldn’t help but get caught up in the emotion of it.”
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Along with the walk-off homer, Del Castillo tallied a pair of singles, including an RBI base hit off Phillies starter Zack Wheeler to open the scoring in the first, while also seamlessly guiding Nelson through his 7 1/3-inning gem behind the dish.
Nelson allowed just three hits after retiring the first 12 men he faced to start the game. He owns a 2.90 ERA over his past eight games (seven starts) dating back to July 2.
“I probably shook off just a handful of times,” Nelson said of Del Castillo. “I think that he was doing a really good job of working at-bats with me, and it felt like we were on the same page. If I shook once, the next pitch was the one I was thinking. It was super impressive.”
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The No. 28 overall prospect in the D-backs’ system, per MLB Pipeline, Del Castillo was one the top hitters across all levels of the Minor Leagues this season. He posted a stellar 1.011 OPS at Triple-A Reno with a Minors-best 63 extra-base hits and 70 RBIs. When the D-backs promoted him for his Major League debut earlier this week in Cleveland after placing Gabriel Moreno on the injured list, there were no questions about what he could do with the bat.
He proved as much when he tagged an opposite-field RBI double off Carlos Carrasco for his first career knock on Wednesday against the Guardians.
“He can hit,” Joc Pederson said. “He’s got a nice pure swing, and he can really hit. And I think catching, calling a game, takes time and that’s part of a learning process. That, I think, is the longest thing for a catcher to get. But to show that hitting ability, a lot of catchers don’t have that.”
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Arizona is expected to be without Moreno, who sustained a left groin strain on Monday, for “several weeks.” The club remains cautiously optimistic he’ll be able to return before the end of the regular season. Regardless of the length of Moreno’s absence, it’s still a massive blow for a club that has relied heavily on his consistent presence behind the plate.
But the confidence and comfort that Del Castillo has shown over his first two games in the Majors has been a welcome sight.
“He’s obviously excited to be a big league player,” Lovullo said. “And he’s not glossy-eyed. I know the difference. When a young player comes in, they’re very sheepish, they have their head down. He didn’t have that.
“He’s a comfortable human being. I don’t want him to be complacent, I want him to be comfortable.”