Nelson's strong start, Carroll's heroics not enough to extend win streak

ST. PETERSBURG -- The D-backs expect to win every night. Since they hardly lose these days, who can blame them?

That is what made Friday night’s result against the Rays so surprising.

The D-backs got a stellar start from right-hander Ryne Nelson and some ninth-inning magic from Corbin Carroll. But an uncharacteristically bumpy night for the bullpen and a dash of sloppy defense led to a 5-4 loss at Tropicana Field, just Arizona’s fourth defeat in its past 22 games.

“I don't want us to dwell on this,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “We're going to use it as a teaching moment. We're going to keep pushing forward, because we're in a good spot.”

Nelson had put Arizona in a good spot into the seventh inning thanks to another impressive outing. He allowed only one run through 6 1/3 frames, walked none and struck out six. He has tossed the most innings of any pitcher since the start of July (56) and has compiled a 2.73 ERA and a .593 opponents’ OPS over that span.

And he may not be in this rotation long.

With Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery all healthy -- and Lovullo against implementing a six-man rotation -- Nelson may be the odd man out in the group. Whether he stays or heads to the bullpen is a decison that Lovullo says hasn’t been made yet. The 26-year-old is doing what he can to make that decision a tough one.

“Everyone is aware of the situation,” Nelson said. “I think it's maybe a little freeing at times, where I just go out there and pitch like it's my last time. It is what it is. I'm just going to go out there whenever I get the ball and do what I can to help the team.”

Nelson’s 2-1 lead held up until the eighth, when the Rays struck for three runs against right-hander Ryan Thompson, who was making his first appearance at Tropicana Field after spending his first four seasons with the Rays before joining the D-backs last year. The critical hit in the inning was Josh Lowe’s 70.3 mph, two-out blooper that brought home the tying run and, once the ball bounced up and deflected off of left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., the go-ahead run as well.

They were the first earned runs charged to Arizona’s bullpen in four games.

The Rays tacked on another run in the eighth, but the D-backs were still optimistic that something, as has happened so often of late, would ultimately turn the game in their favor.

Then it happened.

With the team down to its last strike, Carroll clubbed a changeup from Pete Fairbanks into the right-field seats for a game-tying two-run shot. The star leadoff hitter knew he got all of the pitch as he flicked away his bat coming out of the box.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the D-backs’ first game-tying dinger when down to their final strike in the ninth inning since Eduardo Escobar’s solo homer against the Angels on June 11, 2021.

“There's no thought of losing,” said Carroll, who has homered 10 times in the previous 32 games after having only two home runs prior to that this season.

Nelson, watching in the clubhouse as the ball left Carroll’s bat, thought to himself, “Here we go. This is what we do.”

He’s not wrong. Not only have the D-backs been stringing together wins in bunches, 12 of their previous 24 wins have been come-from-behind triumphs.

But for one night, the ball ultimately didn’t bounce the D-backs’ way.

In the bottom of the ninth, Justin Martinez permitted a four-pitch walk to Jonny DeLuca, who entered the game with a .182 average. One batter later, Brandon Lowe smacked a single up the middle that made contact with the mound as well as the glove of diving second baseman Blaze Alexander.

Outfielder Jake McCarthy hustled in to collect the ball as it was slowing to a stop in shallow center, but his attempt to barehand the ball was unsuccessful. Although DeLuca was originally content to pull in at third, he charged for the plate with the winning run once he saw the ball squirt away from McCarthy.

The game-ending error was Arizona’s 47th on the season, the fewest in MLB.

“Just a lapse,” McCarthy said. “Coming in too fast. Should have put a glove on it instead of barehanding. DeLuca, I knew he runs pretty well, so I figured he was going to round third pretty aggressively. I should have just gloved it there. Can't happen."