Arizona Diamondbacks rookie catcher Adrian Del Castillo will be hard-pressed to top his Monday performance.
Del Castillo — playing a major league game in his hometown of Miami for the first time — belted a grand slam and drove in a career-high six runs in Arizona’s 9-6 win over the Marlins. The teams will meet again Tuesday night in the middle contest of a three-game series.
The Diamondbacks are 7-2 when playing Del Castillo, who has a .333 average, a 1.072 OPS, three homers and 14 RBIs in that span.
“He’s got a lot more exciting times ahead of him,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said of the 24-year-old University of Miami product. “He’s been learning and growing rapidly inside our system.
“Normally, when a young guy gets called up, he’s a backup player. But (Del Castillo) has been inserted into a playoff run, and he’s getting a lot of reps.”
Tuesday’s pitching matchup will feature a couple of Eds — Arizona lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (1-0, 5.06 ERA) and Miami right-hander Edward Cabrera (2-4, 5.76).
Rodriguez, a 31-year-old veteran from Venezuela, has faced the Marlins just once in his career. He took a loss while pitching for the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 12, 2015, after allowing eight runs on nine hits in five-plus innings.
Signed by Arizona to a four-year, $80 million contract in December, Rodriguez didn’t start his season until Aug. 7 because of a shoulder injury. The Diamondbacks are 2-0 when he starts.
Cabrera, a 26-year-old from the Dominican Republic, has faced Arizona just once. He gave up four runs on two hits with four walks over 3 1/3 innings in a no-decision on May 10, 2023.
The Marlins are 6-7 this year when starting Cabrera, who has been much better at home (4.11 ERA in seven starts) than on the road (8.14 in six starts).
August has been — so far — his best month this season, as he is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in three starts.
Cabrera will be fronting a Marlins team devoid of many of its top players from earlier this season, including two-time batting champ Luis Arraez, 2024 All-Star closer Tanner Scott and notables such as Trevor Rogers, Josh Bell, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Bryan De La Cruz.
Miami has replaced those players with numerous rookies or others with light resumes.
However, rookie outfielder Kyle Stowers, who entered Monday hitting just .096 in 16 games since being acquired from the Baltimore Orioles, may be starting to emerge.
Stowers went 3-for-4 on Monday, drawing praise from Marlins manager Skip Schumaker.
“His batting practice has been better (lately). His early work has been better,” Schumaker said. “What we’re trying to get through to him, he is digesting. It just takes a little time.”
As for the Diamondbacks, they had to place star second baseman Ketel Marte on the injured list on Monday due to a sprained left ankle.
Marte originally got hurt on Aug. 10 and he appeared in just three games since then. He re-injured the ankle on Sunday. Pavin Smith was recalled from Triple-A Reno to fill the roster vacancy, and he went 0-for-3 with two walks and a run on Monday.
–Field Level Media