Carroll's walk-off homer lifts Diamondbacks past Marlins 8-7

PHOENIX - Corbin Carroll waited out the chaos in the ninth, then ended it.

With one out and Tommy Troy on second, Carroll pulled a splitter from Miami reliever Jack Ralston just inside the right-field foul pole for a two-run walk-off homer - his 21st of the season - and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Marlins 8-7 on Monday night at Chase Field, the Associated Press reported. ESPN's box lists Carroll 2-for-5 with three RBI, matching the AP account that framed the swing as the finishing blow after Arizona had trailed by three as late as the seventh.

The inning had already turned strange before Carroll stepped in. Closer Pete Fairbanks walked leadoff hitter Gabriel Moreno, then threw one pitch to Geraldo Perdomo and left with an apparent injury. Ralston (0-1) took over, took a sacrifice bunt from Perdomo that moved pinch-runner Troy into scoring position, and never got a second out. Carroll's drive stayed fair by a few feet and sent Arizona home with a win it had spent eight innings chasing.

Lawlar cuts the deficit

Arizona trailed 7-4 after Kyle Stowers doubled home Joe Mack and Xavier Edwards singled Stowers home in the seventh. Jordan Lawlar answered in the eighth. Tim Tawa walked, and Lawlar homered to left off Tyler Zuber for his fifth of the year, cutting the deficit to 7-6. The CBS box has Lawlar 2-for-4 with two RBI and a stolen base - the swing that made Carroll's ninth-inning at-bat matter.

Carroll had already driven in a run earlier. In the fifth, with the bases loaded and one out after Lars Nootbaar's infield single, Moreno's hit-by-pitch and Perdomo's walk, Carroll singled to shallow left to score Nootbaar and pull Arizona within 5-4. Sandy Alcantara stranded the other two runners by striking out Nolan Arenado and retiring Tawa on a flyout, but the RBI single was the first crack in a night that had started poorly for the Diamondbacks' lineup.

Nootbaar finished 3-for-5 with two RBI and a homer that capped a three-run third, when a shortstop throwing error helped Arizona erase Miami's early lead. Pavin Smith had doubled and scored; Lawlar singled; Nootbaar went deep to right-center. That frame got Arizona even. It did not finish the job.

Burnes' second start, then the bullpen

Corbin Burnes, in his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery on Sept. 8, lasted 4 2/3 innings and allowed five runs on five hits with four strikeouts and no walks, per the ESPN pitching line. Jakob Marsee and Javier Sanoja hit back-to-back homers in the fourth after Sanoja's two-run triple and Mack's sacrifice fly had already put Miami ahead 3-0 in the second.

Jonathan Loaisiga, Kevin Ginkel and Justin Martinez bridged the middle. Juan Morillo (4-4) struck out the side in the ninth around a walk - three punchouts that kept the game at 7-6 long enough for the bottom of the order of events that followed Fairbanks' exit.

Alcantara worked five innings, seven hits, four runs, two walks and six strikeouts. The AP noted he has thrown 205 innings this season, the most in the majors. He left with a lead that did not hold.

Wild-card breathing room, one swing at a time

Arizona improved to 80-71 and remained 2 1/2 games behind San Diego for the final National League wild-card spot, the AP wrote, with the Padres riding an eight-game winning streak. Carroll's second-half batting average sat at .214 entering the at-bat, per the AP - a cold stretch that made the walk-off land louder than a midseason highlight.

Tuesday's series game lists Michael Soroka (8-5, 3.53 ERA) for Arizona against Janson Junk (6-9, 4.54) for Miami. Monday's result will not rewrite September by itself, but Carroll's foul-pole drive turned a three-run deficit and a messy ninth into a win Arizona needed to stay within shouting distance of October.