Geraldo Perdomo drove in Corbin Carroll with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, helping the Arizona Diamondbacks stage a comeback to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 on Friday night.
The win pushed the Diamondbacks above .500 for the first time since early April, improving their record to 48-47. Before Friday’s game, Arizona had lost five consecutive opportunities to reach a winning record.
Pitcher Ryne Nelson expressed optimism about the team’s momentum, saying, “It’s time to keep pushing forward. Let’s see how far above .500 we can go. I believe this team can get on a hot streak and start playing really well.”
The Blue Jays have struggled recently, losing eight of their last ten games.
In the eighth inning, Arizona trailed 4-2 before Alek Thomas hit a clutch two-out, two-run single. The hit drove in Perdomo and Eugenio Suarez, both of whom had reached base via walks against reliever Trevor Richards. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch.
The ninth inning began with Carroll drawing a walk off Chad Green (2-2). After a strikeout by Gabriel Moreno, Ketel Marte also walked. Carroll and Marte executed a successful double steal, and Christian Walker was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Perdomo then hit a fly ball down the left-field line that was caught by Daulton Varsho. Despite not being his best swing, the ball was deep enough to easily score Carroll, known for his speed.
Reflecting on his hit, Perdomo joked, “It wasn’t my best swing, but I’m grateful that Corbin was on third base. Thank goodness.”
Varsho considered letting Perdomo’s fly ball drop, thinking it might go foul, but decided against it as the ball drifted back towards fair territory.
“That fly ball is still on my mind,” Varsho admitted. “In a closed dome without wind, that ball shouldn’t have come back that far. I planned to let it drop foul and hope for a strikeout from Chad. But it drifted back so much and stayed fair. I was a bit stunned.”
Richards and Green struggled with control in the final innings, issuing five walks combined, four of which were unintentional.
