Jonny DeLuca scored on an error in the ninth inning, helping the Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 on Friday night and end the Diamondbacks’ six-game winning streak.
DeLuca walked from Justin Martinez (5-3) and scored from first base when center fielder Jake McCarthy mishandled Brandon Lowe’s two-out single that deflected up the middle.
“It’s just the definition of a team effort,” DeLuca said. “It’s always fun to play a game like this where it’s just a fight back and forth, and obviously coming out on top feels a lot better.”
McCarthy described his error as a lapse.
“I was coming in too fast, and I probably should have used my glove instead of trying to catch it with my bare hand,” McCarthy said. “I knew DeLuca runs pretty well, so I figured he would round third base aggressively. I just left it there, and that can’t happen.”
Joc Pederson and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had run-scoring singles in the first inning for the Diamondbacks, who have managed to stay in one of the NL wild-card spots despite several injuries. They have won 20 of their last 26 games since the All-Star break and 30 of 41 games since late June.
Corbin Carroll tied the game at 4 with a two-out, two-run home run off Rays closer Pete Fairbanks (3-3) in the ninth inning. This was Fairbanks’ third blown save in 26 opportunities.
“We didn’t play our typical game today,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “There were five or six identifiable things that we needed to clean up. When we do it wrong, we give up some runs and it leads to a loss. I don’t want us to dwell on this.
We’re going to use it as a teachable moment and keep pushing forward.” Josh Lowe had a two-run single in a three-run eighth inning against Ryan Thompson that put the Rays ahead 4-2.
