The Diamondbacks removed Shaun Larkin from the third-base coach’s role after their 3-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, Aug. 20, manager Torey Lovullo said, adding that he and the organization would get to work immediately on finding a replacement.

Larkin’s moves have been under intense scrutiny for much of the season, and in recent weeks, hardly a series would go by without him making a questionable decision on whether to stop a runner at third or send him home.

It happened again in the series finale against the Guardians, with Larkin sending the Diamondbacks’ Alek Thomas home on a strange play in which center fielder Angel Martinez stumbled to the ground on a base hit into left-center field.

Thomas wound up getting cut down at home for the first out of the fifth inning.

“We asked him to take on a lot,” Lovullo said. “He had never coached third base before at this level and probably hadn’t done it in quite some time. We were going to give him a little bit of a runway, but it had just gotten to the point where I needed to make this decision. It was very difficult.”

Lovullo said the organization has both internal and external candidates in mind.

“We’ve got to figure this out pretty quick,” Lovullo said. “We’ve got to get to work and figure out who that person is. We have some really good internal candidates. We’re going to sift through those now as soon as I’m done here.”

After an off day on Thursday, Aug. 21, they will host the Cincinnati Reds at Chase Field this weekend.

Larkin, who spent last season as the Diamondbacks’ farm director after an eight-year stint in player development with the Dodgers, will remain on the coaching staff as the infield coach, Lovullo said.

Larkin had not coached third base since doing so in the minor leagues in 2016. He was named the replacement for Tony Perezchica in November after Perezchica left for a similar job with the Houston Astros.

Lovullo said he could tell Larkin had his confidence shaken at some point during the year and had struggled to feel comfortable again at third base.

“I think it was chipping away at him for sure,” Lovullo said. “One thing is, he didn’t let it affect his daily grind with the infielders. I just think when the game started, there was a little bit of doubt and curiosity as to the timing. He couldn’t quite get on a roll or figure it out.”

Players had been visibly frustrated with Larkin’s decision-making for weeks — and often appeared shocked as certain plays developed. Twice during the Astros series in July, Diamondbacks baserunners had to slam on the brakes midway between second and third because Larkin had put up an unexpected stop sign for the runner ahead of them.

“I saw the reactions of certain guys,” Lovullo said. “I’m not an idiot; I pay attention. … That was a little bit of my calculus, for sure.”

—Nick Piecoro

Adrian Del Castillo delivers winning hit in 10th

Adrian Del Castillo came off the bench and delivered a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the 10th inning, driving in Pavin Smith from third base in the Arizona Diamondbacks‘ 3-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, Aug. 20, at Chase Field.

Starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt equaled his season high with seven innings of work, and winning pitcher Andrew Saalfrank (1-1) earned the win in relief as part of a strong bullpen performance for the Diamondbacks (62-66), who took the series.

In the 10th inning, the Diamondbacks’ Alek Thomas executed a sacrifice bunt to move ghost runner Smith to third base. Then Del Castillo blooped the first pitch he saw from Cleveland’s Matt Festa into shallow left field and Smith raced home.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. forced extra innings with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Diamondbacks bullpen shut down the Guardians for three innings, with scoreless work from Juan Morillo, John Curtiss and Saalfrank.

Pfaadt allowed two runs on five hits and struck out five. The Diamondbacks overcame some bad breaks to win.

Two fly balls that could not be tracked down by Diamondbacks outfielders turned into runs charged to Pfaadt.

Thomas nearly made a terrific diving catch on a Steven Kwan liner to lead off the top of the first, but had the ball slip out of his glove. Kwan wound up scoring later in the inning on Bo Naylor’s RBI groundout.

An inning later, C.J. Kayfus hit a liner to right field, where Corbin Carroll could not finish a sliding catch. It went as a triple, but it looked like a play Carroll usually would make.

The Diamondbacks scored their first run off Guardians lefty Parker Messick on Gurriel Jr.’s run-scoring single in the first inning.

—Nick Piecoro and José M. Romero

Andrew Hoffmann optioned, Bryce Jarvis recalled

The Diamondbacks on Wednesday, Aug. 20, made a roster move prior to their game against the Cleveland Guardians, recalling right-hander Bryce Jarvis from Triple-A Reno after having optioned right-hander Andrew Hoffmann to Reno following the previous night’s game.

Jarvis has appeared in eight games for the Diamondbacks this season and has a 4.40 earned run average without a decision. At Reno, Jarvis has been a starting pitcher, with a 3-5 mark and 8.19 ERA in 17 starts. He’s been called up and sent down three times each this season.

Jarvis will be used out of the bullpen, in a multiple-innings role.

Hoffmann struggled in his last outing on Aug. 16 at Colorado, allowing four runs and getting only one out.

“Hoffmann, maybe a little bit of consistency with balls on the plate,” Lovullo said. “Four-seam fastballs down and away would be a real nice play for him. He got a little predictable with his change-split.

“It’s an elite pitch, you can’t totally rely on that. You’ve got to be able to strike it and reset with different pitches.”

Lovullo thought Hoffmann might be dealing with some fatigue, as he played in the minors last season, then went to the Dominican Republic for winter league baseball in the offseason. Then came spring training, the minors, the majors with Kansas City, and his trade to Arizona.

—José M. Romero

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

Coming up

Aug. 21: Off.

Aug. 22: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (6-3, 3.58) vs. Reds RHP Zack Littell (9-8, 3.52).

Aug. 23: At Chase Field, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Nabil Crismatt (0-0, 1.80) vs. Reds LHP Andrew Abbott (8-3, 2.28).

Aug. 24: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (9-13, 5.28) vs. Reds RHP Brady Singer (11-9, 4.18).