PHOENIX — The Diamondbacks walked off the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5, on a single from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the 11th inning on Friday evening, a knock set up by a series of winning plays from Arizona’s top talent.
With Corbin Carroll on second base as the ghost runner, Gurriel poked a slider into left-center field off reliever Scott Barlow for the win, Arizona’s third one-run victory in a row.
Nine of Arizona’s last 15 games have been decided by one run, and the club is a much-improved 5-4 (17-24 this season).
The Diamondbacks have won back-to-back games on a walk-off hit in extra innings after defeating the Cleveland Guardians 3-2 on Wednesday via an Adrian Del Castillo game-winning single.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. CALLS GAME 😤 #Walkoff pic.twitter.com/Q5XztkEFvz
— MLB (@MLB) August 23, 2025
The D-backs (63-66) have six walk-off wins this season, and Gurriel is having himself a week in the clutch.
Gurriel hit the game-tying home run in the ninth inning on Wednesday, and he drove in the go-ahead runs in Tuesday’s win over Cleveland.
A trio of moments leading up to the game-winner allowed the Diamondbacks to overcome trouble in extra innings:
Corbin Carroll to Gabriel Moreno
The first was what Ketel Marte called a “Gold Glove throw” from Carroll in the top of the 10th inning.
A disaster had just struck.
Reliever John Curtiss fell to his knees while fielding a Jose Trevino bunt left of the mound, got up and sailed the throw to first base. The run scored, and Trevino reached second base.
One play after a gut punch, T.J. Friedl lofted a fly ball toward right field with one out and Trevino tagging up at third base.
Carroll came over toward the line and had several calculations to make in that moment.
He had to factor in whether the ball was fair or foul, the depth of the fly ball and the speed on third base to determine whether to grab it or let it go.
The ball drifted foul, but Carroll made the catch and fired home. The throw was slightly up the line but hit catcher Gabriel Moreno without a hop, leading Moreno into a diving tag of Trevino. Moreno spun and pumped his fist, Curtiss screamed and clapped his glove while the dugout and crowd erupted.
CORBIN. FRANKLIN. CARROLL. pic.twitter.com/6v1mEBWW0z
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 23, 2025
Carroll called Moreno’s tag the highlight of the play, and Moreno laughed as he agreed.
“That was a pretty good tag,” Moreno said.
“Super athletic play,” Carroll said.
Carroll has a career high eight outfield assists this season after focusing on strengthening his throwing arm during the offseason. He’s increased his velocity by 3 mph, per Statcast, turning a weakness into a tool.
“I want to help this team (and) that’s a way in which I can,” Carroll said. “Just holding my own in the outfield and trying to make all the plays and help the pitcher out.”
As for Marte’s Gold Glove comment, Carroll entered Friday second among National League right fielders with seven outs above average, trailing only Fernando Tatis Jr. (10).
Ketel Marte’s marathon at-bat
Down a run in the bottom half, Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo dropped down a sacrifice bunt to lead off the frame. Perdomo finished the game 1-for-1 with a single, three walks and the bunt.
It set up Marte with the tying run 90 feet away, but he quickly fell behind 0-2.
Marte entered the at-bat 0-for-4 and hitting under .200 over the last seven games. In what has been an emotional week, Marte battled. He fouled off eight of Graham Ashcraft’s pitches, and on the 13th delivery of the at-bat, he flared a single into center field.
Marte clapped his hands as he ran to first base, extending the game.
“The more you foul it off, the better his timing will get,” Spanish interpreter Ronaldo Valles said on behalf of Marte.
Ketel Marte ties the game in the 10th on a bloop single! pic.twitter.com/J0T03n6dBj
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 23, 2025
Gotcha leaning
With one out and a runner on third in the 11th inning, Reds star Elly De La Cruz hit a soft liner toward shortstop. Perdomo made the catch and without hesitation tossed the ball to third base. Blaze Alexander stepped on the base ahead of Friedl for the third out.
With Carroll as the Manfred Man in the 11th, the odds were with Arizona to close the deal, and it had the right player up to do so.
Gurriel delivered two more RBIs on Friday, tying Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead for August.
Gabriel Moreno returns
After missing more than two months on the injured list, Moreno returned to the lineup and hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the third inning.
Moreno attacked a 1-2 split on the inside edge and blasted it 403 feet to left field off Reds starter Zack Littell for a 4-2 lead.
The D-backs chased Littell after only three innings, putting some strain on Cincinnati’s bullpen to open the series. The Reds used seven pitchers on Friday.
Moreno finished the game 2-for-4 with a defensive highlight, and manager Torey Lovullo made it clear the D-backs are a different team with him back on the field.
“Obviously we missed him,” Carroll said. “That’s our guy back there.”
Moreno last played a game on June 14 before imaging revealed a fractured right index finger.
He said the road to recovery was a lot longer than he initially anticipated, but he did what he needed to keep his body as ready as he could.
“Feels good after almost two months-and-a-half doing rehab,” Moreno said. “Feels good to be back out on the field and doing my job. That’s what I always want.”
Ryne Nelson provides quality
Ryne Nelson tossed a quality start despite a shaky second inning in which he allowed two runs.
He responded with 11 straight batters retired and finished with six innings pitched and three earned runs on four hits. He struck out six.
“Proud of this team and the way we fought tonight,” Nelson said. “I thought it was a very gritty performance all around, and it’s hard to pick a player of the game.
“You got a bunch of big moments. Gabi’s homer and Ketel’s at-bat, Corbin’s throw and Perdomo’s double play. I think it was just a very hard fought win. I think that’s the kind of baseball this team can play.”
The Diamondbacks do not have the same talent level as they rostered before the trade deadline, but the club moved to 12-8 since then with a trio of maddeningly preventable losses in Colorado.
Part of that is having better success in close games, as the Diamondbacks are still competing like they have something to play for with a younger roster.
The postseason remains a long shot, as they are 5.5 games out with 33 to play, but wins like these past three show the fight that remains on this flawed but talented ballclub.
Up next for Diamondbacks
The series continues on Saturday at 5:10 p.m. MST with right-hander Nabil Crismatt making his second start for the D-backs. All-Star southpaw Andrew Abbott will pitch for the Reds.
Catch the game on ESPN 620 AM and the Arizona Sports app.
