Nothing separated the teams for four innings. Then the fifth inning changed everything. Arizona trailed 3-1 entering the frame, rallied to tie it, and then Ildemaro Vargas singled to left to score Lourdes Gurriel and Nolan Arenado, putting the Diamondbacks ahead for good in a 9-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night at Chase Field.
Corbin Carroll was the engine of the Arizona offense, going 3-for-4 with four RBI and a walk. He finished the night with a double and a triple among his three hits, carrying a .283 average and 42 RBI on the season. Ketel Marte added a solo home run to left in the sixth, his 12th of the year, extending the lead to 6-3. In the eighth, Carroll's triple to right scored Tommy Troy, Pavin Smith, and Gerardo Perdomo to push the margin to 9-5 and close out the scoring.
The turning point came in a busy fifth. Gerardo Perdomo scored on an error to make it 3-2, then Carroll scored on a fielder's choice by Gurriel to tie the game at 3-3. From that tie, Vargas singled to left, bringing home Gurriel and Arenado to give Arizona a 5-3 lead — the go-ahead swing the Diamondbacks would not relinquish. Victor Caratini had given Minnesota an early edge with a 430-foot home run to right center in the second, and the Twins extended the lead to 3-1 through four innings on an RBI single by Tristan Gray in the fourth. Minnesota made it interesting in the eighth with back-to-back home runs from Josh Bell and Royce Lewis, cutting the deficit to 6-5, but Carroll's three-run triple answered immediately.
Connor Prielipp absorbed the loss, falling to 2-5. He allowed 6 runs — 3 earned — on 9 hits over 6.0 innings, striking out 4 and walking 3 on 97 pitches, carrying a 5.17 ERA. Jonathan Loaisiga earned the win for Arizona, improving to 2-2 with 1.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, with a 2.86 ERA.
Arizona snapped a one-game losing skid and moved to 38-36, third in the division. Minnesota, which had won four straight entering the night, fell to 36-40.