Del Castillo punctuates D-backs' strong trip with go-ahead HR in 10th

BALTIMORE -- The Diamondbacks’ injuries have forced Adrian Del Castillo into the catcher’s gear for half of his first six starts this season. The way it’s going, he might start asking for the assignment.

Del Castillo hit a tiebreaking two-run homer off Tyler Wells, added his first career triple and drove in five runs, and the Diamondbacks completed an excellent nine-game, three-city road trip with an 8-5, 10-inning victory over the Orioles on Wednesday afternoon at Camden Yards.

“I kinda like it,” said Del Castillo, who caught in only four of his 30 starts in 2025. “In a way, it gets my mind off each at-bat if I get out. … You’re out there calling pitches, winning a ballgame back there as well.”

Arizona still sees its 2021 Draft pick as mostly a DH. But with Gabriel Moreno out with a strained left oblique since Saturday -- and his replacement not arriving until Tuesday -- Del Castillo is one of several players asked to sacrifice of late.

The result? The Diamondbacks (11-8) completed their East Coast swing with a 6-3 record and three series victories over the Mets, Phillies and O’s.

“They’re winning players with a winning attitude,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “There’s good leadership on this team. There’s a good culture. The leaders carry the torch here and they don’t want to let bad things happen, and they address it right on the spot.”

Corbin Carroll has shaken off a hip flexor concern to play in five straight games, when the initial plan called for a rest day in Baltimore. On Wednesday, he doubled twice and scored two runs as the Diamondbacks improved to 6-2 in day games and 3-0 in rubber games.

“We talk about it, ‘What are you going to look like in Game 3’s, when you’ve got to win a series?” Lovullo said. “I think the guys were hungry for that win today.”

Ildemaro Vargas bunted for a single in the second inning to run his franchise-record hit streak to start a season to 12 games, one night after he temporarily took over Ketel Marte’s leadoff spot on short notice and connected on a three-run homer.

And one night after using one pitch to bail his team out of a bases-loaded, eighth-inning jam, Ryan Thompson (1-0) worked a perfect ninth to force extras. Juan Morillo completed a bounceback outing in the 10th, retiring all three batters he faced for his second career save.

“Definitely happy, but not content,” Del Castillo said of the clubhouse mood. “Obviously, we’re going to enjoy this off-day we have tomorrow at home, and then back at it on Friday.”

The Diamondbacks even won another series despite the least dominant outing of the season from Eduardo Rodriguez, who allowed four runs over five innings. He yielded six hits and walked four on 98 pitches, and his 5.4% whiff rate against Orioles batters was the lowest of the 33-year-old’s career, something he attributed to a lack of fastball command.

“To use your changeup, to use all your offspeed, you have to locate your fastball, you know?” said Rodriguez, who is still carrying an impressive 1.96 ERA through four starts. “And my fastball wasn’t working great today.”

Fortunately, Del Castillo was there to pick him up. He’s now produced a modest six-game hit streak with 10 RBIs.

The first two in the finale came on a third-inning drive to the left-field warning track off Kyle Bradish that caromed off Weston Wilson’s outstretched glove.

Originally ruled an error after Del Castillo raced into third standing, the official scorers at Oriole Park quickly reversed their decision and gave him a triple.

“Honestly, I didn’t even know it was an error,” Del Castillo said. “I was just happy. The runs scored, you know? It was a big moment.”

His RBI groundout in the seventh briefly restored the D-backs’ lead at 5-4 before Leody Taveras’ pinch-hit knock off Kevin Ginkel leveled it again in the bottom half.

Then came the two-run drive to right-center off Wells that finally broke open what had been a close scrap all afternoon.

“Just a good pitch to hit,” Del Castillo said of Wells’ dead-center fastball. “I was trying to look kind of up. Get a good pitch to drive into the outfield and try to score the runner on third.”