Adrian Del Castillo hits winning homer in 9th inning in 2nd MLB game, D-backs beat Phillies 3-2

PHOENIX (AP) — Adrian Del Castillo hit the winning homer in just his second game in the majors, hammering the first pitch of the ninth inning to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.

The Phillies rallied from a 2-0 deficit, tying it in the eighth on a two-out RBI double from Johan Rojas that scored a hustling Nick Castellanos from first.

That set up Del Castillo’s ninth-inning heroics. He jumped all over a 97 mph fastball from Jeff Hoffman (3-2), launching it deep into the right-field seats for his first big league homer. He was mobbed at home plate by his teammates while a crowd of nearly 38,000 roared.

Welcome to the big leagues, kid.

“Goosebumps, honestly,” Del Castillo said. “Straight up goosebumps. It was sick. I don’t even know how to describe it.”

Arizona's Ryne Nelson threw 7 1/3 brilliant innings, giving up just three hits and two runs, walking one and striking out nine.

Del Castillo finished with three hits and two RBIs. He was called up this week after starting catcher Gabriel Moreno went down with a groin injury in Cleveland. In 100 games this season for Triple-A Reno, Del Castillo hit .319 with 24 homers and 70 RBIs.

“You couldn’t ask for any greater moment for a young player,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “I get so excited for the players coming up from player development. I felt like I was 18 years old again for a few minutes.”

Justin Martinez (5-3) pitched the ninth, getting the victory with the D-backs' seventh walk-off win of the year.

The Diamondbacks took a 1-0 lead in the first when Del Castillo hit a looping RBI single to left center. Joc Pederson made it 2-0 in the third with a solo homer to right, which was his 19th long ball of the season.

Meanwhile, Nelson put on quite a display of strike throwing, retiring the first 12 batters he faced and throwing first-pitch strikes to the first 17 batters. At one point in the sixth inning, he had thrown 51 strikes and just 10 balls.

Nelson might have been pitching for his job in the starting rotation. Merrill Kelly is expected to return from injury this weekend, giving the D-backs six starting pitchers including Zac Gallen, Jordan Montgomery, Brandon Pfaadt and Eduardo Rodriguez.

Lovullo said he's not going with a six-man rotation so someone's got to move to the bullpen. The manager said he's not ready to make a decision.

“I just try to go out there, compete, and do whatever I can to make their decision as hard as it can be,” Nelson said.

Bryce Harper finally got to Nelson in the seventh, driving an opposite field homer to left field for his 26th homer of the year to cut it to 2-1.

“He's in a good spot right now,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

Philadelphia's Zack Wheeler gave up two runs on seven hits over six innings. The right-hander walked two and struck out eight.

MAKING MOVES

Diamondbacks: Called up RHP Scott McGough and optioned RHP Slade Cecconi to Triple-A Reno.

Phillies: OF Austin Hays (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day IL and LHP Kolby Allard was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. OF Cal Stevenson and RHP Max Lazar were promoted from Triple-A. 1B Darick Hall and RHP Max Castillo were designated for assignment.

UP NEXT

The D-backs will start RHP Zac Gallen (9-5, 3.75 ERA) on Saturday night. The Phillies counter with RHP Aaron Nola (11-5, 3.54 ERA).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Arizona Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo is pummeled by bubble gum during a post-game interview after he hit a walk-off home run against Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Josh Bell reacts to a strike call against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper is pictured after hitting a solo home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, right, hugs Adrian Del Castillo after he hit a walk-off home run against Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo gestures after hitting a walk-off home run against Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo celebrates hitting a walk-off home run against Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo, middle, is mobbed by teammates after hitting a walk-off home against Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo, middle, has ice dumped on him after hitting a walk-off home run against Philadelphia Phillies during the ninth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Josh Bell (36) slides safely into third base against Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Ryne Nelson pumps his fist after striking out three Philadelphia Phillies in a row during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll (7) somersaults while diving for a ball hit off the bat of Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Phoenix. It was the Phillies first hit of the game. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Philadelphia Phillies' Johan Rojas dives back to first base but is out during a force play against the Arizona Diamondbacks' Josh Bell during the sixth inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper gets high-fives from teammates after hitting a solo home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler prepares to throw against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Joc Pederson points skyward after hitting a solo home run against Philadelphia Phillies during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Ryne Nelson throws against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug 9, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Jake Sanderson scored 15 seconds into overtime and the Ottawa Senators stretched their win streak to six games with a 5-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.

It’s the first time since March 2017 that Ottawa has won six in a row.

Shane Pinto scored twice for the Senators, Claude Giroux added a goal and Josh Norris scored short-handed. Sanderson also contributed a pair of assists.

Leevi Merilainen stopped 21 shots to earn his first NHL victory.

Brock Boeser scored twice for the Canucks, and Quinn Hughes had a goal and two assists. Jake DeBrusk rounded out the scoring for a Vancouver side that lost its third straight outing (0-1-2). Kevin Lankinen made 17 saves.

Canucks: The team has lost four of its last five outings and some of its top stars have gone cold offensively. J.T. Miller has not scored in the six games he’s played since returning from a 10-game absence, Elias Pettersson does not have a point in his last six outings and Conor Garland last recorded a goal on Nov. 29.

Senators: Merilainen stepped in for Linus Ullmark, who has been a superstar for Ottawa in recent weeks. Heading into Saturday, Ullmark had powered the team to five straight victories after backup Anton Forsberg went down with an injury during a pre-game skate on Dec. 14.

Boeser knotted the score at 4 with 4:50 left in the game when he blasted a rebound past Merilainen.

Hughes now has 40 points on the season (eight goals, 32 assists). He is the seventh defenseman in NHL history to hit the mark in 33 or fewer games in multiple seasons.

The Senators visit the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, and the Canucks host the San Jose Sharks on Monday.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Ottawa Senators' Jake Sanderson (85) scores on Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko (35) during overtime of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ottawa Senators goaltender Leevi Merilainen (1) stops the puck against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks' Brock Boeser, right, celebrates his goal against the Ottawa Senators with Quinn Hughes (43) during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ottawa Senators' Jake Sanderson (85) celebrates his game-winning goal with Brady Tkachuk (7) after overtime of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks in Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)