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The Arizona Diamondbacks, in improbable and near-unbelievable fashion, won a baseball game they could hardly afford to lose on Tuesday night.
Arizona used six relievers in this game, but the W would be plastered next to the name many fans may be learning for the first time.
Right-hander Gerardo Carrillo fired a 92.7 MPH cutter into the strike zone on the seventh pitch of an extended at-bat.
Pittsburgh Pirates DH Tyler Callihan swung and missed, and Carrillo unleashed a burst of emotion.
Not only had Carrillo managed to secure an 8-7 victory in the 12th inning of a critical, Wild Card-affecting contest, he'd sealed the book on his first major league win in just his third major league appearance at age 27.
"[I] was super excited," Carrillo said, through a translator, postgame, speaking to Todd Walsh of D-backs.TV.
"[I] understood the situation and the importance of it.
But [I] was just trying to execute [my] pitches, and it actually worked out." "One of [my] goals is always being ready for any situation.
So throughout the whole game, [I} was always having the expectation to be part of the game." Carillo, with a taxed D-backs bullpen behind him, entered in the 11th with a 7-7 tie, thanks in large part to Paul Sewald's third blown save of the year.
Carrillo stranded the ghost runner with a strikeout and a ground ball double play set up by an intentional walk.
With an 8-7 lead, he went back out for the 12th and struck out two more.
After just three appearances (six innings) his ERA is 1.50.
"He stood on the mound like he'd been there for ten years and just pumped the zone full of strikes," manager Torey Lovullo said.
So, just how did the Diamondbacks find their July 28 hero? Who is Diamondbacks' Gerardo Carrillo? Carrillo was one of Arizona's offseason minor league free agent signings.
The transaction was somewhat lost in the regular roster churn of the offseason and subsequent spring training.
Carrillo had never appeared in the major leagues until this season.
The Mexican-born righty was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016, but he's since spent time in the Nationals and Rangers organizations.
He held a 4.15 ERA in Triple-A Reno when he was a surprise note in a last-second transaction on July 18.
Likely possessing an upward-mobility clause in his MiLB deal, Carrillo was added to Arizona's 40-man roster at the time.
Three days later, Carrillo was up in the majors, as righty Drey Jameson went on the IL.
He made his MLB debut against the Athletics in a blowout win, giving up one run in two innings.
The command did not look exceptionally sharp in his first game, but the stuff was immediately apparent.
Carrillo has a 97 MPH sinker/four-seam combo, a 92-93 MPH cutter, a devastating splitter and a pair of sharply-moving breaking balls.
He is not wanting for pure stuff.
Whether or not the command can be consistent remains to be seen.
But it was strong on Tuesday night.
He landed 13 of his 17 pitches for strikes and got four whiffs on 10 swings.
It's still a small sample size, but Arizona might have something in Carrillo.
An Arizona native, Alex D'Agostino is the Publisher and credentialed reporter for Arizona Diamondbacks On SI.
He previously served as Deputy Editor for Arizona Diamondbacks and Arizona Cardinals On SI and covered both teams for FanSided.
Alex also writes for PHNX Sports.
Follow Alex on X/Twitter @AlexDagAZ.
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