D-backs Lose Ugly Blowout to Athletics in Corbin Carroll's Return

The Arizona Diamondbacks lost an ugly game by a score of 13-3 at Salt River Fields against the Athletics on Wednesday.

Corbin Carroll went 0-for-3 in his spring training debut, but made some hard contact. Right-hander Ryne Nelson delivered a bit of an uneven start, while the pitching imploded in the later innings.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll Makes Return to Lineup

Carroll got into his first Cactus League game of 2026 after suffering a broken hamate bone in his hand. Carroll underwent surgery, and missed exactly one month.

He got three at-bats as the DH for the D-backs in Wednesday's game. His first at-bat resulted in a 113.6 MPH groundout, and his second at-bat resulted in a 300-foot flyout (also hit 95-plus MPH). He struck out on seven pitches in his final turn.

Carroll's result at this stage do not matter much, but to see him already getting loud contact is an encouraging sign. Carroll continues to impress with his ability to recover from injuries quickly and endure pain.

Arizona's offense was not proficient outside of Carroll, either. Ildemaro Vargas crushed a solo homer in the first inning and recorded a single, going 2-for-3. That would be nearly half of the D-backs' base hit total, with just five knocks on the day.

Junior Franco had an RBI groundout in the second, and Danny Serretti hit a solo homer in the ninth inning. That would account for all three of Arizona's runs.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Pitching Struggles

Nelson began his start in excellent fashion, striking out three of his first four batters. But he surrendered a walk and a two-run homer off a pitch below the zone to Andy Ibáñez in the second inning.

Nelson was pulled with two outs in the third, but re-entered in the fourth, giving up a solo homer to Max Muncy. The righty finished his day with 3.1 innings pitched, three earned runs and four strikeouts.

The D-backs' pitching staff fell apart in the middle innings, however. Righty Tom Hatch gave up five runs (three earned) in two innings of work and Ryan Thompson allowed two runs on a double and wild pitch.

Kevin Ginkel exited the game after allowing three hits and making a throwing error, giving up two (unearned) runs of his own. It is unclear as of this writing if that exit was health-related.

The Diamondbacks fall to 8-11 in Cactus League play this year, as their pitching staff continues to have issues.