PHOENIX — In a wild-card-race showcase of rookies Thursday night in the desert, the Cincinnati Reds’ Brandon Williamson got the first word but National League Rookie of the Year favorite Corbin Carroll got the last as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Reds 3-2.
Williamson matched zeroes for six innings with near-perfect Arizona starter Merrill Kelly.
But after the Reds rallied to the lead in the top of the eighth, Reds lefty reliever Alex Young surrendered a leadoff walk, and one out later, lefty-hitting Corbin Carroll lined a 2-2 pitch over the right-field wall for the winning shot in the opener of a pivotal four-game series.