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Eugenio Suarez describes his grand slam in the Diamondbacks’ victory over the Rockies
Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez talks about what happened when he hit his grand slam in his team’s victory over the Colorado Rockies.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Corbin Carroll caught the changeup in front, threw it into right field and threw his bat high in the air. The home run silenced the crowd at Tropicana Field, which was one hit away from celebrating a victory, and felt like it would go down in history as the latest magical moment that continued the Arizona Diamondbacks’ amazing run.
As luck would have it, things didn’t go according to plan that night. Centerfielder Jake McCarthy missed a ground ball in the ninth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays left the field with a 5-4 walk-off victory on Friday night, ending the Diamondbacks’ six-game winning streak.
But they didn’t give up easily, and Carroll’s latest home run felt like another significant moment in the Diamondbacks’ season, one that may be more important than the outcome of a single game.
Carroll may not be back to the form he was last season, but one thing is clear: he’s closer than he’s ever been this year. If he can get back to the top, it would make the Diamondbacks even more dangerous in October.
“I feel like I have some more answers now,” Carroll said. “I felt like I was in a place I’ve been looking for for a long time.”
Over the last 5½ weeks, Carroll has been hitting balls with regularity. He’s hit fastballs, off-speed balls and breaking balls out of the park, doing damage on pitches in a variety of places. He’s hit them to his pull side and to the opposite field. He’s opened games with home runs and ended one game with one. He even hit a home run against a left-hander by hitting a 99 mph fastball.
In his last 32 games, Carroll has hit 10 home runs. He had two of them earlier this season. In those 32 games, he hit .248/.341/.611. In addition to the home runs, he hit one double and five triples.
It wasn’t long ago that Carroll’s season seemed almost hopeless, as if he would have to fix the problems with his swing in the offseason. His average had fallen below .200, his OPS below .600. He was losing at-bats in manager Torey Lovullo’s lineups. And on some nights, the Diamondbacks had found ways to win without him.
But Carroll said it’s gotten better in recent weeks. That word — “feel” — is a key component of his success as a hitter, and he said he’s found some little cues, little feelings, to focus on to be right at bat.
One example is his stride length, he said. It can sometimes be too long, which he unconsciously associates with his small stature, with a deep-seated feeling that he needs to do more to generate power. But he said he has been able to recognize mechanical reminders to keep himself better under control.
“Between at-bats, I can go back to the iPads and see, ‘Hey, I’m getting long again,'” Carroll said. “I have to think this with my hands or this with my front or this with my front shoulder — I just have to have some of those key points that I can jump back to and try to get myself in a good position for the next at-bat.”
He also pointed to the work he’s done before games on his hitting discipline, trying to focus on more specific parts of the strike zone. There are times, he said, when a more targeted approach can lead to more strikeouts, but he believes it’s better than the alternative.
“I feel like that’s almost part of a good process, hey, you’re so confident in your plan that you have no problem taking a ball that could hit the corner,” Carroll said. “If you start swinging at that ball, it could kind of get out of control from there.”
On Friday, trailing 2-1 in the ninth inning, Carroll hit a changeup that Rays closer Pete Fairbanks hit over the middle of the plate. He didn’t miss, sending the ball to right at 104.9 mph. The Diamondbacks had led 2-1 before falling behind 4-2 in the eighth inning, but Carroll’s hit tied the game and gave the Diamondbacks confidence that this would be another fairytale ending for them.
Instead, they ended up walking slowly off the field at the end of the inning. With Jonny DeLuca on first base, the Rays’ Brandon Lowe hit a single to center, a ball that first bounced off the mound and then ricocheted off the glove of second baseman Blaze Alexander. As DeLuca raced to third base, McCarthy tried to scoop up the ball with his bare hand. It splashed away, and DeLuca scored the game-winning run.
“It was just a slip-up,” McCarthy said. “I was going too fast and probably should have put a glove on instead of aiming with my bare hand.”
The loss was just the Diamondbacks’ fourth in their last 22 games and cost them a game in the division. The victorious Los Angeles Dodgers extended their lead in the National League West to three games, although the Diamondbacks still have a four-game lead on one of the top two wild-card spots.
Assuming the Diamondbacks can hold that position, having Carroll locked in would greatly increase their chances in October. Carroll pointed to some areas where he still wants to improve, including a desire to show Lovullo that he can handle left-handed pitching. But he admits his confidence is better than it has been during parts of the year.
“I still feel like I have a lot of work to do, and that’s what I’m looking forward to for the rest of the year and the offseason. (But) now that I’m back to a point where I’m hitting balls harder down the line and not hitting balls up as many, I have a chance to be successful. …
“I finally have a few things, a few keywords and a few feelings, and I go to the stadium every day and feel like I can give myself the best chance to help the team.”
Ketel Marte is stuck again, but could return to action “very soon”
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Ketel Marte appeared to be in good spirits Friday, a good sign that the Arizona Diamondbacks star second baseman is close to returning from an ankle injury.
“I’ve known him long enough that I can tell when he’s not feeling well – he’s very quiet and has his head down,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “But he’s been very engaged the last few days and I see the big smile on his face.”
“Judging by his appearance, I think we’ll be seeing him very, very soon.”
Marte did not play in Friday’s series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. He has missed virtually the last four games, save for the single inning he played against the Colorado Rockies on Monday before experiencing further discomfort in the ankle he injured last Saturday night while playing second base.
Blaze Alexander of the Diamondbacks on his promotion from Reno
The Arizona Diamondbacks promoted infielder Blaze Alexander from Triple-A Reno after second baseman Ketel Marte suffered an ankle injury.
When asked when he expected to return to the team, Marte replied: “Maybe tomorrow.”
He completed many of his usual pregame drills on Friday afternoon, including catching ground balls on the field.
Afterwards, Lovullo said Marte would let him know how he felt to assess his availability as a substitute.
Marte underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan on Tuesday, which revealed he had a “mild ankle sprain,” Lovullo said.
Pitching duel Diamondbacks-Rays on Saturday
Diamondbacks at Rays, 1:10 p.m., Cox, Chapter 34
Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (9-5, 3.69) vs. Rays LHP Jeffrey Springs (0-1, 4.61).
At Tropicana Field: Gallen allowed one run in 4⅓ innings against the Phillies last week before exiting with cramping. After the game, he said he didn’t expect it to be a serious problem and didn’t expect to miss much more time. … Gallen had a couple of shaky starts shortly after returning from the injured list in late June, but he’s been better in recent games, posting a 3.18 ERA in his last 28⅓ innings. … He’s faced the Rays just once in his career, allowing four runs in six innings in a start last year. OF Jose Siri hit a solo home run against him. … Springs had a stellar 2022 season (2.46 ERA in 135⅓ innings) and was off to a strong start last year when he suffered an injury that ultimately required Tommy John surgery. This will be his fourth start since returning from injury last month. … His last outing was strong. Against the Orioles, he allowed just one run on six hits, issued no walks and struck out eight times in five innings. … He averaged 90.3 mph with his fastball while also incorporating a changeup, slider and curveball.
Soon
Sunday: In Tampa Bay, 10:40 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (3-0, 2.43) vs. Rays RHP Taj Bradley (6-7, 3.49).
Monday: In Miami, 3:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (7-6, 3.98) vs. Marlins TBA.
Tuesday: In Miami, 3:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (1-0, 5.06) vs. Marlins RHP Edward Cabrera (2-4, 5.76).
