For the first time in 11 series, the Diamondbacks won the first game when they beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-2 Tuesday night. The last time they did that this season was Opening Day’s 16-1 drubbing of the Rockies. Perhaps more encouraging than the win itself was the way they went about it.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Offensively, they built innings with bottom-of-the-order rallies, a staple of their offensive attack in 2023. The seven through nine hitters reached base six times in the game, setting up opportunities for the top of the order to put runs on the board. Corbin Carroll, who moved up to the leadoff spot after showing improvement at the plate on the last homestand, took advantage with five RBI, tying a career-high.
Carroll delivered the big hit in the seventh inning, with a home run to left center that turned a two-run lead into a five-run lead. Mired in a deep slump for most of the season, he has recorded eight hits in his past seven games and is showing signs of turning it around offensively. Scoring late has been an issue with the Diamondbacks this season, resulting in them playing a lot of close games with mixed results. Instead of sweating out another close game, the home run allowed the team to cruise to victory.
They created chaos on the bases at times. One such example came in the third inning, following a Jake McCarthy walk to lead off the frame. Reds starter Frankie Montas was visibly bothered by McCarthy’s speed and left a fastball out over the plate that Tucker Barnhart singled on. The Diamondbacks scored the first run of the game that inning on a fielder’s choice out at second. They also capitalized on the opponent’s mistakes, as an Elly De La Cruz error turned into the team’s second run of the game on a Carroll RBI single.
“That’s what Diamondback baseball is all about,” said Lovullo. “I don’t want us to be known as just a small ball team. I want us to be known as a team when we need to, we can, and we can slug when we need to.”
They also got fantastic starting pitching from their ace, Zac Gallen. At times, it looked like Gallen showed rust from not taking a mound in 11 days but he made the key pitches when needed. Five of his six strikeouts came with runners on base, painting the very edges of the strike zone. He kept Reds hitters guessing whether they would see a fastball on the edge of the zone or a swing-and-miss curveball starting from the same tunnel. The Reds never had a beat on Gallen for six innings.
Quality starting pitching and timely hits, with the occasional stolen base, was the team’s formula for success in 2023. The Diamondbacks have gotten quality starts (6 IP, 3 ER or less) from their rotation throughout the season, ranking 10th in Major League Baseball in Quality Start% at 42% (15/36). However, where they fall short is their ability to win those games. They are 11-4 when they get a quality start, with their four losses tying the Boston Red Sox for most across MLB according to Baseball Reference. If they can get some timely hits to support those starts, this team very well could find themselves back in the playoff picture.
Looking at the National League playoff hunt, the Diamondbacks don’t have the big arms or big bats up and down the order like the Dodgers, Phillies, and Braves do, but what they have is an athletic and hungry team. If they ultimately turn it around and go from a 16-20 start to their second consecutive trip to the postseason, this may be the game that turned their whole season around.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks and Arizona Cardinals for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
