For the first time in over a month, Corbin Carroll’s season batting average has reclaimed the .200 mark. The 2023 Rookie of the Year went 3-for-5 at the plate in the Diamondbacks’ 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres on Thursday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!After the game, manager Torey Lovullo praised Carroll’s performance, saying, “He’s [Corbin] moving in the right direction and we have seen that coming internally, you know we’ve seen the signs of improved pitch selections… He hit some really tough pitches today and he was all over the baseball field. That’s what he is capable of doing.”
Carroll started strong with a single up the middle on the first pitch of the game. He then scored on a Christian Walker double, giving Arizona an early 1-0 lead. On his second at-bat, Carroll again made contact with the first pitch, driving a fastball into center field in the second inning. He picked up his third hit of the night with a double in the seventh inning, eventually scoring the winning run.
In a post-game interview with Todd Walsh, Carroll noted that the atmosphere at Petco Park featured the loudest crowd noise he had heard all year. Reflecting on his at-bats, Carroll mentioned that he enjoyed dealing with fastballs up and in, a pitch location he has been focusing on recently. Both of his singles came on 95 MPH fastballs in that spot.
The Diamondbacks also brought some “chaos” back into their game plan, a strategy they often used in 2023. Carroll set the tone early with a stolen base in the first inning, advancing to third on a throwing error. His presence on the basepaths seemed to force a balk in the second inning. Carroll commented, “Just a little bit of everything tonight—grinded some runs out, a couple of home runs, and more runs grinded out. It was just a good day.”
The Diamondbacks have now won five of their last six games. They will be back in action tomorrow at 6:40 PM with Brandon Pfaadt expected to take the mound.
