In his second home run of the night, Corbin Carroll delivered a decisive blow for the Diamondbacks, launching a two-out grand slam in the 8th inning to propel his team to an 8-5 victory over the Mets on Wednesday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Carroll has been on a tear recently, smashing 15 home runs over his last 42 games, during which the Diamondbacks have gone 32-10. This surge stands in stark contrast to his earlier performance this season, where he hit just two home runs in the first 87 games, and the Diamondbacks were hovering slightly below .500 with a 42-45 record.
After the game, Carroll spoke with Todd Walsh on the Diamondbacks‘ TV broadcast about his mindset during that critical at-bat. “A base hit probably wins it or at least puts us ahead, so I wasn’t trying to do too much or take the biggest swing in the world,” Carroll explained. This measured approach allowed him to elevate a slider that stayed in the zone just long enough for him to connect perfectly.
A significant factor in Carroll’s turnaround this season has been the unwavering trust of his teammates. After one of the best rookie seasons in MLB history last year, expectations were sky-high for Carroll heading into 2024. Despite his early struggles, no one in the clubhouse lost faith. “I think when I was going through those tough times, the biggest thing for me was knowing my teammates had my back the whole way. They weren’t asking me to do more, just providing comfort when times were hard,” Carroll shared.
Manager Torey Lovullo also praised Carroll’s performance, saying, “Today was a game situation where the right man in the right spot stepped up. Corbin Carroll absolutely picked us up with one swing of the bat. We were battling through a certain degree of frustration—they chipped away at us and took a 4-0 lead in a matter of five batters, and we just couldn’t get our footing for the next couple of innings. Clearly, it was Corbin’s day… There were really good, patient approaches throughout the game.”
The Diamondbacks will now aim for their third straight series win with a rubber match against the Mets on Thursday. Ryne Nelson is expected to start for Arizona, and the Diamondbacks have an 8-1 record in the last nine games where Nelson has taken the mound
