When Corbin Carroll is swinging a hot bat, the Diamondbacks win games. Arizona’s superstar outfielder homered twice, including a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth, to finish an 8-5 comeback victory over the New York Mets at Chase Field.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“Today was a game situation where the right man in the right spot stepped up,” said Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo in the postgame breakdown on DbacksTV. “Corbin Carroll absolutely picked us up with one swing of the bat.”
The moment would not have been made possible without the three walks that preceded the home run. With a runner at first and the lineup turning over, the Mets opted to bring in their closer. Pavin Smith and Geraldo Perdomo both walked against Edwin Diaz, putting Carroll in a situation where a hit could put them ahead. He got an 0-1 slider that caught the middle of the strike zone and Carroll skied one out to right center for the big knock.
Corbin Carroll stays hot! This grand slam not only gives the #Dbacks the lead, but sets a franchise record. pic.twitter.com/hePRPVoVZR
— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) August 29, 2024
“Not trying to do too much, not trying to take the biggest swing in the world,” said Corbin Carroll in the postgame interview on DbacksTV. “Just happened to catch a pitch towards the middle of the plate and it went out.”
Eduardo Rodríguez cruised through the first four innings. His fastball location was spot on and he was utilizing the changeup and cutter off of it to keep the Mets off balance. He retired the first 12 batters and was in control of the game with a 4-0 lead.
“Early in the game I thought Eddie was very effective,” said Lovullo. “Quick, easy outs, controlling counts, a lot of ground balls, a lot of weak contact, and that’s who he really is.”
However, the veteran left-hander lost control in the fifth. Brandon Nimmo walked after a couple of borderline pitches were called balls. Following a groundout, J.D. Martinez hammered a high fastball off the wall in right-center to put the Mets on the board. Rodríguez was one strike away from escaping the inning with just one run in the inning with an 0-2 count on Francisco Alvarez but he made two location mistakes on fastballs and lost the lead. Rodríguez was charged with five runs in 5 1/3 innings on five hits, one walk, and five strikeouts.
Starling Marte used his speed and athleticism to put the Mets ahead in the sixth. The former Diamondback reached on a perfectly placed bunt, stole second, then scored on a play at the plate with a nifty slide despite a strong throw from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. from left field. It looked like the throw arrived on time, but Marte eluded Adrian Del Castillo’s tag.
“We practice fast tagging all the time, fast tagging is an art,” said Lovullo. “We talk about it, we practice it, it makes a difference. [Jeff Banister] does a really good job with the catchers receiving throws from the outfield. He hits some balls from the outfield where they work on fast tags. I thought it was maybe he thought he had him because of the timing, you know that spacing and you can see where he is and you just lay the glove down, but in this day and age, you can’t take anything for granted. The swipe tag in and out of there if the throw beats him is not the case anymore. The umpire made the right call, we just got to be a little bit better.”
The Diamondbacks had built an early 4-0 lead against Luis Severino. They started grinding down the right-hander in the second, scratching their first run on the board on a Luis Guillorme RBI single, making him throw 35 pitches to get through the inning. Guillorme worked a nine-pitch at-bat before slicing a line drive into left field.
Luis Guillorme grinds down Luis Severino and gets an RBI for his efforts. pic.twitter.com/qOaLQWUbMC
— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) August 29, 2024
As Severino got deeper into the game, the Diamondbacks worked on tacking onto the lead. Following a Jake McCarthy single, Joc Pederson launched a ball out to right to make it 3-0. Corbin Carroll tacked on a solo shot, hitting his longest home run of the season out to center field. It was Carroll’s eighth home run in his last 16 games.
Carroll annihilates this center-cut fastball. 8th homer in his last 16 games. pic.twitter.com/NNs2GhUB7o
— Burn City D-backs Talk????️ (@BurnCityDbacks) August 29, 2024
Even though the Mets took the lead against them, the Diamondbacks bullpen pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings to set the stage for the comeback. Kevin Ginkel and Ryan Thompson pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth inning respectively to keep Arizona within one run where they could take the lead with one swing of the bat. Justin Martinez capped off the comeback victory with a clean ninth inning, converting his seventh consecutive save opportunity.
Next Game
The Diamondbacks will try to take the rubber game of this three-game series. A win would be monumental, as it would lower their magic number to clinch a postseason berth to 20 thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker. Arizona will send right-hander Ryne Nelson (9-6, 4.29 ERA) while New York will go with left-hander David Peterson (8-1, 2.85 ERA). First pitch at Chase Field is set for 12:40 P.M. MST.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
