Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star Ketel Marte set a new career high with his 33rd home run of the season in the first inning of Friday’s 7-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Marte jumped on Brewers right-hander Colin Rea’s first pitch and got the ball just to deep right field. Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick — who stole a home run from Corbin Carroll last weekend at Chase Field — jumped but failed to retrieve the ball.
Ketel Marte sneaks one out and gives the @Dbacks an early tour 🐍 pic.twitter.com/0Pa971lCHK
— MLB (@MLB) 21 September 2024
The hit gave Arizona an early 1-0 lead after it beat Milwaukee 5-1 in the series opener on Thursday. Marte nearly missed his 33rd big fly on Thursday with a hit against the wall.
Marte hit 32 home runs during his breakthrough 2019 season and had never managed more than 30 games until this season. In 2023, he managed 25. Injuries over the years have affected his performance, and even with a stint on the injured list last month (ankle), Marte’s power has been so consistent this year that he has been one of the best power hitters in baseball.
There was a stretch this summer where he seemed to hit a home run every day, as he hit 13 home runs from July 10 to August 10 (26 games).
The switch-hitter was fifth in the National League in terms of the number of home runs on Friday, only Shohei Ohtani (51), Marcell Ozuna (38), Kyle Schwarber (35) and Pete Alonso (34) were better.
He hit 12 of his home runs this season in the first inning, a feat that, according to Stathead, only Paul Goldschmidt has achieved in the D-backs jersey (13 in 2018).
What’s important for the D-backs is getting Marte back into the swing of things. He started 0-for-11 after coming off the IL on Sept. 6. Since then, he’s 7-for-27 (.259) with an .873 OPS in his last eight games entering Friday.
Marte recorded three hits on Friday, including an RBI double down the left field line and a bunt single.
