Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll has been pumping up his power numbers over the past month or more, and he continued that trend on Tuesday with a home run in a 3-1 win over the Miami Marlins.
The Diamondbacks (71-56) secured a series win and have the chance to sweep Miami off the field on Wednesday.
Carroll had already extended his on-base streak to 30 consecutive starts with a leadoff single, and in the fifth inning he nailed a hit into the outfield against Miami starter Edward Cabrera.
The home run doubled Arizona’s lead to 2-0 and ended Cabrera’s streak of seven consecutive batters retired. Carroll had earlier scored the game’s first run in the first inning on an RBI single by Joc Pederson.
Corbin Carroll – Arizona Diamondbacks (14)
pic.twitter.com/Vz92OTvA0X— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) 21 August 2024
Carroll has hit five home runs in his last 10 games. He has hit 11 since July 13, and entering Tuesday he was 10th in MLB in home runs and slugging percentage (.635) during that span.
In a season where it was sometimes rare to see Carroll hit a ball deep into the outfield and talk of a flat swing, he has turned his power struggles into a weapon for the D-backs’ offense at the perfect time with Christian Walker and Ketel Marte on the injured list. Carroll had hit just two home runs with a .310 slugging percentage as of July 6. Last year, when he was named NL Rookie of the Year and hit 25 home runs, Carroll had a .506 slugging percentage.
What’s changed from a batted ball perspective is that line drives are up 11 points, pop-ups are down 15 percentage points and hard hit rate is up from 26% to 44.7% since July 13. He was the league leader in pop-up rate and now has the upper hand on the ball and hitting line drives, which is in addition to his league-leading 11 triples this season.
His OPS has improved every month this season, from .725 in June to .822 in July to .925 in August.
Corbin Carroll has reached base in his last 29 starts ♨️
.910 OPS
9 hrs
5 3B
23 RBI
33 RThe @Dbacks The record in these games is 23-6. pic.twitter.com/HN5Znzk69i
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) 20 August 2024
The Diamondbacks needed the power of Carroll and outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who hit a solo home run in the sixth inning. Arizona finished the game with just four hits, but improved its record to 35-12 after hitting multiple home runs in one game.
Eduardo Rodriguez solid against Marlins
Eduardo Rodriguez made his third appearance after a 60-day injury list. Although the Marlins made him work early, he completed 5.1 innings with one earned run and earned the win.
The left-hander threw 24 pitches in the first inning and 40 in the first two, but he held the Marlins to their limits in four innings.
Rodriguez struck out five batters with just one walk. His changeup was particularly effective at making light contact.
Ryan Thompson, AJ Puk and Justin Martinez did the job, and Martinez made his fourth save of the year.
Defense played a key role in Arizona’s victory, especially Carroll’s sliding catch of the tying runner on second base to end the sixth inning.
CHARLES. pic.twitter.com/qhZljjkIfd
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) 21 August 2024
