Corbin Carroll dazzles in spite of Diamondbacks' loss to Braves

Corbin Carroll broke almost instantly, raced to his right, then executed a lunging, sliding, sprawling catch in center field on a ball hit by Michael Harris II in the third inning on Saturday night. MLB.com’s Statcast pegged the catch probability at 5 percent, but it is hard to believe such a play gets made even that often.

Carroll’s incredible catch was one of the few Diamondbacks’ highlights to come out of their 5-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves. For the second night in a row, Chase Field had an electric, playoff-like atmosphere. But unlike on Friday, the Diamondbacks were unable to deliver a victory.

Right-hander Ryne Nelson gave up three runs in 4 2/3 innings. He reached two strikes on 14 of the 23 batters he faced. He was unable to finish off any of them, the first time in 15 career starts he was unable to record a strikeout.

It wound up putting pressure on the Diamondbacks’ defense. The unit was up to the task, but it could only do so much. Braves hitters hit eight balls on a line or in the air with exit velocities of 95 mph or harder off Nelson, who might have been fortunate more of them did not find grass.

Certainly, his night would have been a bit more damaging were it not for Carroll. Leading off the third, Harris hit a low liner into left-center field. Off the bat, it looked like an easy extra-base hit — that is, until Carroll closed on it, then popped to his feet and let out a spirited hoot while nearly every one of his teammates raised their arms in celebration.

“I got a good jump on it,” Carroll said. “It definitely was a little further out there than most balls you catch. I didn’t know off the bat (I could catch it).”

Said Nelson: “That was a big-time catch. He saved me a run, for sure. It helps having guys like that out there.”

Where exactly “out there” Carroll plays depends on the day. He was in center field on Saturday but started in left on Friday night. In all three cities on the previous road trip — Oakland, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia — Carroll started games in both left field and right field.

It might not seem as drastic as moving from one infield position to another, but each outfield spot poses its own unique challenges — and bouncing between them is a “big ask,” manager Torey Lovullo said.

“You get very used to the angles and the backdrops and the ball flights and you get comfortable in one spot,” Lovullo said. “I’ve never allowed that to happen with him. He’s never once, in any of my conversations, asked why or what’s going on. He’s been very good at all three of those positions. It’s a challenge and he accepts that challenge. I think he loves challenges. He takes them head on.”

Said Carroll: “Honestly, that’s not an easy thing. When we’re on the road and I’m playing two spots on a road trip, all sorts of different angles and walls and stuff. I’m doing my best to get out there and get reads during batting practice and just making sure I’m checking out these surfaces.”

Meanwhile, Braves right-hander Spencer Strider worked into the seventh inning, giving up two runs and striking out seven, occasionally overpowering Diamondbacks hitters with his high-powered fastball.

“We just couldn’t get the big hit to put us over the top,” Lovullo said. “There was no continuity to what was going on (offensively), and Strider made it tough on us.”

Nelson gave credit to the Braves’ hitters for his lack of strikeouts, saying they had good takes on pitches he thought were well-executed. That said, Nelson has not been proficient at missing bats all year; he entered the day with one of the lower strikeout rates in baseball.

Lovullo said Nelson is regularly at work with pitching coach Brent Strom at refining the depth of his breaking balls and improving his change-up. He noted that those pitches flash effectively at times but maybe not often enough.

“You see it pop up every now and then,” Lovullo said. “I just think the secondary stuff hasn’t been as consistent as Nelly probably wants it.”

—Nick Piecoro

After rough first month, Scott McGough finding groove in D-Backs' bullpen

On May 9, before a home date with the Marlins, Brent Strom made a prediction about Scott McGough.

“When all the dust settles by the All-Star break,” the Diamondbacks pitching coach said, “I think you'll see a guy who is capable of closing games for us, which was what he was brought in here for.”

At the time, that seemed like little more than a fantasy. McGough — who signed a two-year, $6.25 million contract in the off-season — entered that game with a 5.87 ERA. He had allowed five home runs and racked up three blown saves, losing a late-inning role in the process.

Since then, though, McGough has been the steady presence he was signed to provide. In 10 appearances, he’s pitched 14 1/3 innings, striking out 19 and allowing just one run.

McGough did not point to any major adjustment that has spurred his turnaround.

“Just trying to throw more strikes and attack guys and throw to my strengths,” McGough said.

When Strom spoke about McGough back in early May, he suggested that he could be acclimating to the major league ball, which is different to those used in Japan, where McGough pitched from 2019-22. Strom thought the difference was impacting McGough’s splitter, which his primary secondary offering.

McGough, for his part, felt that he made that adjustment back in spring training, adapting to the pitch not getting as much vertical break as it did in Japan.

“The adjustment I've made is, I don't really try to throw that crazy one that was like middle of the zone and dropping down in the dirt,” McGough said. “I just try to throw it middle of the zone and let it work itself down to the bottom of the zone and hopefully get a ground ball or a swing and miss.”

The numbers back up McGough’s assessment. The whiff rate on his splitter is only up marginally, from 36.5% in March/April to 39.7% in May. The biggest underlying difference between the two months is in his arsenal, with the usage on his slider (his worst pitch analytically) dropping from 18.2% to 5.5% of his pitches.

Still, it stands to reason that getting more comfortable with the different ball has helped McGough adapt to the majors. There’s also the impact of small sample size. Early on, McGough was underperforming his underlying metrics. Over the past month, he’s been overperforming.

The product is a season-long ERA of 3.34 that falls directly in line with what most predictive metrics suggest McGough should have.

Regardless of the cause for his turnaround, McGough has felt the turnaround lift a weight off his shoulders.

“I had four losses,” McGough said. “That's not what you want. Especially when you're trying to earn your way on this team, that's not ideal. But at the end of the day, this is a good group of guys, they don't really look at that. Even though for me, I felt bad letting them down. But it's just about going out, doing your job and coming back the next day if you don't. These guys see that so it's worked out really well so far and I'm happy with where I'm at to help the team.”

—Theo Mackie

Diamondbacks vs. Braves | 7:10 p.m. | BSAZ

Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (2-2, 5.37) vs. Braves RHP Spencer Strider (5-2, 2.97)

Nelson has found something of a groove of late, his ERA having dipped almost a full point since May 12. The Diamondbacks are 4-0 in his last four starts, and he is 1-0 with a 3.31 ERA in his last three outings. Nelson is making his first career start against the Braves and fourth against an NL East opponent. He doesn't have a record in his previous starts against NL East teams, but has a 2.12 ERA from those outings. Strider, known for his frequent fastballs that top 100 mph, ranks eighth in the NL with a 2.97 ERA as of Friday. He has 106 strikeouts to 22 walks this season, and will be facing the Diamondbacks for the first time this season and second time in his career.

Pitching makes 1-run lead stick as Diamondbacks top Braves in series opener

Coming up

Sunday: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (7-2, 2.72) vs. Braves RHP Michael Soroka (0-1, 6.00).

Monday: Off.

Tuesday: At Washington, 4:05 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Tommy Henry (3-1, 3.73) vs. Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (1-3, 5.67).

What to know about the Atlanta Braves

The Braves arrive at Chase Field as the first-place team in the National League East, though they are coming off a disappointing series in Oakland, where the hapless Athletics somehow managed to take two of three earlier in the week. The Braves are averaging 5.04 runs per game, tied with the Diamondbacks for the second-best, behind the Dodgers (5.60), mark in the NL. The Braves have a 3.67 ERA as a club, the best mark in the league. Their rotation has a league-best 3.41 ERA while the bullpen has been the closest thing to a weak spot, ranking fifth in the league with a 4.04 ERA. RF Ronald Acuna Jr. is hitting .324 with 11 homers and 23 steals. C Sean Murphy, whom the Braves acquired from the A’s in the offseason, has a .286/.398/.553 line with 11 homers. 1B Matt Olson has a team-leading 17 homers. With LHP Max Fried and RHP Kyle Wright out with injury, RHP Bryce Elder has helped save the rotation by posting a 1.92 ERA in 11 starts. RHP Spencer Strider has a 2.97 ERA and while averaging an astounding 15 strikeouts per nine innings.

Pre-game reading

Diamondbacks win a thriller with clutch relief, defensive gems

Diamond Sports must pay full value of contracts to Diamondbacks, Guardians, Twins, Rangers

Diamondbacks' Lourdes Gurriel Jr. having fun with post-game fashion statement for teammates

Arizona Diamondbacks' MLB playoffs odds rising in 2023 season

Diamondbacks renew interest in running game with Jake McCarthy's return

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Corbin Carroll dazzles in spite of Diamondbacks' loss to Braves