Diamondbacks walkoff Rockies in series sweep, move into NL West tie with Dodgers
With the game on the line on Thursday afternoon, Corbin Carroll tried to treat it like another at-bat. He went to the plate with a plan. He wanted to follow that plan. It didn’t quite work out the way he envisioned, but it also didn’t matter. Carroll delivered anyway.
Carroll’s two-run single with two out in the bottom of the ninth gave the Diamondbacks a walk-off, 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday afternoon at Chase Field.
Their come-from-behind win finished off their first sweep of the season, moved them to 11 games over .500 at 34-23 and elevated them into a tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the National League West.
With runners on second and third, two out and the Diamondbacks’ trailing by a run, the Rockies and right-hander Pierce Johnson opted to pitch to the lefty Carroll rather than walk him to load the bases for the right-handed-hitting Christian Walker.
“I was trying to not expand the zone,” Carroll said. “I didn’t do a very good job of that. I figured with an open base, he wouldn’t really give me too much to hit. I wasn’t very successful at following that plan, but got the job done.”
The at-bat began with Carroll chasing a breaking ball in the dirt for a strike, and two pitches later, he swung again at a pitch out of the zone, a fastball off the plate. But Carroll managed to lace it beyond the outstretched glove of shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and into left field, driving home Gabriel Moreno with the tying run and Ketel Marte with the winning run.
Believe it or not, it was not just the first walk-off hit of Carroll’s big league career, it also was the first walk-off he could remember in his life.
“Yeah, I think so,” he said. “There’s definitely been opportunities. I can’t remember, even through Little League, I don’t think I ever got one. It’s pretty cool. It felt really good.”
The win, their 14th in their past 19 games, was emblematic of the hot streak in which the Diamondbacks find themselves. They trailed early but fought back to win, and though they leaned most heavily on their big boppers, they got contributions from players both up and down the lineup and throughout the roster.
Carroll, their star rookie and budding franchise player, delivered the walk-off, but Lourdes Gurriel Jr. came through with nearly as big of a hit three innings earlier. Trailing 3-0, Gurriel hooked a double into the left-field corner to drive home two runs. The hit changed the tenor of the game.
“I absolutely, 100 percent felt the tide (turn) in this game,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “That, to me, was when the energy switched.”
The Diamondbacks are a first-place team for a litany of reasons. Right-handers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly have been a dominant 1-2 punch atop the rotation. Two of the club’s bullpen additions from the offseason, veterans Andrew Chafin and Miguel Castro, have provided late-inning stability. The team has played strong defense and has picked its spots in which to run the bases aggressively.
“(We’re) just playing our game,” Walker said. “This is who we expected to be. To be honest, I think we all feel like there’s even more in the tank.”
Right-hander Zach Davies gave up three runs in 5 2/3 innings, and though lefty Kyle Nelson was not sharp, fellow relievers Jose Ruiz and Kevin Ginkel were. Aside from Carroll and Gurriel on the offensive side, Walker had three hits and Marte had a pair of doubles, one of which was a clutch, two-out shot into right in the ninth to set up the game-winner.
Rockies manager Bud Black said the Rockies opted not to walk Carroll in part because Johnson has had better success against lefties than righties and because his high walk rate could come back to bite with the bases loaded.
“It seems like every game everyone finds a way to contribute,” Carroll said. “Everyone comes in, regardless of what happened yesterday, and it seems like has that same belief and confidence. That’s fun to be a part of.”
—Nick Piecoro
Adapting to new rules hasn't been a big problem for Merrill Kelly
Arizona Diamondbacks veteran righthander Merrill Kelly is the first to admit he wasn't quite sure how all the new rule changes in major league baseball were going to go over. He's a traditionalist and didn't necessarily see any need to make changes.
Two months later he has changed his tune on that topic.
"I think everyone's still trying to get used to it. There are still situations in the game when you lose track of it a little and you kind of get sped up a tiny bit. You look about to get the pitch and there's four seconds left. So I think there still is a bit of a learning curve but it's kind of ironed itself out since the beginning of the season," said Kelly, holder of a 6-3 record and 2.83 ERA.
"I thought I was going to hate it, honestly. The first couple of games it felt super fast and when you're in it, you kind of get the pace and the cadence down. I definitely enjoy the pace of the game now."
Most pitchers had the balance of spring training to work through the intricacies of the new rules but Kelly was late in reporting because he was participating in the World Baseball Classic as part of Team USA so the new rules are not quite second nature to him yet.
"For me, it was a little different because I missed a lot of spring training with the clock because the WBC didn't have the clock so I only threw only two games with it before we got into the season. So the first few games were definitely sped up for me," he said.
Most have acknowledged that the rules favor the Diamondbacks and their style of play and that has been apparent in the first three games of the series against the Rockies. In the first three games of the series, all won by Arizona, the Diamondbacks have 10 stolen bases, five of those by newly recalled Jake McCarthy.
Dinelson Lamet, Colorado's starter in Wednesday's game, was called for a balk with runners on base.
Arizona's 53 stolen bases are fourth in baseball, trailing only Tampa Bay (77), Pittsburgh (60) and Oakland (54).
"With the speed we have it definitely benefits us more than other people. We saw it last night with Lamet balking at second. Pitchers already had to worry about us running but now the fact that they're on a clock and have a deadline to throw the pitch, that's a whole different dynamic," he said.
Major league baseball numbers have indicated games are an average of 30 or so minutes shorter with the changes and Kelly can see where the fans would appreciate that.
"Me just watching the game now, you didn't realize how much dead time there was in the game with guys just walking around the mound, guys waiting to get in the batter's box. Or guys throwing to first seven times in one at-bat. I think the fans are engaged just because there is more action going on."
—Michelle Gardner
Christian Walker on his 100th HR: ‘It’s all the good feels, for sure’
Christian Walker connected on the 100th home run of his career in the fifth inning on Wednesday night, doing so on a mammoth shot that banged high off the Chase Field batter’s eye in center field during the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 6-0 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Walker did not downplay the significance of the milestone.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s an honor. I’m proud of it, for sure. It’s cool to take a sec and kind of reflect on the career. It’s humbling, motivating, it’s all the good feels, for sure.”
Walker said he allowed himself to think about how his career seemed to be on shaky ground in the spring of 2017, when he bounced around from the Orioles to the Braves to the Reds before landing with the Diamondbacks. It took him a couple more years beyond that until he finally established himself as a big leaguer.
“Just thinking about when I was on waivers there in 2017 and for a few years, up and down, trying to earn my keep as a first baseman with a lot of really good first basemen around,” Walker said. “I never really doubted it, but there were times when it was just unknown. Looking back on that, it’s cool to see.”
Walker set a career high last year with 36 home runs. With 12 homers this year at roughly the one-third mark of the year, he is on a similar home run pace this season.
Walker said he retrieved the ball as a memento. He said he needs to build a display of some sort at his house, at which point the ball will go next to his Gold Glove Award from last year.
—Nick Piecoro
Rockies at Diamondbacks, 12:40 p.m., Chase Field
Thursday's Diamondbacks-Rockies pitching matchup
Diamondbacks RHP Zach Davies (0-1, 5.68) vs. Rockies RHP Connor Seabold (1-2, 5.94).
Davies gave up two runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Red Sox in his first start off the injured list following a seven-week absence due to a left oblique strain. … His pitch count was limited in that outing to only 75 pitches. He is expected to be permitted to throw closer to 90 pitches, which is more in the range of what he threw in most starts last season. … Davies faced the Rockies four times last year, posting a 4.05 ERA in 20 innings. … Seabold will be making his sixth start since moving into the rotation in early May. His first two weren’t bad, but his past three have been rough, with 15 runs (12 earned) allowed in 12 2/3 innings. … He faced the Diamondbacks in relief on April 29, giving up two runs in 3 1/3 innings in an outing at Coors Field. … Seabold throws his fastball in the 92-93 mph range. He also has a slider, change-up and curveball. He generates a below-average amount of swing and miss.
Wednesday game recap: Diamondbacks, paced by Tommy Henry, shut out Rockies; Christian Walker slugs 100th career HR
Coming up
Friday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (6-3, 2.83) vs. Braves RHP Charlie Morton (5-5, 3.59).
Saturday: At Chase Field, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (2-2, 5.37) vs. Braves RHP Spencer Strider (5-2, 2.97).
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).
Early Diamondbacks-Rockies reading
Stealing bases: Diamondbacks renew interest in running game with Jake McCarthy's return
Razzle dazzle: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. having fun with post-game fashion statement for teammates
Power play: How Diamondbacks' catcher Gabriel Moreno can add pop at plate
'Who I am at my core': Lovullo's relentless positivity withstands every Diamondbacks test
RIP bird, redux: Diamondbacks' Gallen hits bird in warmups, channeling legend of Big Unit
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks walkoff Rockies in series sweep, move into NL West tie with Dodgers
