Corbin Carroll Has Yet to Make His Impact in NLCS

The Diamondbacks had a chance to set the tone offensively in the first inning of the NLCS. Corbin Carroll led off the first inning with a single off Zack Wheeler. With 54 stolen bases in the regular season, it seemed like it would be the prime opportunity for the D-backs to test the Philadelphia Phillies pitching staff and their Gold Glove catcher J.T. Realmuto. Instead Carroll would never attempt a stolen base, sending a message to the Phillies that the second best base stealing team was afraid to push the envelope.

Since that hit Carroll has gone 1-for-18 in the National League Championship Series, which came against Wheeler in Game 5. He made a bad baserunning decision in the first inning in that game, failing to take note of where shortstop Trea Turner was positioned. With a ground ball hit one step to his right, Carroll retreated and ultimately was unable to score when the ball got through the infield. It would have cut the Phillies 2-0 lead in half and perhaps changed the momentum of the game. Instead Philadelphia cruised to a 6-1 win in which the D-backs never were really in it.

Lovullo talked about that play last night:

"I can't fault him in that situation. He ended up getting to third base, which is very critical, but I think when you are talking about elite base running and elite instincts, Corbin is in that category, a guy that can maybe make a better read if he knew where that shortstop was."

This series has not been a case where the D-backs star rookie has been overpowered or outmatched, with just two strikeouts in 20 plate appearances, but the hits haven't fallen in. There have been a couple of well-struck balls, with a 109 MPH gap shot that was impressively hauled in by Johan Rojas in Game 3 and he narrowly missed a game-changing home run in Game 5.

With their backs against the wall entering Game 6, we'll see if Carroll can rise to the occasion. If that is the case, the D-backs season will live to play another day.