Corbin Carroll Muscles His Way into MVP Race
Corbin Carroll has gone from the runaway leader in the National League Rookie of the Year race to being a near lock for an All Star berth and being in the thick of the early MVP discussion as well. He hit his first grand slam and had the first multi-homer game of his career, powering the Diamondbacks 11-6 victory the Detroit Tigers.
The first homer was a solo shot to left field in the top of the first to get the D-backs on the board. It came on a first pitch fastball over the middle from Tigers starter Michael Lorenzen.
Then in top of the 7th inning he fouled off several tough pitches before he broke the game open with a grand slam on a fly ball to left field that just stayed fair and over the wall. It came on the 7th pitch of the at bat on a fastball up and away.
Carroll's third hit of the night, a double down the right field line, raised his batting line to .307/.391/.575. .966 OPS, 158 wRC+. He has 13 homers, including six in his last 11 games, 18 stolen bases, and 45 runs scored. These numbers have thrust him on par with the league leaders in OPS, wRC+ and WAR alongside players such as Ronald Acuna Jr, and Freddie Freeman.
Donning the D-backs "Victory Vest", the first D-back to wear it twice, Carroll was his typical humble yet confident self after the game. Describing the grand slam at bat he said "Not trying to be too big, I fouled a few off, I was a little late, but just did a good job of protecting and got something I could handle." Looking up into the night sky he couldn't quite find the ball and wasn't sure it was going to go.
While he said he was feeling "pretty good" at the plate, he certainly wasn't predicting anything like this. "But it's a testament to all our hitting coaches and just continuing to grind away every day"
Merrill Kelly went 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, two walks, five strikeouts, and a solo homer, which came in the 7th inning with a 9-2 lead. His record improved to 8-3 on the year. He was engaged in a pitcher's duel with Lorenzen, who pitched very well for six innings before a seven run outburst in that 7th inning ruined his line. Through six he had only allowed two runs and had retired 12 in a row from the third through the sixth.
Emmanuel Rivera stayed hot with two more hits and a walk. He singled and scored on a base hit by Geraldo Perdomo in the second inning. Then he doubled home Christian Walker to drive in the first run of the 7th. He later walked and scored in the 8th on another base hit by Perdomo. Rivera is batting .367/.404/.490 with a 145 wRC+ in 104 plate appearances since being called up in April. He has only one homer, but has become a line drive machine, knocking nine doubles, driving in 15 and scoring 20 runs.
Drey Jameson and Miguel Castro both allowed solo homers in the bottom of the bottom of the 9th inning to make the game appear closer than it was. But this game was effectively over after Carroll's grand slam.
The D-backs are now 38-25, 13 games over .500 for the first time this season. They are 2.5 games up on the Dodgers in the NL West, after the Phillies walked off the Dodgers. Game two of the three game series is tomorrow morning 10:10 A.M. Arizona Time, 1:10 P.M. EST Ryne Nelson will be on the bump for Arizona, and Mathew Boyd gets the ball for Detroit.
