Stone Garrett starts MLB career with 4 hits in 1st 5 ABs for D-backs
Aug 18, 2022, 2:41 PM | Updated: 3:42 pm
It took eight years for Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Stone Garrett to reach the majors, and if he keeps hitting this way, he’s going to stay put.
Garrett’s first five at-bats of his MLB career resulted in four hits, including three doubles, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base.
Garrett debuted in the lineup on Wednesday, the same day as his call-up, and was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and one RBI.
The next day, batting second as the designated hitter after playing in left field the night prior, Garrett was 2-for-5 in Thursday’s 5-0 win against the San Francisco Giants.
The 26-year-old in the first inning had a single in his first plate appearance and went on to steal second base for his first swipe as a D-back.
Two innings later, Daulton Varsho was ruled out at second base after trying to stretch an RBI single into a double. Next up was Garrett, who connected with yet another double.
Josh Rojas made it back-to-back doubles to give Garrett his second run scored in two games.
Garrett became the first player in franchise history to have at least three extra-base hits in their first two games, according to D-backs communications.
Beyond the four hits already, Garrett has also proven that he destroys the baseball a good amount of the time he makes contact with it. Garrett’s first double on Wednesday left the bat at 102.4 miles per hour, and his single on Thursday clocked in at 108.3, per Baseball Savant.
In the fifth inning for Garrett’s third at-bat, a liner to left field was dropped by the Giants’ Joc Pederson, and that exit velocity was 102.0 miles per hour.
Garrett has a great story, one MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert chronicled.
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down minor league baseball in 2020, Garrett took up his real estate license and started that chapter of his life. Garrett was on LinkedIn and was about to delete his profile before an old video coordinator reached out to wish him well, and Garrett shot his shot asking if they knew anyone that needed an outfielder since the minors were back in full swing for 2021.
Two days later after that coach asked around, Garrett was signed for spring training with the D-backs. Garrett went on to post an .833 OPS in Double-A Amarillo. For the first time in his career, Garrett made the jump to Triple-A this year, where he mashed 28 homers and 95 RBIs in 103 games for a .900 OPS that earned him the call-up.
RBIs for Sergio Alcantara, Jake McCarthy and Carson Kelly, plus seven scoreless innings for Zac Gallen, helped the D-backs pick up the victory on Thursday. Gallen also had a career-high 12 strikeouts and his scoreless innings streak is now at 21.
