ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Vet move: D-backs INF Ketel Marte dekes baserunner to steal an out

Mar 4, 2023, 5:47 PM
Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte throws out Chicago Cubs' Nico Hoerner during the third inning of ...

Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte throws out Chicago Cubs' Nico Hoerner during the third inning of a spring training baseball game, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)

(AP Photo/Matt York)

Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte found a way to make the larger bags look small by fooling a baserunner during a spring training game on Saturday.

In the first inning at Salt River Fields, Tim Lopes of the San Diego Padres took off on a 3-2 count and stole second. D-backs RHP Brandon Pfaadt picked up the punch out, but Marte secured essentially a double play by fooling Lopes into thinking the throw from catcher Carson Kelly went into center field.

Lopes lifted his foot off the base for a second, and Marte applied the tag. The veteran infielder had quite the smile on his face.

The bases are 18 inches wide compared to 15 inches in the past, but baserunning blunders are far from extinct.

Marte is coming off a down season defensively at -6 defensive runs saved at second base, but he has looked faster this spring. Manager Torey Lovullo has said multiple times he expects a bounce back.

The D-backs played split-squad action Saturday with the home team against San Diego and the away squad at the San Francisco Giants.

With so much baseball, there were other wacky moments beyond Marte’s trickery.

In the fifth inning against the Padres, D-backs prospect Adrian Del Castillo — without batting gloves — took a hack at a fastball, and his bat went flying.

It got stuck high up on the netting near the Padres dugout, right above the San Diego coaching staff. Del Castillo flew out to end the at-bat, although he later drove in a run on a sacrifice fly.

Meanwhile, a pair of top youngster had big days.

Pfaadt, Arizona’s No. 4 prospect on MLB Pipeline, tossed three scoreless innings with four strikeouts and a walk. He’s up to five shutout frames this spring.

Infielder Deyvison De Los Santos against the Giants hit an opposite-field, go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth inning. He is the No. 6 ranked prospect in the organization.

Arizona defeated the Giants 9-5 and fell to San Diego 5-4.

The D-backs take on the Cleveland Guardians Sunday at 1:05 p.m. on ESPN 620 AM and 98.7 FM HD-2.

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Vet move: D-backs INF Ketel Marte dekes baserunner to steal an out