Diamondbacks OF Corbin Carroll ready to ‘migrate north’ in batting order

PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll stayed back on a Matt Waldron knuckleball and sliced it up the middle for a two-run single, a clutch two-out knock to build a 4-0 lead in the first inning against the San Diego Padres on Sunday.

Carroll collected two hits in the 11-4 win, and he has knocks in five of his last six games as the 23-year-old works to overcome an early-season funk.

Corbin makes it a 4-run 1st! pic.twitter.com/S3LDsca7Xa

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 5, 2024

Carroll has been hitting in the bottom third in the lineup the past couple weeks, and manager Torey Lovullo said pregame Sunday the reigning NL Rookie of the Year was close to moving back up.

“I just wanted to give him a chance to catch his breath,” Lovullo said. “I just know with the grind that he’s showing and the grind he’s in, saving an at-bat would be helpful for him.

“He’s doing okay, I feel like his at-bats have been okay. But, at the end of the day, he is going to be fine. He is going to get back to where we need him to get back to and I will migrate him north, no doubt, sooner than later.”

Carroll climbed up over the Mendoza line Sunday at .203 and a .547 OPS. He hit .272 on the homestand, which is below the standard he set last year but a step forward. The Diamondbacks’ offense has been inconsistent over the first six weeks of the season, and Carroll mentioned after Saturday’s game the guilt of not pulling his weight.

Lovullo expressed belief at the start of Arizona’s six-game homestand Carroll was starting to turn it around, and Carroll explained he and the coaches feel he is headed in the right direction.

Carroll worked through a tough hitting stretch after the All-Star break last season as a young hitter adapting to a league making adjustments against him. Lovullo said his struggles are magnified due to how early they’ve come this year.

“Every time something starts out at the beginning of a season, it’s magnified, right? You don’t have a lot of basis to stand on. Corbin’s year is a perfect example,” Lovullo said. “If he did this after hitting 15-18 home runs and threw in, whatever, 45-50 at-bats that were subpar, we wouldn’t really notice.”

The Diamondbacks have Monday off but start a six-game road trip in Cincinnati on Tuesday.

Lovullo more than hinted Carroll would be higher in the order for that first game.

“I know the guy really good who makes the lineup. Probably one more day. We don’t play tomorrow, so stay tuned on Tuesday,” Lovullo said.

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