Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll continues turning power numbers around with home run vs. Marlins

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll has jacked up the power numbers over the past month-plus, and that continued Tuesday with a home run in a 3-1 win over the Miami Marlins.

The Diamondbacks (71-56) secured a series victory with a chance to sweep Miami on Wednesday.

Carroll had already extended his on-base streak to 30 straight starts with a lead-off single, and in the fifth inning, he nailed an opposite-field shot off Miami starter Edward Cabrera.

The homer doubled Arizona’s lead to 2-0 and ended Cabrera’s run of seven straight retired hitters. Carroll previously scored the first run of the game on an RBI single by Joc Pederson in the first inning.

Corbin Carroll – Arizona Diamondbacks (14)
pic.twitter.com/Vz92OTvA0X

— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) August 21, 2024

Carroll has five home runs over his last 10 games. He’s got 11 since July 13, and he entered Tuesday 10th in MLB in homers and slugging percentage (.635) in that span.

In a season where at times it was rare to see Carroll drive a ball deep to the outfield with talk of a flat swing, he has flipped his power struggles into a weapon for this D-backs offense at the perfect time with Christian Walker and Ketel Marte on the injured list. Carroll had hit a mere two home runs with a slugging percentage of .310 on July 6. Last year, when he won the NL Rookie of the Year and bashed 25 homers, Carroll slugged .506.

What’s different from a batted ball perspective is the line drives are up 11 points, pop-ups down 15 percentage points and hard hit rate up from 26% to 44.7% since July 13. He led the league in pop-up rate and now is getting on top of the ball and hitting liners, which has also added to his league-leading 11 triples on the season.

His OPS has improved every month this season, up from .725 in June, .822 in July and .925 in August.

Corbin Carroll has reached base in his last 29 starts ♨️

.910 OPS
9 HR
5 3B
23 RBI
33 R

The @Dbacks are 23-6 in those games. pic.twitter.com/HN5Znzk69i

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) August 20, 2024

The Diamondbacks needed the slug from both Carroll and outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who hit a solo shot in the sixth inning. Arizona finished with only four hits, but it improved to 35-12 when homering multiple times in a game.

Eduardo Rodriguez solid vs. Marlins

Eduardo Rodriguez made his third start back from the 60-day injured list. Although the Marlins made him work early, he collected 5.1 innings with one earned run for the win.

The left-hander threw 24 pitches in the first inning and 40 over his first two, but he shut out the Marlins through four.

Rodriguez struck out five batters with only one walk. His changeup was particularly effective at drawing soft contact.

Ryan Thompson, A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez finished the job, as Martinez earned his fourth save of the year.

Defense played a key role in the win for Arizona, notably Carroll’s sliding grab with the tying runner on second base to end the sixth inning.

CORBIN. CARROLL. pic.twitter.com/qhZljjkIfd

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 21, 2024

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