Carroll robs Harris with outstanding catch -- yes, again
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PHOENIX -- One day after he displayed his speed on the bases by twice going from first to home on doubles, Corbin Carroll flashed both his speed and his glove in the D-backs' 5-2 loss to the Braves on Saturday night at Chase Field.
Carroll raced into right-center field to make a diving, sliding catch on Michael Harris II’s sinking liner to lead off the third inning. Per Statcast, the ball had a 5 percent catch probability.
The play loomed large as the next batter, Ronald Acuña Jr., doubled down the left-field line.
“That was a big time catch,” starter Ryne Nelson said. “He saved me a run, for sure. It helps having guys like that out there.”
On Friday, Carroll made a sliding grab on Harris’ sinking liner to dead center.
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Carroll has been moved around to all three outfield positions this year, depending on which other outfielders manager Torey Lovullo wants to get in the lineup.
That’s not an easy task for anyone, let alone a rookie.
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“It's a big ask, for sure,” Lovullo said. “You get very used to the angles and the backdrops and ball flights and you get comfortable in one spot. And I never allowed that to happen with him, and he's never even once, in any of my conversations, asked why or what's going on. He's just accepted what we've done. And he's been very good at all three of those positions.”
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Carroll takes fly balls during batting practice each day at the outfield position he knows he’s scheduled to play that night. It’s easier at home at Chase Field where he can get a number of reps at the different positions, but it can be more of a challenge on the road.
“It's not an easy thing,” Carroll said of the different outfield spots. “They're all different angles and when we're on the road, and I'm playing two spots on a road trip … all sorts of different angles and different walls and stuff. I'm doing my best to get out there and get reads during batting practice and just making sure that I'm checking out these surfaces.”
The loss ended the D-backs' winning streak at six games.