Carroll, D-backs feel the pages turning after series win

PITTSBURGH -- Sunday’s series finale against the Pirates was the kind of game that the D-backs found ways to lose over the past two seasons. But this year it’s a different team, a different belief and, in turn, a different result.

On a day when starter Merrill Kelly didn’t have his best stuff, the D-backs offense picked him up, taking advantage of three Pirates errors to grind out an 8-3 win at PNC Park and grab another series victory.

“Really, really good team win,” Kelly said. “I feel like today is a game that shows what type of team we are and what type of team we can be, you know, coming in the rubber game of the series, day game …”

The D-backs gave Kelly a 3-1 lead only to watch the Pirates tie things up with a two-run fifth inning.

As soon as he entered the dugout following that fifth frame, Kelly was told by teammates Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo and Christian Walker not to put his head down because the offense was going to pick him up.

That’s exactly what they did, scoring one in the sixth and three more in the seventh.

It was a sign that there is an expectation that they are going to find ways to win rather than lose -- as might have been the case during their 110-loss 2021 season or last year’s 74-88 campaign.

“I definitely hold us to a pretty high standard,” Kelly said, who allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks while striking out four in five innings. “I think we've seen enough this year that we know that we're a good team. Obviously we've turned the page on where we've been the last couple years, especially going back to 2021. This team looks completely different than those teams did before. And in my mind, we still haven't even really hit our stride yet.”

One of the reasons the team is so different is the influx of young, talented players such as outfielder Corbin Carroll.

Carroll got off to an outstanding start this year before falling into a 2-for-22 stretch heading into this road trip.

But the 22-year-old has gotten back on track. In six games on this road trip, he is 6-for-18 with a double, a pair of homers and eight walks while showing his elite speed on the bases.

Sunday, he showed power with a first-inning homer, patience by drawing three walks and speed by stealing two bases, also going first to home on a double by Walker.

“He's a good hitter that is finding his way day by day and learning -- he's like a sponge right now,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “He's hitting third for the Arizona Diamondbacks. That's a big chore for a young kid but he's not fazed by it. He's just a good player that wants to grow and learn every single day.”

It’s that growth mindset that keeps Carroll from ever being satisfied with his performance.

“I feel good,” he said. “There's still plenty of stuff that I'm continuing to work on right now and that isn't exactly where I want it to be. But to be able to have that be the case and be able to still help the team, that feels great.”

Carroll was called up to the big leagues late last August, but even he can sense the change in the clubhouse this year.

“It just feels so different this year,” he said. “Like everyone believes. Everyone's in it to the end and it never feels like we're out of the game. We know the starter is going to go out there and give us five-plus good innings. We know that the offense is going to respond and put pressure on the other team, and the bullpen is going to come and do their thing too. So it's just a good feeling.”