Consistent Carroll leads D-backs' postseason push
Jesse Borek
@JesseABorekPHOENIX – The last time that Corbin Carroll was a member of the D-backs’ starting nine and failed to reach base, he was stuck in a malaise. But from July 7 through Monday’s 11-6 loss to the Dodgers at Chase Field, Carroll has reached base in 41 consecutive starts, a franchise record.
In that span, Carroll has gone from a hitter struggling to reclaim a swing that made him the 2023 National League Rookie of the Year to a potent weapon atop the order who is once again leading the charge as Arizona makes a push for October baseball and the NL pennant for a second straight season.
The D-backs have similarly seen their fortunes go on the upswing since July 7. That day, they entered action a game below .500 just a week before the All-Star break, on the outside looking in of the postseason picture. Now, despite a loss that gives the Dodgers the season series, 7-6, and a potential NL West division tiebreaker down the stretch, the club sits 16 games above .500 and in control of the second NL Wild Card spot, just a game behind the Padres for the top spot (which would earn them a home series to open the playoffs).
His 17 home runs since July 7 are tied for the National League lead, while his .392 isolated power is tops, his wRC+ is fourth and his wOBA is third.
“The consistency behind being able to be on base every day, that's something that has been just a cool part of that streak,” Carroll said. “But you try not to get too caught up in it, I guess. I think it’s more attributed to just sticking with my process and that paying off. But, you know, all good things come to an end at some point.”
The prowess of the Arizona offense has been impossible to ignore in 2024: They lead the Majors in runs per game (5.43), after all. That mark is the second-highest in franchise history behind just the 1999 club, which averaged 5.6 runs during a decidedly different era of action.
The problem Monday was that the club second in the NL in runs scored per game, the Dodgers (5.03), saw their potent top of the lineup strike early and often in the finale of a series that had more than 186,000 fans in attendance across four days of action. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández all delivered multihit performances and combined for 11 knocks, nine runs scored and eight RBIs.
Carroll plated the D-backs' first run with an RBI groundout in the third and delivered a multihit performance of his own to extend his active hitting streak to 12 games, in which nine of his 17 hits have gone for extra bases, hitting from the leadoff spot in eight of those contests.
“It's just the determination, the heart and the hard work,” manager Torey Lovullo said of sticking with Carroll near the top of the lineup throughout a roller-coaster 2024. “I just believe in the person. I believe in his ability to get on base and score 100 runs.
“I just know he's a catalyst when he gets on base -- something good is going to happen.”
On Aug. 25, MLB.com’s Brian Murphy did a deep dive into what has seemingly unlocked and rediscovered much of what makes Carroll himself at the dish. For the sake of splitting things into digestible pockets of information, he picked a date from which everything seemed to click -- July 7.
The last Major Leaguer to reach base in 41 consecutive starts was former D-back and current Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who did so for St. Louis from April 22-June 10, 2022. Jay Bell held the previous Arizona club record at 39 games from June 27-Aug. 17, 1998.
“He's just that type of guy that wants to go out there and be great when he's given the opportunity,” Lovullo said of Carroll, “and I continue to give him the opportunity because I believe in the heart and just the ability.”