Incredible! Ranking top D-backs HRs of 2010s
PHOENIX -- From the years 2010-19, the D-backs hit 1,725 home runs. Some were game-winners, some grand slams. A bunch were career firsts and some made history.
Which of the lot were the top 10 homers, though? We tried to sort through and present what we thought they were.
Here are the top 10 homers of the decade for the D-backs:
1) Roberts re-creates 1988
Sept. 27, 2011
Ryan Roberts' two-out grand slam off the Dodgers’ Javy Guerra in the 10th inning was his first career walk-off homer. To commemorate the event and pay tribute to his manager, Kirk Gibson, Roberts imitated Gibson’s legendary first pump rounding second base. Gibson made the gesture famous when he homered off Dennis Eckersley in the bottom of the ninth inning to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
2) Leadoff and walk-off
Aug. 7, 2010
Outfielder Chris Young opened the game against the Padres with a leadoff homer off Clayton Richard. Later, with the game tied at 5 in the bottom of the ninth, Young led off the inning against Luke Gregerson and finished the game like he started it -- with a homer.
3) J.D. stands for “Just Dingers”
Sept. 4, 2017
Outfielder J.D. Martinez homered to left field in the ninth inning of a 13-0 D-backs win over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. The home run itself was not noteworthy, but it just so happened to be No. 4 of the game for Martinez, who also homered in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings.
4) Hill goes cycling (again)
June 29, 2012
Second baseman Aaron Hill hit his 11th homer of the season in the fourth inning off the Brewers’ Randy Wolf amid a 9-3 Arizona win. The homer was part of the cycle that Hill hit for on the evening, but what was even more impressive was that it gave him his second cycle during the month of June.
5) C.O. ends Dodgers' streak
April 2, 2018
The Dodgers were up 6-3 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning with Los Angeles closer Kenley Jansen on the mound. To that point, the Dodgers were 364-0 entering the ninth inning with a three-plus run lead over the previous eight seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Chris Owings, though, broke that streak as his homer tied the game and the D-backs went on to win, 8-7, in 15 innings.
6) Goldy sets the tone
Oct. 4, 2017
In the 2017 National League Wild Card Game, the D-backs grabbed a lead three batters into the game thanks to first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who smashed a three-run homer off a hanging Jon Gray breaking ball. The blow gave the D-backs an early lead, one they wound up hanging on to for an 11-8 win over the Rockies at Chase Field.
7) A walk-off splashdown for Eaton
Aug. 12, 2013
A walk-off homer is always a big deal, but the one that outfielder Adam Eaton hit off Darren O’Day to beat the Orioles, 7-6, was noteworthy for something else. Eaton’s ball landed in the pool just beyond the right-center-field wall at Chase Field, becoming the first walk-off, splashdown homer in franchise history.
8) Walker’s long homer off Kershaw
May 1, 2018
For whatever reason, D-backs first baseman Christian Walker sees the ball well against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. Walker has four career homers against Kershaw in just 11 plate appearances. The first one came on May 1, and it was a monster shot traveling a projected 479 feet per Statcast, which is the longest homer Kershaw had given up since Statcast began tracking home run data.
9) It’s raining homers
June 10, 2019
You just had a feeling this game was going to be different when Jarrod Dyson, Ketel Marte and David Peralta led off the top of the first with back-to-back-to-back homers off the Phillies' Jerad Eickhoff. The game wound up being historic as the two teams combined for a Major League record 13 home runs in a 13-8 D-backs win at Citizens Bank Park.
10) Making a good impression
July 30, 2012
Infielder Chris Johnson was acquired by the D-backs on July 29, 2012, and played in his first game the following day. He certainly kicked his Arizona tenure off on a good note as he hit a grand slam in the fifth inning of a 7-2 D-backs win at Dodger Stadium. Johnson became the first D-backs player to ever hit a grand slam in his first game with the team.