CHICAGO -- There's no way around it -- the Diamondbacks have taken on a season's worth of injuries in the span of a few weeks. When looking at the type of players the team has lost in June alone -- star hitters, ace starters, lock-down relievers -- you’d expect the team to eventually succumb to the unfortunate luck hovering over its clubhouse.
For now, Arizona has no intention of doing that, and it proved it once again on Tuesday night at Rate Field.
Fresh off the loss of Corbin Carroll, without the help of Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez and being forced to deal with yet another injury on top of that during the game, the D-backs found a way to overcome adversity yet again with a 4-1 win over the White Sox.
“We’ve taken on a lot of water, and the ship is not sinking,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “The ship is still sailing, and they’re responsible for that. I’ve just got to keep it on its course and create a vision that we’re going to find our way out of this. The guys believe that. They go out there every single day and give me everything they have.”
That vessel stayed on course Tuesday due to several contributors stepping in to fill voids left by missing teammates.
A prime example was center fielder Alek Thomas, whose key seventh-inning at-bat only occurred because Arizona’s depth had already been maxed out earlier in the game.
Chicago brought on a lefty to face Thomas, a career .172 hitter against southpaws. Normally, the D-backs would send in a pinch-hitter. But their best option -- Tim Tawa -- already came into the game in the fourth to replace third baseman Ildemaro Vargas. Vargas, who was subbing in for Suárez after the reigning NL Player of the Week endured a right hand contusion Monday night, was hit on his right foot by a pitch in the second, suffering a fractured right pinkie toe.
So with zero options to work with, Arizona left Thomas in to bat with two on in a tie game. He promptly slugged a single up the middle, tallying just his 18th career RBI against a left-hander and sparking a three-run rally.
“In that situation, I feel like I normally get pinch-hit for,” said Thomas, a Chicago native who had friends and family on hand. “Unfortunately, we didn’t have very many guys on the bench that were available. To be able to come through for the team and do something positive was really, really cool.”
He was hardly the only player to come through for the ailing D-backs.
Jake McCarthy, who was recalled from Triple-A Reno to replace Carroll, pulled off a home-run robbery in the second, jumping at the wall to steal a solo shot from White Sox first baseman Ryan Noda.
Tawa added heroics of his own in the bottom of the eighth when Chicago was attempting a late rally. The White Sox had two men on with one out, down three with the tying run at the plate when Miguel Vargas scorched a 102.5 mph grounder to third. Tawa snared it, kicking off an inning-ending double play and stifling Chicago’s momentum.
“Tim Tawa rises to the occasion,” Lovullo said. “Vargy breaks his foot, Tim’s just trying to figure out when and how he could immerse himself into this game. That opportunity will come up, and it did. ... I feel like once that play was made, we won the game.”
Arizona came out victorious in part thanks to another player picking up the slack left behind by a departed teammate.
Ryne Nelson, who opened the season working out of Arizona’s bullpen, held the White Sox to just one run while striking out a season-high seven over five innings. His lone blemish was a solo homer from Luis Robert Jr. in the second inning. It was the only hit allowed by Nelson, who has had to step up after the Diamondbacks lost Corbin Burnes to season-ending right elbow surgery. He held his opponent to one run or fewer for the sixth time in his past seven starts.
“A lot of stability since Corbin has been removed from the rotation,” Lovullo said of Nelson. "Nobody can replace Corbin Burnes. Nobody. But he’s stabilized that spot as good as anybody could’ve hoped.”
That’s become a bit of a running theme for Arizona these days. The D-backs keep getting hit with moments that should unravel their season. Instead, someone always seems ready to prevent that from happening.
“It’s tough every single day to go out there and watch one of your team members go down,” Lovullo said. “You never get used to it, and for some reason, this is happening at an unbelievable clip. But we’ll get through it.”