SAN DIEGO -- The Diamondbacks have been hit with some tough losses recently with ace Corbin Burnes and closer Justin Martinez suffering injuries that require Tommy John surgery, but that hasn’t stopped them from winning games.
Arizona ran its winning streak to four games by beating the Padres, 5-1, on Friday night at Chase Field.
After getting swept in a three-game series in Cincinnati last weekend, the Diamondbacks returned home and swept the Mariners before beating the Padres in the opening game of a three-game set between two teams that are hoping to play in October.
Corbin Carroll hit his 20th homer of the year as part of a three-run rally in the fifth that ballooned Arizona’s lead to 5-1.
It’s the third straight season Carroll has reached the 20-homer mark. He hit 25 in 2023 en route to the NL Rookie of the Year Award, and after a slow start to 2024, he finished with 22.
That Carroll is in the Top 5 in homers in all of baseball seems counterintuitive. At 5-foot-10, he is among sluggers like Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber.
“First of all, there's a ton of bat speed in there,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said of Carroll. “It's just God given. And then he's worked to elevate the baseball. He's looking to hit balls in the air, in any direction, and stay behind it and backspin it. The one difference for me with Corbin from this year to last year is that he's striking the ball that he's looking for and not missing it. And it's equaled 20 home runs. So I'm not surprised by it. He's got that kind of torque and that kind of power, a very efficient swing, very powerful.”
Ryne Nelson, who took the place of the injured Corbin Burnes in the rotation, allowed just one unearned run on six hits over five innings.
The right-hander had a rough start last time out against the Reds when he allowed seven runs in three innings.
After that start, he came down with a bad case of the stomach flu, which caused him to not come to the ballpark one day and make brief appearances another time.
“Feeling better now, for sure,” Nelson said. “The last few days have been a little bit of a grind, but yesterday felt pretty close to 100 percent and then waking up today felt pretty good. It was hard to eat for the last few days, but all good now.”
That’s good because the last thing the Diamondbacks need is another pitcher to go down.