MIAMI — The Arizona Diamondbacks had played from behind and come back to win their past two games, and going into the series opener here against the Marlins, manager Torey Lovullo said he didn’t always enjoy the stress and challenge of having to rally to win.
It wasn’t a problem at all in this one as the Diamondbacks hit three home runs, got good pitching from starter Merrill Kelly and never trailed in a 10-4 win over the Marlins at loanDepot Park.
“I want to get out and have a no-brainer, nine-nothing like we had against Baltimore (April 9),” Lovullo said.
His team obliged April 15. Corbin Carroll hit his third career grand slam, Geraldo Perdomo tied his 2024 home run total with his third of the season, a three-run shot, and Josh Naylor went deep for the Diamondbacks.
Carroll has been one of baseball’s hottest hitters this season and has made a lot of loud contact with high-exit velocity when striking the ball. That continued on April 15, and his grand slam was hit with such force (107.8 mph) that it landed in the upper deck, 434 feet from home plate and bounced out and back onto the field.
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“Threw a fastball and was able to catch up to it,” Carroll said. “Always looking to improve, always looking to learn about myself, and I think those things so far have paid off in terms of having good process and good results.”
Kelly (3-1) took care of the mound work, holding the Marlins to a run on three hits with nine strikeouts over six innings.
The Diamondbacks (10-7) scored four runs in the second inning and five in the sixth to lock up their third straight win, their second such winning streak of the season.
“We’re aware of the early swingers, we’re aware of the free swingers,” Kelly said. “We’re aware of the guys that try to chase out of the zone. … We try to tailor our approach to each and every guy, if they’re aggressive in that way or not.”
All but one player got at least one hit, all but one player scored at least one run and all nine hitters reached base for Arizona in the first game of a three-game series in front of an announced crowd of 7,324. Kelly became the Diamondbacks’ first three-game winner this season.
Carroll’s on-base streak reached 17 games and is at 23 going back to last season. Over his past 10 games, Carroll has 11 extra-base hits — five doubles, a triple and five home runs.
“He has piece by piece eliminated the swing-and-miss in certain parts of the zone,” Lovullo said of Carroll, who also had a run-scoring double. “It’s fun when he’s coming up to the plate.”
Perdomo’s blast reached the upper deck in right field in the second inning, and Naylor’s pinged off the giant stadium beam behind the right field foul pole.
“I don’t want him to think he’s a power hitter, because I think that gets everybody into some problems,” Lovullo said of Perdomo. “But he’s a good hitter that’s following game plans. He understands how pitchers are working him.”
The Diamondbacks avoided potential disaster on defense, with Naylor tumbling to the ground after a shoulder-block collision at first base with Miami’s Liam Hicks, and Alek Thomas running hard in front of a sliding Carroll to track down a fly ball to right center field.
Naylor said playing hockey in his younger days helped him better deal with the contact near the bag.
Kelly struck out four Marlins in a row between the fourth and fifth innings and got tougher to hit after the Marlins scored on him in the second inning. He picked up his first win in five career starts against Miami.
“When there’s kind of an energy toward we’re not going to miss our pitches, we’re ready, engaged and everybody’s spot on,” Lovullo said. “That’s what focus means. You’re ready to go and you’re paying attention to what’s going on, not just in your own space, but you’re paying attention to what your teammates are doing well and what drives them.”
Honoring Jackie Robinson on his day
Across baseball, April 15 is Jackie Robinson Day, and Naylor paid tribute to Robinson in a big way.
Naylor, who wore blue cleats decorated with the yellow UCLA logo, a red number 42 and a likeness of Robinson’s face, singled in the first inning against Miami’s Connor Gillispie and led off the third with a long home run to put Arizona in front 5-1 as play headed to the fourth inning.
Lovullo spoke of his time playing in college at UCLA, where the baseball diamond is named for Robinson and where he and his teammates would greet Sharon Robinson, Jackie’s wife, when she attended games.
“She made a lot of sacrifices as well,” Lovullo said. “Major League Baseball does a great job of never letting that day or that time be forgotten.”
Ketel Marte takes step toward return from injured list
As the Arizona Diamondbacks got set to face the Miami Marlins on Tuesday, April 15 at loanDepot Park, Ketel Marte was set to bat in a game at the Diamondbacks’ Salt River Fields facility.
It was a sign that the All-Star second baseman’s rehabilitation from a hamstring injury is going well.
“I said the end of April, the beginning of May,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said when asked about a timetable for Marte’s return. “Let’s stick to that for that right now.
“I don’t want to say exactly what the information is that I’m getting, because we’re very hopeful that it’s going to be sooner than later and that he feels as good as he has been.”
Marte was to play in the same game as relief pitcher Kevin Ginkel, Lovullo said. Ginkel is returning from a right shoulder inflammation.
“Getting Kevin to face those live hitters is a pretty important piece to his puzzle,” Lovullo said. “If that goes well, we’ll aim to get him in a game as soon as possible.”
Also, right-handed reliever Kendall Graveman (back strain) was scheduled to pitch a bullpen session on April 15 in Arizona.
Infielder Blaze Alexander suffered what Lovullo labeled a hip impingement in a recent game and had to exit the game, but his return from a strained oblique wasn’t set back too long. Alexander was to be in the lineup for Triple-A Reno on April 15, playing shortstop.
“He pulled himself off the field,” Lovullo said. “Just said he was feeling some tightness in his hips, so we got him in, re-evaluated him, and we feel like with some treatment and therapy he’s going to be fine, which he is, and hopefully gets through the game (April 15).”
Coming up
Wednesday, April 16: At Miami, 3:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (2-1, 3.50) vs. Marlins RHP Max Meyer (1-1, 2.00).
Thursday, April 17: At Miami, 9:10 a.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (0-2, 4.86) vs. Marlins RHP Edward Cabrera (0-0, 3.18).
Friday, April 18: At Chicago, 11:20 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Corbin Burnes (0-1, 5.28) vs. Cubs RHP Ben Brown (2-1, 5.09).
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
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