After a rough start to the season, Corbin Carroll is hoping a breakout performance will get him back on track as the Arizona Diamondbacks visit the reeling Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday evening in the second contest of a three-game series.
The reigning National League Rookie of the Year entered Tuesday night’s series opener batting .203, with just seven RBIs and one home run in his first 33 games this season.
In Arizona’s 6-2 win in Cincinnati on Tuesday, Carroll drove in five runs with two hits, including his second home run of the season, while raising his average eight points.
“I snapped out of a funk last August by swinging at everything,” Carroll said. “That doesn’t feel like the answer this time. There have been some mechanical things I’ve been trying to address and feel like are heading in the right direction, and the coaches feel like are headed in the right direction.
“I made my swing too flat. It’s been a lot of work to try and create better attack angles and a better vertical bat angle.”
With Carroll’s support and a solo homer from Ketel Marte, Zac Gallen was able to snap a two-game losing streak with six shutout innings.
With Gallen pitching on Tuesday, it allowed Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo to start left-hander Jordan Montgomery (1-2, 5.63 ERA) on Wednesday.
Montgomery took the loss in his last start, allowing six runs on six hits — including two homers — in three innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers last Wednesday. In four career starts against Cincinnati, Montgomery is 2-1 with a 3.27 ERA with 25 strikeouts and has surrendered just two homers.
Cincinnati will look to snap a six-game skid on Wednesday when it sends right-hander Graham Ashcraft (3-1, 3.63) to the mound.
Ashcraft has given the Reds quality starts in his last two outings, including last Wednesday in San Diego when he allowed two unearned runs on five hits over six innings. He took a no-decision as Cincinnati fell 6-2 to the Padres.
In his previous start against Texas, he allowed just one run on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings and recorded a no-decision in the Reds’ 2-1 loss on April 26.
Ashcraft is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in two career starts against the Diamondbacks. Last Aug. 27 at Arizona, he allowed two runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings in a no-decision.
The Reds have not held a lead for 42 consecutive innings, dating to last Wednesday in San Diego, when Spencer Steer homered in the first inning. The Reds held that lead until the Padres scored twice in the fourth.
“For sure, and it’s going to happen,” Reds manager David Bell said. “You want to play with the lead for sure. We’ve come back in our share of games in the last couple of years. Anything like that could be helpful in taking some of the pressure off. But the pressure is always going to be there.”
Cincinnati’s offense has been nearly non-existent over the last two weeks, as the Reds have dropped nine of 11. They have just 14 runs in those nine losses and saw their team batting average fall to a majors-worst .207 for the season.
–Field Level Media
