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Coming off a heartbreaking loss on a two-run, walk-off home run the night prior, the Diamondbacks rebounded nicely on Wednesday with a comeback 3-2 win over the San Francisco Giants.
This one had everything: quality starting pitching, timely hitting, excellent defense and a pair of doubles from Stone Garrett in his major-league debut. It was a microcosm of what has thus far been a promising second half for the Diamondbacks. Since the All-Star break, they are now 14-11.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo praised his players’ tenacity after the game.
“Yesterday’s game was more than a gut-punch,” Lovullo said. “Somehow, some way, they came out today and had their backs against the wall and they fought and they won a baseball game.
“Young players grew up today.”
Those young players were fun to watch on Wednesday. Here are seven moments that stood out most.
It took a team effort to win the game, but Aug. 17, 2022 will go down first and foremost as the day Stone Garrett made his major-league debut.
After striking out in his first at-bat, Garrett muscled an RBI double into the gap in right-center in the fourth inning. His body language screamed home run after the ball left his bat, but it landed a few feet in front of the fence. Welcome to San Francisco, kid.
Garrett’s double left the bat at 102.4 MPH and traveled 397 feet. According to Would It Dong, it would have been a homer in 10 out of 30 MLB stadiums.
Diamondbacks infielder Josh Rojas has been nothing short of a menace on the base paths in 2022. In the sixth inning on Wednesday, Rojas stole his 17th base of the season. He is now tied with Tim Locastro for the most consecutive stolen bases without being caught to start a season.
After missing the first month of the year due to an oblique strain, Rojas has made the most of his 86 games on the base paths. On paper, his 17 steals translate to 32 stolen bases over a full 162-game season.
The last Diamondback to reach 30 steals in a season was Jarrod Dyson in 2019. Rojas stole 33 bases that year in 105 minor league games split between Double-A and Triple-A, but he was caught 10 times.
If any part of Wednesday’s game was better than Garrett’s debut performance, it was probably when Bally Sports Arizona reporter Todd Walsh caught up with Stone Garrett’s parents, Greg and Elaine, in the stands.
Greg’s nickname? “Rock.” How fitting is that?
Less than 24 hours prior, Stone made a mysterious late-night phone call to his parents. Elaine had already gone to sleep, and Stone asked Greg to wake her up so she could help him find his insurance information. Once Elaine was awake, Stone shared the real reason for the phone call: He was going to the big leagues.
“I was upset because he should have his insurance paperwork,” Elaine said jokingly after the incident.
To say the Diamondbacks have struggled with two outs and runners in scoring position in 2022 would be an understatement. Entering Wednesday’s game, the team’s .608 OPS in those situations was worst in baseball, with a slash line of .190/.310/.298.
With runners at second and third, two outs and right-handed pitcher Dominic Leone on the mound in the eighth inning, Lovullo opted to bring in Jake McCarthy to pinch hit for Jordan Luplow. McCarthy wound up with the biggest hit of the night in his only at-bat.
Garrett and Christian Walker scored the tying and go-ahead runs, and the Diamondbacks took a 3-2 lead. McCarthy is now batting .308/.370/.396 with eight stolen bases since rejoining the big leagues on July 11.
With a one-run advantage, Lovullo turned to All-Star lefty Joe Mantiply for the eighth inning. After Brandon Belt grounded out on the first pitch he saw, J.D. Davis got a pitch he liked and didn’t miss it. Diamondbacks center fielder Daulton Varsho didn’t miss it, either.
Somehow, Alek Thomas is not the only Gold Glove-caliber center fielder on his team. Varsho was on a Gold Glove trajectory before passing the role to Thomas in May, and he made it clear on Wednesday he is more than capable of filling in when needed.
With Corbin Carroll possibly due for a call-up before the season’s end, the Diamondbacks have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to outfield defense.
Coming off Ian Kennedy’s blown save on Tuesday, Lovullo called on Mark Melancon to shut the door on Wednesday. The inning began with a letdown, as Melancon struck out Tommy La Stella on a curveball that got past catcher Carson Kelly, allowing La Stella to take first.
Two pitches later, Geraldo Perdomo erased the baserunner with one of the season’s most impressive double plays.
The game ended two pitches later on a pop-out by Thairo Estrada. With it, Melancon logged his 17th save and the Diamondbacks snapped their two-game losing streak.
Meanwhile, Garrett was grafted in to the outfielders’ post-win ritual.
This celebration involved more than just the Diamondbacks’ players, though. It also involved Diamondbacks fans, who fell in love once again with a team that may have broken their hearts the night before. They caught a glimpse of brighter days ahead, a view that seems to get clearer by the day.
Follow Jesse Friedman on Twitter
Top photo: D. Ross Cameron/USA TODAY Sports
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