Dominic Canzone delivers go-ahead RBI in Diamondbacks' win over Mariners
When he comes to the plate in big situations, the Diamondbacks’ Dominic Canzone reminds himself that the pressure is not on him so much as it is on the other guy, the one on the verge of giving up runs.
“They’re the one in the tough spot,” Canzone said. “They’re going to miss location and hopefully you can take advantage of it.”
It is an approach that has paid dividends for the Diamondbacks in recent days, including on Saturday night, when Canzone, a rookie outfielder, delivered a pair of run-scoring hits, including the go-ahead single in the eighth, en route to a 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners at Chase Field.
As has been the case with just about all of their wins of late, this was a much-needed victory for the Diamondbacks, who won for just the fourth time in 14 games since the All-Star break.
And like with many of those wins, this one also felt precarious, seemingly built with Jenga blocks and one false move from it toppling over.
The Diamondbacks won because their opponents went hitless in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position. They won because Corbin Carroll was walked to start the eighth, balked to second, stole third, then scored on Canzone’s chopped single through a drawn-in infield.
They won despite what Torey Lovullo called “probably a classic case of overmanaging” on his part, a reference to his decision to go to his bullpen more than he later deemed necessary.
They won thanks to a pair of key blocks from catcher Carson Kelly, who kept back-to-back sliders from Andrew Chafin in front of him to keep the tying run from scoring in the ninth.
“We did a lot of things right today,” Lovullo said. “It’s not a mystery. It’s why we won the baseball game.”
Trailing 3-0 after 3 1/2 innings, the Diamondbacks evened the score with two runs in the fourth on back-to-back hits from Christian Walker and Canzone, then another in the fifth when Kelly followed an Alek Thomas triple with a clean single to left-center.
Carroll drew a five-pitch walk to open the eighth against Mariners hard-thrower Andres Munoz, and two pitches later was standing at third.
“It's just an instinctual play,” Lovullo said of Carroll’s decision to steal third with nobody out. “That was him seeing something that we probably have talked about and just trusting it.”
Carroll was at third with one out when Canzone came to the plate.
Canzone, 25, who is in his first month in the majors, started his career hitless in 10 at-bats before delivering a game-tying single in Atlanta on the previous road trip. He seemingly hasn’t stopped delivering big hits; he is already 5 for 12 with a homer and eight RBIs with runners in scoring position.
After taking a fastball for a strike, he chopped a 99.9 mph heater from Munoz through the middle to give the Diamondbacks a 4-3 lead.
“I was trying to hit anything hard and maybe get a little lucky,” he said. “I did get a little lucky, and it worked out.”
After reliever Kevin Ginkel struck out the side in the eighth, he quickly got the first out of the ninth before Lovullo then emerged from the dugout to call upon Chafin, who proceeded to serve up a triple to Cade Marlowe before exiting with runners on the corners and two away. Reliever Scott McGough took over and struck out Julio Rodriguez to end it.
It was a dramatic finish that Lovullo said never needed to happen. He should have just stuck with Ginkel, he said.
“I’m trying to get everybody involved, get people in a game and get them on a roll,” he said. “That’s my overall mind-set. I don’t want to give people the feeling that I’m not using them in the situations that could potentially get them on a roll.”
But he said he needed to realize that Ginkel already is on a roll, now having given up just one run in his past 15 outings. He said he was hoping to keep Ginkel available for Sunday but realized he should have resisted that urge.
“Sometimes you’ve just got to get out of the way,” Lovullo said. “I’ll learn my lessons and keep moving on.”
The Diamondbacks remain in third place, four games back of the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. At 56-49, they are tied with the Miami Marlins just outside of the playoff picture, a half-game back of three other teams bunched up for the three wild-card spots.
Josh Rojas recalled as Evan Longoria lands on injured list
Third baseman Evan Longoria was placed on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain, and the Diamondbacks replaced him on the roster by recalling infielder Josh Rojas from Triple-A Reno.
Longoria felt discomfort while taking ground balls prior to Friday night’s game. The injury is not considered serious but the Diamondbacks opted to make the move anyway.
“With him unable to play it puts me in a little bit of a box,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “At times, we can maneuver around that, we can figure it out, but getting the extra body here gives me some lineup creativity and some versatility.
“He said it was going to take him a couple of days to feel like he was 100 percent and I felt like those were a couple of really important days for us to get on track and start winning baseball games.”
Rojas’ recall marks the return of a player the Diamondbacks had expected to play a significant role on their team this season. However, he struggled badly at the plate for the better part of six weeks during May and June, prompting the club to send him down in hopes of getting him back on track.
The extent to which that has happened is a bit murky. Rojas played only 12 games in Reno after spending time on the injured list with his own lower back injury. In 51 at-bats, he hit .255 with a .694 OPS. He has had a bit more success in five games since returning from the injury, going 7 for 22 (.318) with a home run.
“He just needed to let that thing heal and take some time off, which he did,” Lovullo said. “Once he did, he started to get his swing back and started feeling right. It hasn’t been long since he came off the IL and has been active, but the reports are good that he’s feeling fine.”
Lovullo said Rojas might have been playing through the back injury to some extent before getting sent down.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Dominic Canzone delivers go-ahead RBI in Diamondbacks' win over Mariners