Gurriel Leading MLB in this Category is Exactly What D-backs Needed

Arizona Diamondbacks' left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is in the midst of one of his patented hot streaks, and it's been a thing of beauty to witness.

In fact, Gurriel leads all MLB hitters in RBI for the month of August with 32. The next closest hitter is Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, with 27.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Having Red-Hot August

Gurriel is known to be one of the streakier hitters in baseball. Diamondbacks fans are quite familiar with his up-and-down tendencies.

But what Gurriel is doing now is coming when the D-backs need production the most.

For the month of August, Gurriel is hitting an impressive .273/.316/.545 with seven homers and three doubles. Those numbers rival Ketel Marte's (.302/.388/.488) and Corbin Carroll's (.292/.381/.596) monthly slashes.

The RBI stand out, however. Since the departure of both first baseman Josh Naylor and All-Star third baseman Eugenio Suárez at the 2025 Trade Deadline, the D-backs lacked a conventional cleanup hitter.

So they turned to Gurriel — and the results have been exactly what one would ask for out of a cleanup hitter.

He may not be a traditional No. 4 batter or even a conventional power-hitter, but he's found a way to come through and produce at a high rate in clutch situations.

In fact, as Arizona's cleanup hitter this season, Gurriel is 16-for-39 (.410) with runners in scoring position with three homers, 26 RBI and just three strikeouts. That's certainly what you want from the four-hole.

Gurriel hit a three-run blast in Monday night's failed comeback win, helping Arizona climb to within one run.

"The key moment was [Gurriel]'s 3-0 home run. That instantly gets you back into the game," manager Torey Lovullo said after Monday's loss.

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Gurriel also hit a ninth-inning, game-tying homer in game three of Arizona's series win over the Cleveland Guardians, then followed it up with an extra-inning walk-off RBI single in the opener of a series win over the Cincinnati Reds.

It's fair to argue that it would have been nice to have this production earlier in the season, when more was at stake. But the D-backs are not mathematically eliminated, as improbably as a playoff berth would be.

While they remain well out of a Wild Card spot, the only way to stay in the race now is to keep producing — and Gurriel has done just that.

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