It may be surprising given the Diamondbacks’ early season record of 10-12, but they have scored more runs than any other team in Major League Baseball.
Second to Arizona are the Braves, who currently hold the league’s best record at 14-5.
But how has Arizona managed to lead the league in scoring while maintaining a losing record?
The answer lies in their inconsistent offense, which has seen sporadic bursts of high scoring. The Diamondbacks have scored 10 or more runs in three games, including a 16-run season opener, a 12-run victory in extra innings against the Cubs, and a 17-run game against the Giants with a franchise-record-tying 22 hits.
If it were not for these three games, instead of averaging 5.86 runs per game, the D-backs would be averaging 4.3 runs per game. This would ultimately place their offense in terms on run scored as 15th ranked in MLB.
The inconsistency extends to key players in Arizona’s lineup, like Corbin Carroll, Eugenio Suarez, and Gabriel Moreno, all of whom are batting below .250.
Carroll, the 2023 National League Rookie of the Year, discussed his early-season struggles ahead of the series against the Giants.
Sitting down with Theo Mackie at the Arizona Republic, Carroll admitted, “I’m not happy with it.” He then expanded with comparing his current slumps with slumps that he encountered during his rookie season, “But I also think that this is a little bit different in the way that I’ve been able to take some walks, I haven’t expanded the zone too much. It’s more just pulling it out, getting something in my zone and not missing it.”
Carroll’s .923 walk-to-strikeout ratio indicates that making contact isn’t the problem; rather, it’s the precision of his hits. Which, is an issue that will resolve itself as he begins to see more bounces going his way.
Overall, the Diamondbacks excel in putting the ball in play, with only the Houston Astros, who have a 7-15 record, striking out less than Arizona.
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