As his team fights for a playoff spot, Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll may emerge from a slump.
On Monday, Carroll hit his first career walk-off home run in a pinch-hit appearance, capping a thrilling six-run comeback win against the Washington Nationals.
CORBIN CARROLL PINCH-HIT WALKOFF HOME RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/923dqFuPzY
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 30, 2024
After entering July with only two home runs, Carroll has hit six this month, providing a crucial boost to his team's offense. This surge in power has been accompanied by a gradual improvement in his batting average, which rose from .188 in April to .214 in July.
Earlier in the year, he acknowledged mechanical issues with his swing.
"I was popping a lot of balls up," he said in May, per Yahoo Sports' Jordan Shusterman. "My window for success was small. I was either on top of balls and hitting ground balls or I'm under the ball and it's popping straight up."
Manager Torey Lovullo noted that while Carroll's bat speed metrics had improved, the 23-year-old was dealing with a swing issue.
To address these problems, the speedy outfielder has worked on maintaining a more upright stance and reducing unnecessary movements.
"If you're watching on TV, my goal right now is to barely show you my whole last name," Carroll explained in May, describing his efforts to avoid over-rotating. "That's kind of my checkpoint when I'm working on our iPads. I'm gonna make sure I'm not counter-rotating because to get out of that kind of rotation, you’ve got to rotate and a rotational flat swing isn't necessarily what I'm looking for."
The correction in his swing mechanics is paying off.
Carroll hit .285 with 25 home runs last season en route to the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
His recent success is pivotal for the Diamondbacks, who are a 1/2 game behind the wild-card spot in the NL through Monday's games.
As the team continues its playoff push, Carroll's resurgence could prove critical in returning to the World Series.
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