MIAMI -- Josh Naylor hoisted a finger into the air as he rounded first base following a second-inning homer Wednesday night at loanDepot park.
The home run -- Naylor¡¯s second in as many games -- bounced off Marlins center fielder Derek Hill¡¯s glove on its way over the wall, and Naylor immediately reacted in triumph.
¡°Naylor pounded that pitch,¡± Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said postgame. ¡°It¡¯s a long way to hit a home run there, and he got us started, and it was a great moment for us to play downhill baseball.¡±
That¡¯s just how things have gone for this D-backs lineup lately: Things have bounced in their favor. And that¡¯s especially been the case for its 1-4 hitters: Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo, Pavin Smith and Naylor, all who were pivotal to Arizona¡¯s 6-2 win Wednesday.
The foursome entered the battle with the top combined OBP (.403) and OPS (.960) among all 1-4 hitters in the Majors, and it continued to make its mark at the plate in the win.
¡°It¡¯s awesome,¡± Naylor said regarding his teammates¡¯ success. ¡°They have such great approaches, and they find a way to get on base. ¡ It's incredible having them in front of you, and I try to do the best I can to score them.¡±
Naylor was a major catalyst in the D-backs¡¯ 10-4 win over Miami on Tuesday. He emerged heroic again Wednesday, opening Arizona¡¯s offensive output with the homer to center.
Naylor has now hit safely in 10 of his past 12 games -- having reached base safely in 15 of his last 18 -- while he¡¯s homered in back-to-back games for the sixth time in his career.
Speaking of getting on base, Carroll continued to surge at the plate, extending his on-base streak to start the season to 18 games with an RBI single. The 2023 Rookie of the Year has now reached base in a career-high 24 games dating back to Sept. 23, 2024. He¡¯s also the owner of a nine-game hitting streak.
¡°I¡¯ve said all along Pavin can hit, we all know what Corbin is capable of doing,¡± Lovullo said. ¡°Josh Naylor comes over with a huge resume, and then the one that¡¯s standing out to me is Perdomo, who¡¯s really evolved and grown as a hitter. We count on that part of the lineup.¡±
Smith mashed a 429-foot HR to center that Hill had no chance on in the seventh, with an exit velocity of 109.3 mph -- the second hardest hit ball of the game -- and finished 2-for-4 with a single in addition to his homer.
Meanwhile, Perdomo followed his homer Tuesday with a single Wednesday. He began the year as the second D-backs shortstop to hit safely in his first five games to start a season.
It¡¯s an embarrassment of riches for Lovullo, which will only get richer when Ketel Marte returns from injury.
¡°We were kind of fantasizing about what it may or may not look like,¡± Lovullo said. ¡°We¡¯re gonna get better. We¡¯re already an excellent baseball team. We¡¯re gonna be just a little better when he joins us.¡±
And if Marte¡¯s imminent return didn¡¯t bring enough joy to the clubhouse, rookie Tim Tawa added another layer with his first career HR Wednesday.
The D-backs' No. 25 prospect -- who hit 31 homers in the Minors last year -- went 414 feet out to left-center field, and he had the ball by the time he got to the clubhouse postgame.
¡°Just ecstatic,¡± Tawa said. ¡°I was just trying to hit a ball hard somewhere, and finally got a ball over the plate, and put a good swing on it ¡ I had a lot of family here, so glad to do it in front of them.¡±