Diamondbacks Rout Rockies, Carroll Day-to-Day

Geraldo Perdomo of the Diamondbacks celebrates a home run as he crosses the plate against the Rockies.

Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

April 29, 2023

Diamondbacks 11, Rockies 4

DENVER, Apr. 29 — Geraldo Perdomo, Christian Walker, and Emmanuel Rivera each went 3-for-5 — Perdomo with four RBI and Walker with two — as the Arizona Diamondbacks trounced the Colorado Rockies, 11–4, Saturday night at Coors Field. Perdomo and Walker each homered for the victorious Diamondbacks, who received a scare in the sixth when star rookie left fielder Corbin Carroll left the game with a knee injury. Manager Torey Lovullo revealed after the game that the team “dodged a bullet,” as Carroll is day-to-day with a left knee contusion. “All the tests have come back very, very positive,” said Lovullo.

Diamondbacks Take Commanding Early Lead over Rockies

The Diamondbacks did not waste any time getting on the board. Second baseman Josh Rojas smacked a leadoff double to right and scored on a one-out single to center by Carroll. Carroll tried to steal second as first baseman Walker struck out, but a fine throw by Rockies catcher Elias Diaz made it a strike-him-out-throw-him-out double play, retiring the side.

The Diamondbacks got back to work after starting pitcher Tommy Henry tossed a 1–2–3 bottom of the first. Right fielder Pavin Smith drew a one-out walk and advanced to second on a single to center by third baseman Emmanuel Rivera. Center fielder Alek Thomas hit a bouncer in the hole on the right side. Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron dove to his right and deflected it. Second baseman Alan Trejo dove to his left and gloved it, keeping Smith from scoring. With the bases now loaded, Diamondbacks catcher Jose Herrera gained an easy RBI by drawing a walk. Smith scored on the free pass, making the score 2–0. It became 4–0 when Rojas followed with a single to left, plating both Rivera and Thomas. The big blow, however, came when Perdomo, up next, belted a three-run homer to right field, making the score 7–0.

In the bottom of the second, the Rockies got on the board. Third baseman Ryan McMahon led off with a double to the left-field corner. A two-out walk by center fielder Brenton Doyle put two on for second baseman Alan Trejo. He dumped a Bermuda-Triangle single to shallow center, scoring McMahon and advancing Doyle to third. Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar grounded to the pitcher, ending the inning with the Diamondbacks holding a 7–1 lead.

The Middle Innings

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Long man Connor Seabold took over for Noah Davis in the top of the third. He pitched around a one-out single by Rivera to keep the score 7–1. The fourth inning did not go as well for Seabold. A one-out Perdomo single to right and wild pitch gave Walker an RBI opportunity. He delivered with a single to center, scoring Perdomo to make the score 8–1.

Henry pitched another 1–2–3 inning in the bottom of the third. Seabold and Henry traded zeroes in the fourth and fifth, although the Rockies threatened in the fifth. Tovar roped a one-out triple to the right-field corner, giving designated hitter Charlie Blackmon an RBI opportunity. Blackmon hit a fly to medium center, where Thomas made the catch for the second out. Tovar tagged and tried to score, but a perfect throw from Thomas nabbed him by several steps. It became a 9–1 game in the top of the sixth thanks to a leadoff double to right by Herrera and one-out single to right by Perdomo.

The Fateful Bottom of the Sixth

Henry cruised his way into the sixth, entering the inning having allowed one run on three hits, walking one while tossing 68 pitches. “I felt like I settled in a bit more as the game went on,” he said. “I found a little bit of a groove, which felt nice.”

His luck started to change with a one-out single to left by Diaz. McMahon belted a deep drive to left, where Carroll attempted a leaping catch at the fence. He crashed into the wall and fell in a heap. Thomas gathered the ball and threw it into the infield, holding McMahon at second as Diaz slid across the plate with the second Rockies run.

Carroll was still down as the play ended, his left knee in pain as the medical team rushed to his aid. After several minutes, Carroll got up and walked off the field under his own power, albeit with a bit of a limp. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. replaced Carroll defensively. Seeing Carroll leave the field that way, and later hearing that the injury was not serious, was — according to Henry — “as encouraging as it gets. You never want to see that for any player, (but) especially Corbin, the hardest worker I know. The best guy and, obviously a huge centerpiece for our team.”

Play resumed with Cron ripping a double to left-center, scoring McMahon and chasing Henry from the game. In came Jose Ruiz, who served up a single to left by Randal Grichuk. Brenton Doyle, who was up next, hit a slow grounder to short. Perdomo whipped to second for the force, but the relay was too late to double up Doyle, allowing Cron to score. The inning ended with a Trejo strikeout and the Diamondbacks lead narrowed to 9–4.

Diamondbacks Finish Off Rockies

Jake Bird and new Diamondbacks pitcher Kevin Ginkel combined to pitch a perfect seventh. Thomas and Herrera ended that pattern when he led off the eighth with a double to center. Herrera followed with a double to right, scoring Thomas. Herrera tagged and advanced to third on a fly to right by Rojas. After Perdomo grounded to second against a drawn-in infield, Gurriel flied Trejo in shallow right. This retired the side with the Diamondbacks holding a 10–4 lead. A Walker leadoff homer in the top of the ninth off new pitcher Pierce Johnson completed the scoring at 11–4.

More on Carroll

“When you see an athlete down on the field like that,” Lovullo said, “you’re very concerned. I thought it was his shoulder or back, a knee, a broken ankle. But as we were piecing it together, the news got better and better.” Lovullo took him out of the game after consulting the medical team tending to Carroll, who tried to stay in the game.

Lovullo said that when he arrived to the warning track, where Carroll was still prone, Carroll “wasn’t saying much.” After Lovullo asked the fans to stop recording, he arrived at the huddle around Carroll. The first thing Lovullo heard Carroll say was, “I think I’m gonna be alright.” That statement made Lovullo feel “very encouraged.” Lovullo added that the preliminary tests were from the trainers. “There has been no need for anything other than a training evaluation,” Lovullo said. He added that the team “most likely” will not send Carroll for an MRI on Sunday.

Henry said, “We’re glad he’s okay and hope he’s back sooner than we think.” It was a scary moment for everyone watching him, according to Henry. “Anytime somebody lays down on the field for that long, it’s scary. Anything can happen when you’re running full speed, especially the speed that Corbin does, into the fence. You’re running through all sorts of things in your mind and hoping that it’s not worst-case scenario. Those are scary moments, humbling moments for a little bit.”

Tommy Henry on His Outing

Henry said his curveball felt good. “I was getting the swings I wanted on it,” he said, “so might as well keep chucking it.” Of Henry’s 75 pitches, 30 were curveballs. Rockies batters swung at 19. They missed four of those, a 21% whiff rate. The curveball usage, Henry said, was partly due to the gameplan and partly due to how it felt. “Trust your eyes, trust your feels,” he said.

When asked if it was hard to focus on the next pitch after seeing what happened to Carroll, Henry paused to think before answering. “No,” he said. “It emotionally affects you a little bit during the break, but our job is to lock right back in. As hard as that is to see and to wonder, to not have any definitive answer when you’re out there, your job is to lock it right back in to get the job done. And then you can deal with it when you’re out of the game.”

Looking Ahead

Henry (1–0) earned the win, while Davis (0–1) took the loss. The Diamondbacks (16–12, first in NL West) and Rockies (8–20, fifth in NL West) close out their three-game series Sunday afternoon. Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson (1–1, 5.33 ERA) will face Rockies lefty Austin Gomber (1–4, 9.28 ERA). First pitch will be at 12:10 pm Arizona Time.