Lovullo becomes team’s winningest manager
David Peralta and Nick Ahmed grabbed the water cooler, circled their target and emptied their load. It was the first of many celebratory hits manager Torey Lovullo absorbed after the Diamondbacks’ 9-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night, a victory that made him the winningest manager in Diamondbacks history.
He was happy to receive them all. But he was happiest to hear what they had to say in the clubhouse later.
Either before or after Lovullo was doused with beer and shaving cream and mouthwash — the timeline of events was a bit hazy — Peralta and Ahmed said a few words about their longtime manager, who on Tuesday won his 354th game to move past Kirk Gibson on the club’s all-time win list.
“I said it when I was talking: The way he came to this team and turned everything around and made this clubhouse a family room, that was amazing,” Peralta said. “He came with such a good attitude, which is positive and everything, and managers like that, you want to play for.”
Madison Bumgarner worked into the seventh inning for the first time this season. The offense grinded out 11 hits and six walks, working deep counts and delivering big hits. It was an impressive night on a variety of levels, one of their most well-rounded games of the year.
Two weeks ago, the Diamondbacks were three-hit by Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler, then gave up three runs in the first inning the following night. They were not hitting. They were playing sloppily. They looked like they had picked up where last year’s 110-loss team left off. It felt like the beginning of another long season.
But the Diamondbacks came back to win that night. They won the next day. And they have been mostly winning since. Tuesday’s win was their 11th in their past 14 games and secured their third consecutive series victory. It also moved their record to 17-14, the first time they have been three games over .500 since 2019.
Peralta credited Lovullo for the club’s turnaround. He called him the type of manager who makes players want to play hard. He said he told Lovullo that the smile he wore on his face after the game was the same one he remembers from the day they first met.
“He’s always been the same guy,” Peralta said. “I told him, ‘Bro, you never change. Don’t ever change your attitude.’ That’s what I love about him.”
“He’s the one who runs the show,” Peralta continued. “He’s in charge of everything. Even when we lose, he’s like, ‘Hey, flip the page. Tomorrow’s another day. It’s going to happen.’ We’ve been having fun. It’s always good when we’re winning, and we learn when we lose and fix it the next day. That’s what we’ve been doing.”
Said Lovullo: “Those words mean more to me than anything. David and Nick both spoke up. We’ve been together a long time. They know me. They know my warts. They know every part about me. They know really what my beliefs are and some of the things they said, I’ll never forget. It’s true. I love these players. I love this organization.”
When the Diamondbacks took two of three from the Dodgers last month, they mostly capitalized on mistakes, pouncing when opportunities presented themselves. The wins had added meaning.
“We were like, ‘Hey, these guys are one of the best teams in baseball and we just took them two out of three,’” Diamondbacks outfielder Jordan Luplow said. “We can compete. We can go out there every day and win ballgames. This isn’t a process. Guys can come in and compete and win.”
Through seven starts, Bumgarner has a 1.78 ERA. He gave up two runs in the first on a Jorge Soler home run but held the line into the seventh, retiring the only batter he faced that inning.
“When he gets moving,” Lovullo said, “you kind of open your eyes and you’re in the fifth, sixth inning and he’s protecting that lead and just charging ahead.”
Luplow slammed a two-run homer to tie the game in the bottom of the first, and the Diamondbacks scored four times in the third to take control of the game, at one point collecting three consecutive two-out, run-scoring hits. They added on more runs in the eighth, again stringing together hits.
It made for a memorable day for Lovullo, who reached a milestone on a day when he could not have been happier with the way his team played.
“It’s awesome; it’s a great feeling,” Lovullo said. “I’m humbled. I’m honored. The win total really isn’t about just me, it’s about an entire organization of people.”