Young’s slam part of 10-run stretch
Andrew Young took a few steps in and stopped. He turned and scrambled back. He stopped short of the wall and watched Josh Bell’s drive in the first inning bounce on the warning track, a catchable ball that went for a run-scoring double.
It was the second consecutive ball hit his way and the second consecutive he misplayed. It felt like the beginning of another rough night in the majors for a player who has yet to establish himself at the game’s highest level.
But one inning later, it all changed. Young came to the plate with the bases loaded, drove a ball over the fence in right field and put out of reach a game the Diamondbacks would go on to win, 11-6, over the Washington Nationals on Thursday night at Nationals Park.
Young’s grand slam was one of four home runs the Diamondbacks hit. It capped a 10-run outburst against Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin, the former Diamondbacks pitcher who departed for a $140 million deal three years ago.
The win marked an encouraging start to what figures to be a difficult, 10-game, three-city road trip, and it allowed the Diamondbacks to move on from a brutal loss in which they blew a five-run lead in the finale of their first homestand earlier this week at Chase Field.
A year ago, Young started the pandemic-shortened season on the Opening Day roster and received only sporadic at-bats for the first two weeks. His at-bats were good, however, perhaps some of the best on the team, but they weren’t enough for him to keep his roster spot.
When he came back
later
in
the
season, he struggled, and it seemed like those struggles carried over into spring training, when he went just 3 for 20 with 13 strikeouts in Cactus League play.
He rejoined the team again this week, taking the place of the injured Christian Walker, and Thursday marked his first start of the season. But it came with a twist: He started in left field, a relatively unfamiliar position for a player who has mostly played the infield and has never had a strong defensive reputation.
And, of course, the ball found him early. Young misplayed a single by Juan Soto, Nationals’ No. 2 hitter, allowing him to reach second. The next batter, Bell, drove the ball to the warning track that turned around Young.
“It was twilight; I didn’t see it great,” Young said. “I think when I was going back I didn’t have a great feel for where the fence was and so I stopped a little bit. It’s definitely a play that I think should be made.”
But Young more than redeemed himself the next half-inning. Corbin was on the ropes. At that point, he had already allowed six runs, issued four walks, hit two batters and served up a pair of homers. Young strode to the plate with the bases loaded.
“I think I was just trying to stay on the heater and react to everything else,” Young said. “He wasn’t overpowering many hitters in the lineup, so I felt like I could adjust to it. I think he threw me three change-ups in a row and the last one was elevated and I went with it.”
The ball kept carrying before landing in the Nationals’ bullpen beyond the right-field fence.
“I thought he showed some amazing mental toughness by standing on a pitch and hitting a grand slam down the right field line that broke the game open after probably not feeling very comfortable in the outfield,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “I was asking him to do something he hasn’t done very often.
“I’m very proud of him for what he’s been through and how he’s come out the other end.”
Young was far from the only Diamondbacks hitter to stand out at the plate.
Carson Kelly slammed his second homer in as many days. Eduardo Escobar homered for the fifth time in seven days. And Pavin Smith drew a pair of walks and connected for a long home run.
“We were really selective,” Kelly said. “I think we stuck to a game plan there and made (Corbin) throw a of pitches and get into good counts. We didn’t miss when we got those pitches. We did a good job by sticking to that game plan.”