NEW YORK — Midseason Trade Deadline acquisitions produce odd late-season homecomings, particularly with the newly balanced schedule. Few rival D-backs proper fielder Tommy Pham’s return to Citi Field on Monday evening, because the 35-year-old was one of many items the Mets jettisoned in early August. His first at-bat again in Queens was met with a brackish mixture of applause and jeers from the sparse Flushing crowd.
The results of his second-to-last at-bat was met with silence. Pham crushed a game-tying homer to middle discipline within the eighth inning, sparking the D-backs’ 4-3 comeback victory over the Mets. It was Pham’s third hit of the rain-delayed contest, as he completed a triple shy of the cycle in a glowing return to New York towards his former membership.
“There’s a group that didn’t allow us to lose this game,” mentioned supervisor Torey Lovullo. “But after Tommy hit the home run, I felt like we were right where we needed to be. It was a huge hit by a player that has been getting big hits for us since he’s gotten here.”
With the D-backs coming off a tricky, mistake-filled loss within the finale towards the Cubs, Pham was the equalizer for a workforce within the throes of a National League Wild Card dogfight. Who says there aren’t any completely satisfied homecomings?
The late surge was accomplished after Lovullo went to the bench within the ninth inning, a transfer that he admitted was a “little nerve-wracking.” With one out, outfielder Alek Thomas got here on to pinch-hit for Seby Zavala. Thomas had began getting ready for a possible pinch-hit alternative across the fifth or sixth inning, and he solely had one factor on his thoughts when he stepped into the field: get on base.
He deposited a line drive into proper discipline, placing the tying run on base towards Drew Smith.
“Paying attention to [Geraldo] Perdomo’s at-bat, it seemed like [Smith] was working in the offspeed [pitches] pretty well,” Thomas mentioned. “So I just told myself, ‘Try to stay through the ball.’ Luckily, I did. I didn’t hit it the best, but I hit it in a good spot. … Everything fell into place there.”
A couple of pitches later, Ketel Marte sliced a double down the left-field line, and Jeff McNeil had bother corralling the ball towards the wall, permitting Thomas to race round and rating the go-ahead run.
The D-backs radiated confidence that they might put collectively a comeback, and it made excellent sense to them that it began with a giant blast from Pham.
“It’s unbelievable how focused he is,” Lovullo mentioned. “When he fails, he’s a great self-evaluator. He understands where he’s got to make his improvements, and what he’s got to do to be a better player the next day. … He wants to get hits, contribute and help this team win baseball games. That’s all that’s on his mind every day.”
Pham has proved to be a useful veteran presence to a D-backs lineup brimming with youthful vitality. His rankings within the 93rd percentile or higher in 4 totally different Statcast classes — xBA, common exit velocity, hard-hit share and chase price — describe a participant who takes skilled at-bats and hits the ball extraordinarily onerous.
Pham has kicked it into gear because the NL Wild Card race tightens. In September, he’s slashing .302/.318/.628 with eight extra-base hits and eight runs, offering much-needed energy close to the highest of the lineup to help Marte, Corbin Carroll and Christian Walker.
“A lot of barrels out of that guy,” Thomas mentioned, offering as succinct an encapsulation as potential for what Pham brings Arizona within the batter’s field.
But the D-backs imagine that Pham is simply as essential within the assembly rooms and the clubhouse as he’s on the plate. Thomas and starter Zach Davies raved about Pham’s character and data, and mentioned that he’s used these strengths to assist elevate the remainder of the clubhouse. For many, Pham is a key cog for this remaining stretch.
“He’s on a quest to make this team better by being himself and sharing information on what he knows through experience he’s got,” Lovullo mentioned. “To talk about the consistency of the at-bats, the consistency of the workouts — it’s just setting a standard for what we believe in, and the young players see it. It’s getting very good for us.”
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