Ketel

Marte

Marte followed Corbin Carroll’s home run in the first inning with a solo blast off Tomoyuki Sugano. It was the last run the D-backs would score in the loss against the Rockies. Marte later knocked a base hit in the sixth. The 32-year-old second baseman is up to 21 homers, 63 runs scored, and 66 RBI while hitting .249/.310/.448 across 509 plate appearances.

It’s his fifth 20-homer season. The slumping Marte was 1-for-19 in his previous six games and was hitting .165 over his last 24 games.

Marte takes a seat with Ildemaro Vargas covering second base. Nolan Arenado is also getting a breather with Tim Tawa at the hot corner. The 32-year-old has hit a rough patch recently, hitting .200 (14-for-70) with two homers and eight RBI in 17 games since last month’s All-Star break.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo is switching things up against lefty Foster Griffin, moving Carroll into the leadoff spot after he had spent most of the season batting third. Ketel Marte drops to the cleanup spot as a result. It’s unclear whether the lineup tweak is a one-game wrinkle or the start of a larger trend against lefties. The 25-year-old franchise cornerstone has been shockingly-good against southpaws this season, hitting .353 (41-for-116) with four homers.

Marte was scratched from Thursday’s lineup late with a stiff back, but is back in the lineup today. Bobby Witt Jr. has told us this doesn’t necessarily mean you can be worry-free about Marte’s short-term future, but fantasy mangers can feel free to activate him against the Nationals and opener LHP Carson Palmquist.

Tyler Locklear moved into the lineup in his place, with Tim Tawa and Ildemaro Vargas switching positions. Consider Marte to be day-to-day.

Marte scored on a wild pitch in the third inning to put the Diamondbacks up 2-0. After his RBI single in the fifth inning, it was 5-0 Arizona in a game the Diamondbacks would go on to win 5-3. Marte is hitting .259 with a .773 OPS and 55 RBI.

Marte extended the D-backs’ lead with a two-run single in the third inning. He later led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer off Adrian Houser. That’s now four straight games with a home run and five in his last six. The 32-year-old second baseman is up to 17 with 47 runs scored and 53 RBI while slashing .265/.320/.486 across 356 plate appearances.

The Diamondbacks were held scoreless through seven innings until Marte put the team on the board with a solo homer in the eighth. It was the team’s only run of the day. Marte has now homered in three of his last four games. The 32-year-old second baseman is up to 15 home runs and 49 RBI while slashing .262/.317/.470 across 347 plate appearances.

Marte delivered hard-hit balls all five times up today, topping 105 mph on three occasions. His numbers aren’t quite as excellent as usual this season, but he doesn’t seem far off; he’s currently sporting a 46.4 percent hard-hit rate and a 14.3 percent strikeout rate.