Diamondbacks news: Rookie stuns Cubs with feat not seen before in Arizona history appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Arizona Diamondbacks were down to their final out on Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs, facing a 4-3 deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Diamondbacks had a runner on base when manager Torey Lovullo called upon rookie center fielder Ryan Waldschmidt to pinch hit, emerging as the team’s final hope.
Waldschmidt made no mistakes during his at-bat against Cubs closer Jacob Webb. He tattooed a hanging slider from Webb and sent it over the left field wall to give Arizona a 5-4 walk-off victory, much to the delight of the fans in attendance at Chase Field.
The 23-year-old is developing a bit of a clutch gene for the Diamondbacks as they remain right in the thick of the hunt for a postseason spot in the NL Wild Card race. In fact, Waldschmidt became the first rookie in MLB history to hit two walk-off home runs in the same calendar month while trailing, as pointed out by OptaSTATS on X.
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Waldschmidt also hit a walk-off home run on the seventh of August; down 3-2, the Diamondbacks center fielder came to the plate and homered off of the struggling Edwin Diaz to earn his team a victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Perhaps this was the moment that gave Lovullo confidence that Waldschmidt can do a job against the Cubs on Tuesday. Waldschmidt was not the most conventional pick to pinch hit, as he only had two home runs and an OPS of .719 on the season entering the night, but the Diamondbacks clearly knew what they were doing by entrusting the moment to the 23-year-old.
Waldschmidt has been a solid piece for the Diamondbacks for additional depth in the outfield. But now that he’s showing off a penchant for clutch hits, there might be more untapped potential than people think the 23-year-old outfielder has.
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