Corbin Carroll has three hits in D-backs’ win

SAN DIEGO — There’s no getting around just how challenging this season has been for Corbin Carroll. Coming off a season in which he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award and led the D-backs to the World Series, Carroll has struggled just to keep his batting average above .200.

For someone who has excelled every year he has played, whether in high school, the Minor Leagues or the Major Leagues, a prolonged stretch like this has been hard to process.

“It’s been pretty terrible,” said Carroll, who enjoyed an encouraging game on Thursday night with three hits and two runs in the D-backs’ 4-3 victory over the Padres at Petco Park. “You’ve got to show up and put on a face. These other guys in this clubhouse, this staff, they deserve it. But I’d be lying if I said this year hasn’t been pretty terrible.

“I think I always try to stay super process-oriented, but I’ve never really underperformed like this. It’s been really challenging to trust it and keep working every day.”

Carroll’s teammates have ached for him. They see a humble teammate working hard every day, a person who prides himself on being a good teammate regardless of his on-field performance.

“He’s someone that works hard,” D-backs second baseman Ketel Marte said. “This game is not easy, I see him in the cage working hard every day.”

Carroll has been trending in a better direction of late, going through a stretch where it seemed like he hit one ball hard each game.

Thursday, though, seemed like a breakthrough. Carroll hit three balls with exit velocities of 108 mph, 106 mph and 98.8 mph. All three were hits. His two runs included what proved to be the game-winner in the seventh inning. He also raised his batting average to .201 and his OPS to .575.

“Three balls hit hard on a line,” Carroll said. “That’s a great day.”

But he knows it’s just one day and he’s not quite ready to proclaim that he has turned things around.

“Too early, for sure,” Carroll said. “The name of the game is consistency. I want to take the rest of this year and do my best to do exactly that. Just kind of live in the moment and contribute and help this team win.”

The biggest hit for Carroll on Thursday came in the seventh off Padres reliever Jeremiah Estrada, who electrified the baseball world recently by striking out 13 consecutive batters to set an expansion era record.

Estrada came on with two outs in the seventh, and Carroll laced a line drive off the right-field wall for a double. Marte followed with a single to left, and the D-backs had the lead for good at 4-3.

“Really good pitcher,” Carroll said of Estrada. “He’s got some cut/ride on his fastball. Obviously, it’s really hard. Kind of splitter that fades off of that. Then a slider, as well. Really good arm.”

During his struggles this year, Carroll’s teammates have had his back. Yes, some veterans have had words of encouragement for him, but it’s more than that.

“Just you feel like people care about you as the person and not just the numbers you’re putting out there,” Carroll said. “We’re a really tight clubhouse in that way. I think that’s something that’s really special about our clubhouse. That’s what really makes me want to turn the year around. These guys deserve it.”

That’s a lesson that Carroll will certainly take with him going forward. While he’s always tried to be a good teammate, he couldn’t always relate to the struggles that others went through.

Now, though, having gone through them himself, he has a deeper perspective.

“I think it just can make me a little bit more empathetic to how hard this game is and help me be a better teammate,” Carroll said, “and try to pick up the guys around me when things are going well for them.”