SAN FRANCISCO -- It was a bit of a rough go of it at the plate for Lars Nootbaar after he was acquired by the Diamondbacks from the Cardinals at the Trade Deadline earlier this month.
In his first 53 at-bats for his new team, Nootbaar had a .170 batting average, but over the past two days, Nootbaar has come through big time.
Nootbaar led off Friday night's game with a homer that jumpstarted the Arizona offense, and in the first game of Saturday's day-night doubleheader, his pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh inning proved to be the difference in a 7-1 Diamondbacks’ win.
Nootbaar’s ball landed in McCovey Cove, making him the first Diamondbacks player to accomplish that feat since Daulton Varsho did it on Sept. 5, 2020.
“The guys in front of me did a good job of loading the bases,” Nootbaar said. “Really the only thing going in my mind was to get a pitch where I can get something to the outfield and at least score one, and those guys ahead of me definitely made it easier.”
Merrill Kelly started for the Diamondbacks and was outstanding over seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits and four walks. That he went seven innings was huge with the Diamondbacks starting rookie Mitch Bratt in the second game and concerned about how their pitching would hold up.