As we head into June, let's take a look back at the month of May and hand out the monthly awards for the Diamondbacks:
Most Valuable Player: Ketel Marte
For the second straight month, it would have been easy to give the award to Corbin Carroll, who has been the team's MVP if you combine both months.
But we had to go with Marte, who finally got some of those hard-hit balls that were outs in April and early May to turn into hits and homers -- four of them -- while compiling a slash line of .295/.345/.524.
The Diamondbacks feasted on the Giants and Rockies, going 11-2 in 13 straight games against the two teams with the worst records in the NL, and Marte was a big part of that. He played in 12 of those games and slashed .462/.491/.808.
"He can [carry the team]," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "But I don't want him to feel like he has to do it in order for us to win. I feel like Corbin does the same thing. The team just kind of jumps on the coattails of those two really good players, and the rest of the group kind of elevates their game.
“[Marte and Carroll] are special players, and they're a couple of the best in the National League. They're hitting back-to-back, so when they start to get moving, especially Marte, it's fun to watch, and the team jumps on board."
Starter of the Month: Eduardo Rodriguez
Just like last month, Rodriguez gets the nod, but Michael Soroka once again gets strong consideration as he has proved to be a great offseason signing at this point in the season.
Rodriguez has begun to pitch deeper into games, getting into the ninth inning on May 10 against the Mets. In his five May starts, Rodriguez pitched into at least the sixth inning in each of them.
Rodriguez signed a four-year, $80 million deal before the 2024 season, but he was injured for much of 2024 and didn't have the results the D-backs hoped for during the first two seasons of the deal. What they've seen from him this year is more what they expected, and he has become the ace of the staff at the moment.
Reliever of the Month: Brandyn Garcia
Let's take a moment here to talk about how good the Diamondbacks’ bullpen has been. They've silenced a lot of the doubters so far this year with the job that they've done.
As for the best of the bunch in May, it was a tough call between Garcia and Taylor Clarke, and while we went with Garcia, let's take a minute to give Clarke some praise.
After giving up four runs in one-third of an inning on Opening Day against the Dodgers, Clarke has allowed just two runs (one earned) in the 23 2/3 innings since.
Garcia was a favorite to make the team out of Spring Training, but he struggled with his command and was sent to Triple-A Reno to open the year. After making some adjustments, he was called up at the end of April, and during the month of May he appeared in 13 games, tossed 11 innings and allowed just one run.
Best Win of the Month: May 19 vs. Giants
The Diamondbacks went 6-0 against the Giants during the month, and their best win came against San Francisco at Chase Field on May 19.
The Giants led 3-1 from the second inning until the ninth. Ildemaro Vargas led off the inning with a bloop single, but the next two batters were retired. Adrian Del Castillo kept the Diamondbacks hopes alive with an RBI single, and Ryan Waldschmidt then reached first on a catcher's interference call.
Giants manager Tony Vitello then went to lefty Matt Gage to face Marte, who blasted one over the left-field wall for his first career walk-off homer.
"We were kind of down and out of that game," Lovullo said. "And just a couple sparks, and the right guy at the right time."
Worst Loss of the Month: May 13 at Rangers
This game was set up to be a big win for the Diamondbacks, who scored three runs in the ninth to take a 5-3 lead over the Rangers at Globe Life Field.
They were three outs away from clinching the series, when the Rangers rallied for three runs off Paul Sewald in the bottom of the ninth to walk off with a 6-5 win. It was the only save that Sewald has blown all year.