Lovullo's 300th AZ win a reason to dance

Vogt's clutch 3B in 8th helps give D-backs manager a milestone victory

May 3rd, 2021

You're not likely to see D-backs manager Torey Lovullo on "Dancing with the Stars" anytime soon, but following his team's 8-4 win over the Rockies on Sunday afternoon, Lovullo was dancing with his players. And for him, it doesn't get any better.

The win was Lovullo's 300th as D-backs manager, and afterward, he allowed his players to douse him with a Gatorade bucket filled with ice and water. Then, when he got back to the clubhouse, he took part in the players' postgame TikTok dance video.

It's something Arizona's players started doing after wins during Spring Training, and it's become a regular part of Eduardo Escobar's and David Peralta's social-media feeds.

"It was kind of a shotgun thing, I got kind of tossed into it," Lovullo said. "And like I told these guys, that for special moments, I would be front and center with them and sharing with them and being a little bit vulnerable and jumping into their world. It was a good moment."

In the grand scheme of the season, the dancing is a small thing, but it speaks to the fun this D-backs team is having.

Despite a laundry list of injuries to key players like Ketel Marte, Christian Walker, Kole Calhoun, Tim Locastro and Joakim Soria, just to name a few, Arizona has found a way to win. The D-backs went 7-3 on their recent road trip to Washington, Cincinnati and Atlanta, and they just finished a homestand against the Padres and Rockies with a 4-2 mark.

"It's just one small thing that happens on a daily basis that galvanizes what's going on here," Lovullo said of the dancing. "But really, it's believing in the values and all of the core ideas that we're sharing. It's about love and trust and belief and commitment. We do that every single day and the guys in that room breathe it, and it's pretty special here every single day."

Sunday was a good example of how the D-backs have earned wins on this recent run of success -- it hasn't always been pretty, but it's a win.

The D-backs fell behind, 2-1, early before regaining a 4-2 lead. They gave up a pair of runs in the top of the eighth, allowing the Rockies to tie the game at 4, only to go out and score four runs in the bottom of the inning.

"That's just the bend-don't-break, resilient attitude that these guys have, and they've been doing it all year long," Lovullo said.

Stephen Vogt provided the key blow in the eighth, delivering a go-ahead two-run triple to right.

"It's different guys stepping up every night," Vogt said. "Never out of it, never quitting. What a great homestand coming off a great road trip. We feel really good about the way we're playing baseball right now. We're very, very ready to get on this flight to Miami, have a great off-day and then hopefully continue to do it on the road.”

The triple was the 500th hit of Vogt's career, and he was emotional after he slid into third and looked at his teammates 20 feet away from him in the home dugout.

"I just love this game, and the 500 hits, I know it's not this huge milestone, but for somebody who didn't make the big leagues until he was 27 and kind of a late bloomer, it's a pretty special moment for me," Vogt said. "I never thought I'd get one big league hit, let alone 500. And for it to be a go-ahead two-RBI triple in the eighth inning at home ... it's the moment you dream of as a kid."