Ketel

Marte

Marte led off the contest with his fifth round-tripper in his last seven contests and is now just four big flies shy of his previous career-high mark, which he set more than a half-decade ago back in 2019. The 30-year-old has firmly cemented his status as an elite five-category impact fantasy contributor at the keystone this season, batting .300 (126-for-420) with 78 runs scored, 28 homers, 78 RBI and six steals through 108 contests.

His two long balls came in the first and ninth innings, bookending what was a great win for the red-hot Diamondbacks. Some “MVP” chants even rained down on the road in Pittsburgh after his ninth inning blast. All in all, this has been a special season for Marte. The 26 homers are six off his career-best 32 set in 2019 and his .923 OPS is ninth-most in all of baseball and more than .100 points clear of the next closest second baseman. Those “MVP” chants aren’t far off.

Marte extended the Arizona lead to 4-0 with a two-run blast off of Marco Gonzales. He drove in another run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth to make it 6-4 Diamondbacks. Marte has been fantastic for the D-Backs and fantasy managers with 23 homers, 68 RBI and a .296/.366/.536 slash across 388 at-bats.

Marte knocked a base hit in the first inning, then came through in a big spot for the Diamondbacks in the ninth. With two runners on, he took James McArthur deep for a three-run shot to extend Arizona’s lead. It was Marte’s third straight game with a home run. The 30-year-old second baseman is slashing an excellent .296/.367/.529 with 22 homers, 70 runs scored, 64 RBI, and six steals across 436 plate appearances.

Marte also homered Monday. He has 11 homers in his last 40 games, putting him at .294/.364/.521 for the season. He’s not yet one of the frontrunners for NL MVP, but he belongs in the conversation.

Marte’s home run was his 20th of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Cole Ragans to put Arizona up 3-1 in the third inning. Marte hit 25 home runs all of last year and is on pace to eclipse that mark. His previous career-high is 32 home runs in 2019. Marte is hitting .291 with an .873 OPS and 59 RBI on the year.

It’s a defensible choice, though Shohei Ohtani is right there, and Trea Turner and Christian Walker also might have been better options. Marte will be followed by Ohtani, Turner, Bryce Harper, William Contreras, Yelich, Alex Bohm, Teoscar Hernández and Jurickson Profar.

Marte got the Diamondbacks’ offense started with a monstrous 443-foot (109.8 mph EV) grand slam as part of a seven-/run uprising off of Yusei Kikuchi in the fifth inning. He also had a pair of singles in the ballgame, finishing the day 3-for-5. The All-Star second baseman finishes the first half hitting .292/.362/.515 with 19 homers, 57 RBI and six stolen bases.

Curious to see Carroll sitting after a two-homer game, but he’ll take a breather to finish up the first half with left-hander Yusei Kikuchi starting for the Blue Jays. Ketel Marte will slide into the leadoff spot and Randal Grichuk will play right field.

Marte took Charlie Morton deep for a solo homer in the third inning, then knocked a base hit in the eighth before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Geraldo Perdomo. The 30-year-old second baseman is up to 18 homers while slashing .283/.351/.506 with 62 runs scored, 52 RBI, and four steals across 393 plate appearances.