PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said on Friday that his mother, Grace, gave him a bit of advice: Throw out analytics and trust his gut.
While Lovullo gave several reasons why Arizona’s lineup looked a bit different, moving shortstop Geraldo Perdomo from typically ninth up to third, he shouted out his mom for her input.
“I’m listening to my mom on this one,” Lovullo said. “She said, ‘Throw out the analytics, trust your gut.’ I like that. I’ve been a gut manager my whole life.”
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The Diamondbacks’ order on Friday against the Washington Nationals started with Corbin Carroll, followed by Ketel Marte and Perdomo. Marte returned from a two-game absence, as he was under the weather.
Perdomo had moved up to second when Marte missed time with a hamstring injury last month, but having those three atop the order is a new experiment.
“We’re averaging right around five runs a game, which is solid … but I’ve gotta put a balanced lineup out there,” Lovullo said. “I felt like he’s one of our best hitters and deserves to get that extra at-bat. A player that’s hitting third gets more at-bats than a player that’s hitting ninth.
“I like that bunch together. That’s why I liked (Perdomo) hitting ninth, turning it over to Corbin and then Marte. They’re bunched together, just in a little different way.”
Perdomo had never started a game batting third before. The switch-hitter has been one of the most productive hitters in the league this year, as he is 13th in MLB in both on-base percentage (.391) and RBIs (39).
Lovullo also mentioned Marte does not like to bat third, saying he’d prefer leading off against lefties and batting second versus righties.
“ I don’t know, it’s just one of the first conversations I had with him when he got here,” Lovullo said. “It doesn’t work. Check it out. I’ve tried it a few times.”
Marte’s career .754 OPS while batting third is a step down from first (.861) and second (.872) for whatever reason.
The Diamondbacks slotted Josh Naylor behind Perdomo, followed by righties Eugenio Suarez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Pavin Smith ended up seventh, Gabriel Moreno eighth and Alek Thomas ninth.
Arizona kept a pretty strict lineup construction last year, rarely tweaked except for situations in which a particular player struggled and moved down, such as Carroll dropping to seventh, for example.
This year, there have been a few more moving pieces, which was the plan back in spring training. So, whether Perdomo stays at third or migrates elsewhere will depend on how this version of the offense flows.
“I feel like I’m sandwiching guys that are patient versus guys that may be a little bit more of a free swinger,” Lovullo said. “So look at the lineup and you could tell who’s an early go swinger and who’s somebody that’s very patient. I’m trying to build a little bit of depth in that area to where we’re not having eight- or nine-pitch innings.”
The Diamondbacks are fifth in MLB in runs scored and fourth in OPS, although there have been situational inconsistencies. With as many bullpen and defense struggles the D-backs have endured, taking advantage of more scoring opportunities is a path to avoiding some of the recent struggles closing out games.
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