Josh Rojas’ late homer ends Arizona Diamondbacks’ 2022 season on high note

MILWAUKEE — Josh Rojas connected for a big home run, Merrill Kelly eclipsed the 200-inning mark and the Diamondbacks did something they have had trouble doing in recent weeks: they played well in the late innings and prevailed, beating the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 in the final game of the season.

It closed out a year that amounted to undeniable progress — they won 74 games, 22 more than last year — but one that also was hard to categorize.

In a sense, the Diamondbacks in the second half developed an identity, that of a hard-nosed, aggressive team fueled by youthful exuberance. But just when it appeared they were turning a corner, the club stumbled down the stretch, winning just nine of its final 28 games.

The high points, including the arrival of several promising young players, provided reason for optimism. The continued struggles to secure wins, particularly late in the season, served as caution for just how far the Diamondbacks still have to go.

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“Obviously, last year was terrible and capitalizing and winning (22) more games than we did last year is a big deal,” Kelly said after giving up one run in six innings, inching past the 200-inning mark by one-third of an inning to become one just eight pitchers in baseball to cross that threshold this season. “But if we’re trying to get to where we want to go, we definitely can’t hang our hats on 74 wins, that’s for sure.”

Rojas was among those to struggle late in the year. He slumped over a month-long stretch, hitting well under .200, and his problems spilled over onto his defense, leading manager Torey Lovullo to sit him for three days, allowing him to clear his mind and work on his fundamentals.

The focus, primarily, was his defense, but Rojas said the downtime helped him get back on track at the plate, too.

“Those three or four days really helped me to start to feel some stuff out, get the timing back, know what I want to do at the plate adjustment-wise or approach-wise,” he said, “and coming out of that little break I felt pretty good.”

He hit several balls well in recent days, but none better than the 2-2 fastball he saw from the Brewers’ Trevor Gott in the top of the ninth. With the score 2-1, Rojas slammed a two-run homer to straightaway center to put the Diamondbacks in the lead. Rookie Corbin Carroll followed with his fourth homer of the year to provide an insurance run.

Kelly also played a part in helping the Diamondbacks avoid a season-ending sweep to the Brewers. Needing 5 2/3 innings to get to 200 — a milestone he said was particularly meaningful to him — Kelly got a strikeout/caught stealing double play to end the sixth, and, ultimately, end his season at 200 1/3 innings.

“I’m definitely proud with how the whole year has gone collectively,” said Kelly, who finished with a 3.37 ERA, a personal best among his three full, healthy seasons in the majors. “Definitely proud — that word just keeps coming to my mind.”

From around the All-Star break through early September, the Diamondbacks played their best baseball of the season, at one point winning 26 of 43 games. Their offense became pesky, their rotation was mostly dependable, their bullpen just good enough.

But the lineup went cold down the stretch and the bullpen imploded. They were walked off three times over the final 12 games. They did not win any of their final nine series of the year.

“Seventy-four wins is still a long way from where we got to get to,” Lovullo said. “I will certainly enjoy the strides we made and the small victories we had inside of the development of some of our young players and how this team came together and created a culture. … (But) we left some chips on the table and we’ve got to find a way to pull those chips back and rake them in. That’s what a good team will do.”

Said Rojas: “I felt like we got it going a little bit late. … I’m excited about next year, to have this same group come in early and really get it going from the start.”

Short hop

Left-hander Caleb Smith walked off the mound with a trainer in the eighth inning, and Lovullo said Smith will undergo imaging on his left elbow. “We’re going to keep our fingers crossed,” Lovullo said.

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.