Diamondbacks beat Mariners behind Daulton Varsho's big night

Daulton Varsho launched a ball into the seats and shot another into the gap. In between, he raced in to make a diving catch in right field. All that was missing for Varsho to fully showcase his skillset was a stolen base.

Little has gone right for the Diamondbacks this season, but Varsho’s performance has been a glimmering bright spot. He was on display again on Saturday night in a 7-3 win over the Seattle Mariners, tying career highs with three hits and four RBIs.

Since July 20, Varsho owns a .316/.380/.650 line in 129 plate appearances. His OPS of 1.030 ranks 10th in the majors in that span. Varsho is the only player on the list who has logged time as a catcher.

“He is learning and growing day by day and making good decisions at the plate,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “He has shown some unbelievable defensive versatility and is continuing to push forward. He has shown us what he’s capable of doing on a very consistent basis. That’s really what a major leaguer does. He knows how to do it every at-bat, every night.”

Varsho’s big night helped the Diamondbacks snap a six-game losing streak and earn just their second win in their past 13 games. He was not alone amongst contributors.

Right-hander Humberto Castellanos shook off a rough first inning to pitch into the sixth. In Left fielder David Peralta, shortstop Nick Ahmed and catcher Carson Kelly turned in nice defensive plays. And four relievers combined to record the final 11 outs without allowing a run. Though it was not a save situation, right-hander J.B. Wendelken worked the ninth in closer Tyler Clippard’s absence.

Varsho clobbered a 1-0 fastball from Mariners right-hander Chris Flexen for a two-run homer, capping a four-run outburst in the fourth inning. The next half inning he raced in on a shallow fly by Jake Bauers to make an impressive diving catch.

“Right off the bat, I kind of looked to my right and saw that (center fielder) Ketel (Marte) went back,” Varsho said. “I knew I probably had an opportunity to go catch it. It was good communication between me and him out there. It was kind of cool to have that keep building momentum for the team and keep being able to push it forward for everybody.”

The win puts the Diamondbacks in position to claim their first road series victory since they took two out of three from the Atlanta Braves in late April. They will send left-hander Tyler Gilbert to the mound in Sunday’s series finale.