Torey Lovullo hails Tommy Pham's work ethic and leadership as Diamondbacks star goes 4-4 in Game 2
Tommy Pham was one of the driving factors in the Arizona Diamondbacks' Game 2 win of the World Series against the Texas Rangers on Saturday. The Dbacks had a 9-1 blowout victory with some of the strongest offenses seen all postseason.
Coming into the game, Pham was hitting .213 all postseason, and that included a go-ahead solo shot in their agonizing World Series Game 1 defeat. The 35-year-old was a trade deadline acquisition from the New York Mets. Arizona is his seventh team, having now played in the MLB for ten years.
In Game 2 of the World Series, Pham went 4-4, scoring twice. He sandwiched two opposite-field doubles towards the right field in the fourth and sixth innings between two singles in the second and eighth. He was also picked off by while attempting to steal a base by Rangers starter Jordan Montgomery.
Tommy Pham's four hits were part of a total of sixteen hits by the Dbacks as they recorded the highest number of hits in a series game in nine years. Their resilience in bouncing back from tough situations has brought them this far.
Part of the success can be credited to leaders like Pham who have not only kept a good clubhouse morale but kept intact the team's hard work. Dbacks manager Torey Lovullo appreciated Pham for being a true team man in a post-game interview.
"He is an unbelievable teammate... He's a very intense competitor with zero room for nonsense," Lovullo said.
Tommy Pham proving why he was a misfit with the Mets
Pham has been very outspoken about the way the New York Mets operated. Back in September, while discussing the Mets' work ethic in an interview with the Athletic, Pham said he had spoken to the clubhouse leaders about the position players of the Mets not making enough effort.
“Out of all the teams I played on, this is the least-hardest working group of position players I’ve ever played with,” Pham had told Francisco Lindor.
Now with Lovullo speaking at length about Tommy Pham's work ethic, it is reason enough to agree why the batter came out with his criticism of the Mets organization.