PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Tyler Locklear, acquired for Eugenio Suarez ahead of last week’s trade deadline, blasted his first home run with the club on Monday at Chase Field.
Locklear struck out in his first at-bat against San Diego Padres southpaw JP Sears after fouling off three pitches, and he did not miss his pitch the next time.
In the third inning, Locklear hit a moon shot off a first-pitch sweeper up in the zone over the home bullpen in left. The ball traveled 393 feet, as it left his bat at 107.7 mph with a 38-degree launch angle.
First pitch swinging, first pitch CRUSHING 💥
Tyler Locklear sends one way out to extend the @Dbacks lead!
📺 #MLBNShowcase presented by @goodyear pic.twitter.com/yoCnNSw6JG
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) August 5, 2025
It was his first major league home run of the season and the third of his career.
The 24-year-old joined the D-backs last week after being traded by the Seattle Mariners. He made his MLB debut last season for Seattle, playing in 16 games before finishing the year in the minor leagues.
He had been particularly hot at the time of the trade, as he lowered his hand positioning a couple months ago and went off from there. He hit 15 home runs in Triple-A Tacoma from the start of June through the trade.
“Our Triple-A manager (John Russell) and hitting coach (Shawn O’Malley) kind of sat me down and we were just trying to figure out ways to get the ball in air,” Locklear said pregame.
“We were just messing around in the cage and that was the most consistent one we came up with. Then we were just working at it every day. Now we’re taking it day-by-day and trying to be as consistent with it as possible.”
The Diamondbacks traded Suarez to acquire Locklear and pitchers Juan Burgos and Hunter Cranton. Locklear is going to get an opportunity to run with first base for the time being.
Locklear’s home run gave the D-backs a 3-1 lead.
Catch the rest of the game on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.
