The last time the Diamondbacks won a game, they expressed optimism that they could reverse the momentum if you remember that far.
“We’re ready to turn around this month,” manager Torey Lovro said at the time, summing up the atmosphere in the clubhouse after the games from July 8-16. Only the new month turned out to be worse than the previous one. In the first 11 days of August, the Diamondbacks went 0-9 and had a perilous season of falling off a cliff.
And when they finally won another game after beating the Padres 3-0 on Saturday, the atmosphere was more relief than joy. And that optimism was muted rather than enthusiastic.
When Zach Garren was questioned — Is there anything that gives you confidence that this is the beginning of something? The Diamondbacks ace could only laugh.
“Obviously, I hope it’s something,” Galen said. “But it means we have a tough road ahead of us. We have to face really good teams in the next two months. Obviously everyone there. hope that it is the beginning of something good. But… what is the last team standing in hope? ”
In other words, this victory alone cannot rebuild the ship. The hole the Diamondbacks dug in the past six weeks, winning just eight of their last 33 games, is too deep to turn around so quickly.
Galen’s subdued response echoed outfielder Corbyn Carroll’s tone when asked if a two-run second in the closing inning loss to the Dodgers last week was a catalyst. “I mean, let’s see,” said Carroll. The next day, the Diamondbacks were shutout after losing eight games in a row.
On the bright side, the Diamondbacks are just three games behind in the NL wildcard race, even with their recent lousy play, but are three teams on the way to the playoffs. Winning helps in that regard.
But it also happened in a matchup the Diamondbacks thought they couldn’t lose. They pitted Garren, who remains a National League Cy Young favorite, against 43-year-old Rich Hill, who has a 5.09 ERA.
The flip side of that, of course, is that the Diamondbacks managed to lose an even better game, despite Galen’s last start going into 2022 against Dallas Keuchel, who has a 9.22 ERA. In that game, the Diamondbacks simply took the lead. Second team in major league history to record 10 or more hits, 8 or more stolen bases, and lose with 5 runs or less. Because these days they seem to lose regardless of the odds.
They avoided repeating that fate on Saturday, largely thanks to Ace’s performance. Earlier this season, Galen focused more on stopping pitches, pushing further toward third base. But recently, bullpen coach Mike Fetters found Galen’s corrections to be overkill and suggested he be more open.
The results were positive. Galen, who averaged 5.6 strikeouts per game from May 2 to July 20, pitched six innings to keep opponents off the scoreboard for the first time since May 30 in eight games Saturday. Including, he averaged 7.3 strikeouts in his last three games.
“I felt good early on,” Galen said. “And then I really had to pitch. I felt like I got it.”
The offensive line provided support from the start, scoring with Tommy Pham’s double in the first inning, and extending the lead with a two-run homer in the third inning. The line went silent from there, but Lovullo remained confident in a team that had scored eight points in the past two days. These days, you could call it a hot stretch.
“It was everything I wanted,” said Lovro. “It was a dynamic approach, we weren’t predictable. Look away and attack.”
The early offense was good enough, thanks to Galen and a great bullpen effort.
And when Walker came to first base to seal his first win in nearly two weeks, the Diamondbacks lined up to shake hands for the first time instead of pouting and sighing in the dugout. Ketel Marte and Nick Ahmed hugging at second base. Walker and Gerardo Perdomo near the pitching mound. Carson Kelly and Paul Suwald in front of home plate.
Finally they could breathe.
— Theo McKee
Recent struggles call Rein Nelson’s rotation slot into question
A day after watching right-hander Rein Nelson struggle against the San Diego Padres, Diamondbacks manager Torrey Lovro didn’t promise to give Nelson another turn in the rotation.
“There are no guarantees at this point,” said Lovro. “We are looking into everything.”
Nelson gave up six runs in three innings for the second straight game. He managed to remain in the rotation all season while maintaining a 5.00 ERA.
“Maybe we’ll sit down as a group and talk about it,” said Lovro. “We have to work hard to teach them to go out and have their moments of success. That’s where we are. We have to win the baseball game. I don’t know the answer right now.”
It’s unclear where else the Diamondbacks will go. Right-hander Zach Davis is still on the injured reserve and will begin his second rehab run at Triple-A Reno on Tuesday. Left-handed Tommy Henry is in the “treatment phase” of recovering from an elbow problem, and his return will be next month at the earliest.
Triple-A Reno right-hander Bryce Jarvis has been a relief pitcher for the past two weeks.
Relief left-hander Tyler Gilbert could be an option, or the club could choose to play in the bullpen.
Diamondbacks option, nominate Emmanuel Rivera, Christian Robinson
The Diamondbacks optioned struggling third baseman Emmanuel Rivera Saturday while also tapping outfielder Christian Robinson, paving the way for infielder Buddy Kennedy’s return to the major leagues.
The move comes in the context that the Diamondbacks’ offense has been sluggish for the better part of six weeks, largely due to that. A long losing streak derailed the season. Kennedy started at third base Saturday night against the Padres and was the sixth hitter.
“We’re looking for inspiration here,” said Diamondbacks manager Tory Rovuro. “We’re creating attacks, we’re looking for scoring opportunities and we’re looking for ways to steer us in the right direction. Buddy will take this opportunity and see where it takes us. you will see.”
Rivera posted an astounding .361/.391/.472 batting average on June 12, but has since fallen sharply, with 113 at bats and 20 at bats (including six slugging) in his last 33 games. 177 batting average).
“Offensively, I think we felt like we wanted to lift him up and get him back into the rhythm he was in when he first got here. It was for him to go to Reno and make consistent at-bats and get that timing back. For the best,” said Lovro.
Kennedy batted .318/.447/.480 for most of the year in Triple-A Reno, walking more (70) than striking out (65) and batting .318/.447/.480. did. Kennedy has always been known as a bat-first type player, but his defense has fallen behind. Reports this season suggest he’s still a subpar defender.
Robinson’s news came as a bit of a surprise. Long regarded as one of the club’s bright spots, he has missed out on growth over the past three and a half seasons due to a combination of legal issues stemming from the pandemic and an incident with a police officer.
He returned to action in May, splitting his time between Low-A and High-A, batting .271/.384/.452 in 185 at-bats with seven homers and 18 stolen bases.
His numbers are hard to parse given his age (22) relative to his level, but in the context of a player dropping rust after too much idle time his performance looks good .
That said, scouts who have seen him have given him a lukewarm assessment, saying he still hasn’t shown the same potential he had when he was 18 in 2019’s Low-A Midwest League. They say he has trouble hitting off-speed balls. And I’ve seen his athletic performance decline.
Robinson had been on the 40-man roster since November 2021, but was on the restricted list for most of that period, so it didn’t count against the team’s roster limit.
Evaluators at rival clubs say it will be difficult for candidates to sign him and eat up the 40-man spot.
— Nick Picolo
Saturday’s Diamondbacks vs. Padres pitching duel
Diamondbacks RHP Zach Garren (11-5, 3.37) versus Padres LHP Rich Hill (7-11, 5.09).
Galen gave up two runs in the seventh inning in his most recent start against Minnesota, and new closer RHP Paul Suwald took out every hitter in a game where the Diamondbacks were in position to win the ninth inning. They gave up 3 goals. … It was Galen’s best start in recent weeks, stopping four starts in which he conceded at least three goals each. …In 13 innings against the Padres twice this season, he gave up 5 runs (4 ERA), walked 1, and struck out 14. … Hill, 43, is in his 19th year in the majors. The Padres acquired him from the Pirates at the trade deadline, making it the 13th different organization he’s played for in his career. …Hill gave up five runs in four innings against the Diamondbacks on July 7 with the Pirates.
very soon
Sunday: Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Fart (0-6, 7.16) vs. Padres RHP Seth Lugo (4-6, 4.19) at 1:10 p.m. at Chase Field.
Monday: Diamondbacks TBA vs. Rockies RHP Chris Flexen (1-5, 7.92) at 5:40 p.m. in Colorado.
Tuesday: Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (9-5, 3.05) vs. Rockies LHP Ty Black (1-1, 4.22) at 5:40 p.m. in Colorado.
