The Diamondbacks started their series against the Chicago Cubs with two wins and a combined 12 runs. The Snakes starters quieted a Cub team that is first in the National League to 60 wins, only to drop the next two games.
Diamondbacks win 7-1
Diamondbacks win 5-1
Cubs win 2-1
Cubs win 7-6
Starters
The Diamondbacks had impressive starts in three of the four games with series, with Patrick Corbin, Clay Buchholz and Robbie Ray all throwing at least 6.2 innings, giving up one earned run each and throwing under 100 pitches.
Patrick Corbin went seven innings, striking out nine and giving up just one earned run. His ERA is now down to 3.13 and he has notched seven wins on the season.
Clay Buchholz returned from the disabled list with a start Diamondback fans have become familiar with from him, throwing 6.2 innings and giving up just one run, a Jason Heyward solo home run, and striking out five.
Robbie Ray battled injury in the first half and struggled to find a rhythm, but against the Cubs, Ray looked dominant, throwing seven innings on an efficient 97 pitches and striking out six. That was the only game of the series where the Diamondbacks’ bats were quiet as they dropped that one 2-1.
Steven Souza Jr.
Steven Souza Jr., like Ray, battled injuries in the first half of the season, but is starting to click offensively. The outfielder played in three games this series, going 5/12 with a run scored and an RBI. Over the last 15 days, Souza is hitting .387 with three runs scored and five RBIs.
Bullpen
When looking at the series as a whole, the Diamondbacks bullpen was very good. Brad Boxberger gave up three runs in the final game of the series to blow a save chance, his first earned runs he gave up since June 27th against the Miami Marlins.
Despite that blemish, Boxberger, Yoshi Hirano, Archie Bradley, T.J. McFarland, Jorge de la Rosa and Matt Koch threw 7.2 innings with nine strikeouts over the rest of the series.
The Diamondbacks sit a game behind the Dodgers in the National League West race and will face off against the Padres next.
