The Arizona Diamondbacks came into their series with the San Diego Padres needing a strong performance to help stave off the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers in the win column. After winning three of four against San Diego, they now head home for two series against the Angels and Mariners.
August 16th: Diamondbacks win 5-1
August 17th: Diamondbacks win 9-4
August 18th: Padres win 7-6
August 19th: Diamondbacks win 4-3
Late Inning Heroics
The Diamondbacks received a nice late-inning surge on Sunday when down 3-2 when Daniel Descalso launched a solo shot to the right field bleachers to tie the game in the eighth. A.J. Pollock followed that up the next inning with his own solo home run to give the Diamondbacks the 4-3 lead and the series win.
Paul Goldschmidt
America’s First Baseman was flat-out impressive in this series against the Padres:
10/14, 5 BB 3 R, 1 HR, 6 RBI
Goldschmidt had a solid road trip in the entirety as well, raising his batting average by 17 points and now holding a 13-game hit streak.
Clay Buchholz
After a season-ending injury to Taijuan Walker and a season where Robbie Ray has missed significant stretches, the Diamondbacks needed a guy to step in the rotation to be a quality innings-eater.
Clay Buchholz has been that and then some.
He followed up arguably his best start of the season against Cincinnati with the clear-cut best start of his season, going the complete game and giving up five hits and just one run. He now has five wins in his last six decisions.
Another factor that makes this start impressive is his ability to efficiently throw 112 pitches over those nine innings, a season-high for him. One of the few questions I had about Buchholz’s prospect as a playoff pitcher this season was if he had enough stamina built up after joining the team relatively late in the season.
In his last two starts, he has passed the 100-pitch mark and responded nicely after doing so.
The Road Trip
The Diamondbacks were looking to create some cushion between them and the rest of the National League West when they started their road trip against three last place teams.
After nine games, they went 5-4 but won four of their last five games. The good news for D-backs fans? The Dodgers went 4-6 in that span. The bad news? The Rockies went 8-2. The Diamondbacks currently hold a half-game lead over the Rockies and a two game lead over the Dodgers.
After an off-day on Monday, they will host the Angels for a two-game series and the Mariners for a three-game series.
