The Arizona Diamondbacks dropped two of three against the St. Louis Cardinals this week. From a walk-off win to a day of bullpen struggles here’s what to know from the series loss:
Rare Bullpen Struggle
On Thursday, the Diamondbacks’ bullpen saw some struggles giving up four earned runs and four unearned runs in the 10-4 loss. Patrick Corbin had a solid start going six innings, allowing two runs on five hits with six strikeouts, but unusual for the Dbacks bullpen, Ruby De La Rosa and Randall Delgado couldn’t back him up.
De La Rosa came in in the seventh and gave up a three-run homer from Cardinals outfielder Randal Grichuck. Delgado then came out in the eighth and gave up one earned run, four unearned, off of four hits. Andrew Chafin closed it out in the ninth with two strikeouts.
The off-day for the bullpen is of no concern for manager Torey Lovullo.
‘Fight Until the Final Out’
The Diamondbacks have shown all season how resilient they are. Tuesday night, the Dbacks got their league leading 28th comeback win off a walk-off single from Chris Herrmann.
PSA: Don't turn off and/or leave #Dbacks games early.#OurSeason pic.twitter.com/4EiCQY5A2n
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) June 28, 2017
“This team never shuts down,” Lovullo said on Tuesday night. “They fight until the final out and that was evident again tonight…Sometimes I leave the dugout shaking my head because these guys believe and that’s a pretty powerful thing.”
Despite two straight losses to the Cardinals on Wednesday and Thursday, Lovullo still praised his team for their will to fight until the end.
“We have a long way to go,” Lovullo said after Thursday’s loss. “We haven’t even hit July yet. We know we’re basically at the midpoint of the season and we know we’ve got to continue doing exactly what we’ve done they way we’ve done it until the final out of the year.”
The will to give it all until the final out of each game comes from not only the Diamondbacks’ talent, but the bond in the clubhouse, Lovullo said.
“Things are really matching and clicking,” Lovullo said. “This is a very cohesive team, a very strong unit that cares about one another. They are built upon being a good teammate and taking care of each other, that’s what has really propelled us.”
Tempers Flare
Wednesday night, catcher Jeff Mathis and manager Torey Lovullo were ejected in the fourth inning after a controversial strikeout. The inning began with two doubles from Jake Lamb and Chris Owings, then two straight strikeouts from Brandon Drury and Rey Fuentes brought up Mathis who went down looking. Mathis exchanged words with home plate ump DJ Reyburn, who then ejected Mathis. Lovullo came out and shared his own thoughts and was then also ejected.
“I felt like his ejection wasn’t justified,” Lovullo said after Wednesday’s loss. “It takes a lot to get me there, but when I get there you see what happens. I’m not afraid to show what I’m thinking and say what I’m thinking and today it happened. I’m Italian and I get emotional and I can’t stop that train once it gets going.”
Injuries & Callups
On Tuesday, Nick Ahmed left the game early after being hit by a pitch on his right hand. Wednesday, the Diamondbacks announced Ahmed had fractured his right hand and had three pins put in. He is expected to miss six to eight weeks.
As a result of Ahmed being sent to the DL, the Dbacks called up Ketel Marte from Triple-A Reno. Marte got the start on Thursday at shortstop. He went 1-3 with a double.
Hit ☝️ with the #Dbacks for Ketel Marte. #OurSeason pic.twitter.com/oCwcaUJ605
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) June 29, 2017
Also called up this week from Reno, was Ildemaro Vargas. Vargas was called up after the Dbacks optioned pitcher Braden Shipley back to the Aces on Thursday. Vargas has spent 10 seasons in the minors and leads all of Triple A in doubles with 24 and runs with 64. He is batting at .303 in 74 games with Reno. Vargas made his major league debut in the eighth inning on Thursday at second base.
AJ Pollock is still rehabbing a groin strain and tweaked quad in Reno, while Yasmany Tomas is rehabbing his own groin injury in Scottsdale. Manager Torey Lovullo is optomistic about both returning soon.
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