The Arizona Diamondbacks are 5-5 in their last 10 games. After dropping a home series against the Nationals, the Dbacks took two of three against the Braves at Chase Field and split the past weekend’s series with the Cardinals in St. Louis. Here’s what you need to know about the last week of Diamondbacks baseball and what the Dbacks did before the trade deadline:
Rosales Aquisition
The Diamondbacks found themselves needing some depth in the infield on Monday morning after Chris Owings was injured on Sunday and news broke that Ketel Marte’s mother had passed sending him to the Bereavement List.
The Dbacks took advantage of the looming trade deadline and acquired infielder Adam Rosales from Oakland in exchange for Single-A Kane County pitcher Jeferson Mejia.
Rosales is batting at .234 with 11 doubles, four home runs and 27 RBIs in 71 games with the A’s.
Owings fractured his right middle finger on a bunt attempt against the Braves on Sunday. He was placed on the 60-day DL, on Monday and is having surgery this afternoon. The timetable for his return is about eight weeks according to Diamondbacks’ GM Mike Hazen.
Owings’ injury comes after Nick Ahmed was already out after suffering a fractured hand that he underwent surgery for at the end of June. The Diamondbacks’ corresponding move to Ahmed’s injury was recalling Marte from Triple-A Reno.
On Monday morning, Marte posted on his Instagram that his mother had passed away.
The text expresses his love for his mother and the pain of her passing. Marte shared that his mother had hoped to see him hit 10 home runs this season.
Ildemaro Vargas, who made his MLB debut after being brought up at the end of June, was an option to bring back up from Reno as well as Jack Reinheimer before the trade.
Trade Deadline Moves
In addition to the Rosales acquisition, the Diamondbacks acquired reliever David Hernandez from the Angels before the 4:00 p.m. ET trade deadline on Monday for Low-A Short Season Hillsboro right-handed pitcher Luis Madero.
Hernandez was previously with the Diamondbacks from 2011-2015. This year, he signed a minor-league deal with the Giants in February, then was released in March and signed with the Braves, then was traded to the Angels in April.
The righty has a 2.23 ERA in 38 appearances with the Angels this season. The Dbacks’ bullpen has struggled lately, so the hope is Hernandez can give a boost.
Last Thursday, the Diamondbacks traded Double-A Jackson lefty Gabriel Moya to the Twins for catcher John Ryan Murphy. Murphy was assigned to Triple-A Reno.
Scary Situation
In this past weekend’s series with the Cardinals, pitcher Robbie Ray was hit in the head by a line drive from Cardinals first baseman Luke Voit in the second inning.
Ray immediately fell to the ground holding the back of his head and after being attended to by medical staff, was carted off the field. He gave a wave as he exited and was taken to a local hospital for further testing.
— Robbie Ray (@RobbieRay) July 29, 2017
Reports came back that Ray had gotten staples in the back of his head, but all cognitive tests were promising and Ray was diagnosed with a concussion and placed on the seven-day concussion DL.
After Ray exited, TJ McFarland came in and had a solid three 2/3 innings allowing one run on three hits.
Starting Rotation
Zack Greinke was the highlight of the Dbacks weekend in St. Louis. Greinke went seven innings allowing one run on four hits with nine strikeouts, improving to 13-4 on the year.
In his previous start against the Braves on Monday, July 24, Greinke went eight innings, allowing two runs on five hits with six strikeouts. The righty also showed off his speed on the bases with an RBI double in the second to score the Dbacks first run of the game.
Zack Greinke rips an RBI double down the line and the #Dbacks lead 1-0! pic.twitter.com/Yg72RnVNVk
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 25, 2017
Taijuan Walker came off of Paternity Leave last Tuesday against the Braves and had a great first outing as a Dad going six innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with six strikeouts and hitting his first career home run.
Yeah…@tai_walker absolutely destroyed it. 455 feet, to be exact. #PitchersWhoRake pic.twitter.com/cgDVPNNK7Q
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 26, 2017
On Sunday in St. Louis, Walker was off in his start as he allowed three runs on four hits, but had the righty had 10 strikeouts across five 2/3 innings pitched.
Patrick Corbin has impressed as of late. Against the Braves last Wednesday, Corbin went seven innings and allowed only two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts.
Additionally, Zack Godley went seven shut out innings in the opener against the Cardinals on Thursday allowing only four hits.
Martinez Homers x5
J.D. Martinez made it back into the lineup for the Diamondbacks on July 24 against the Braves. The outfielder was out for a few days after getting hit on the hand in his debut with the Dbacks. Martinez showed he was feeling much better as he got back into things, with a three-run home run in the seventh to extend the Dbacks lead to 10-2. His first hit as a Diamondback.
Just two days later, Martinez hit two homers in the series finale with the Braves. Then on Thursday, against the Cardinals, Martinez flexed again and hit his first grand slam as a Dback.
Correction: @JDMartinez14 just hit a grand slam to give the #Dbacks a 4-0 lead. #OurSeason pic.twitter.com/GRq9JllbCB
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 28, 2017
After a quiet day from the Dbacks bats on Friday, Martinez notched his fifth home run in six games. In his first week as a Diamondback, five of Martinez’s seven hits are home runs and he has 12 RBIs.
The Diamondbacks’ road trip continues in Chicago with a three-game series against the Cubs starting on Tuesday. Corbin will start for the Dbacks, while Jon Lester will be on the bump for the Cubs.
