Snake Bytes, 8/20: Not much Happ-ens...

Recaps

[AZ Central] Diamondbacks fall behind early as Pirates hold on for win - The Diamondbacks were shut down offensively by Happ, who gave them only one scoring opportunity when he walked the first two batters of the second inning. He quickly shut down that inning, however, by inducing a double-play ground ball out of 3B Jake Lamb and getting RF Yasmany Tomas to bounce to first. “He did a nice job keeping it down and moving it in and out,” Nick Ahmed said. “We had an aggressive approach off him. We knew he was going to throw fastballs. And we just didn’t really get to him today.”

[AP] Late threat not enough as Diamondbacks fall to Pirates - Ray lost his fifth straight decision even though he gave up three runs in six innings, all the damage coming in a four-batter stretch in the second. Otherwise, Ray was fine. Just not good enough to win. "I kind of got away from who I was as a pitcher and that's attacking guys," Ray said. "You know, here's my stuff, see if you can hit it. I was trying to nibble at the corners and that's just not who I am."

[Dbacks.com] D-backs drop finale as offense falls flat - Despite the loss, D-backs manager Chip Hale praised Ray's ability to settle in after the three-run second and give the team six innings. "He was able to give us the six," Hale said. "Unfortunately, not in a winning cause, but he kept it to three, gave us a chance to come back. We were able to save the rest of the bullpen. Hopefully, going into Cincinnati that'll give us a leg up."

[Arizona Sports] D-backs lose 4-1 to the Pirates after another late rally attempt - .237. Paul Goldschmidt entered Wednesday’s game hitting only .237 in the month of August. That would be his lowest monthly average since August of 2012 when he hit .232. 2.54. 10. A.J. Pollock’s 10 game hit streak is now over.

Team news

[SI.com] Paul Goldschmidt became MVP candidate through determination - Goldschmidt's teammates try to emulate his disciplined daily routine, which is detailed down to when he takes his coffee: He pours it before he takes his pregame shower, knowing that it will be at just the right temperature when he emerges. "I should get someone on the team to mess with him and crank up the temperature on the coffee maker," jokes his wife, Amy.

[AZ Central] Yasmany Tomas struggling with aggressive approach - "He’s just swinging at the wrong pitches," Chip Hale said. "It’s his approach. He’s been talked to numerous times by numerous people -- our hitting people and Ariel (Prieto) translates it well -- that certain pitches that each pitchers throw are the ones he needs to lay off and he’s not doing that right now. It’s probably anxiety, trying to do something right away instead of saying, ‘You know what, I can take a pitch here,’ or ‘I can lay off the pitch below my knees.’ He thinks he can hit them all and he does put them in play, unfortunately, some times."

[dbacks.com] D-backs recall Zack Godley from Double-A - Anderson, meanwhile, was asked to work on his fastball command. After a strong start to the season, Anderson hit a rough patch, had a brief stint on the DL and then struggled in two of three starts after being activated. "I think he just needs a little confidence builder and go down there and work on some things in a less-pressure situation," D-backs manager Chip Hale said. "Is it going to be 10 days? I don't know. We'll see how he does down there. He still has a chance to come back and be a very effective pitcher for us."

[AZ Central] Diamondbacks option Chase Anderson to Triple-A - Because he was drafted in 2013, Blair doesn’t need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft this offseason, but adding him would chew up a spot the club could use for another prospect. Stewart said the club has about eight players it is considering for 40-man spots this winter and acknowledged the roster situation is "going to be tight." That said, it doesn’t sound like it would prevent the Diamondbacks from going with Blair. "We haven’t worked here under the norm, as you know," Stewart said. "So I would say that, no, that’s not a factor."

[dbacks.com] D-backs Yoan Lopez experienced elbow tightness - "He's got some elbow stiffness, tightness," D-backs GM Dave Stewart said. "So the thing to do was shut him down. Any time it's an elbow, it's a concern for me. I don't know that organizationally I can speak for everybody, but for me when any of our players complain about elbow stiffness or tightness and you can't make your turn that's a concern for me."

[NBCMontana] Isan Diaz's bat continues to scorch Pioneer League - "It's been a great experience," said Diaz. "Missoula has treated us very well, treated me very well. Going through what I went through last year and coming into this year and being this upcoming thing that I'm trying to be, it's an amazing feeling." Said Osprey first baseman Austin Byler, "Isan is a great player and he's going to do some great things here in the future. I think he's got a really good chance to make it to the big leagues and soon, too. He's got a really good swing and really understands the game."

And, elsewhere...

[New York Times] Baseball Fever Grows in Montreal With Hope of a New Team - During the past three years, and in particular the past several months, a series of events has led people in Montreal to embrace the idea that baseball might be coming back. It is a hope so strong that it is again possible to buy Expos merchandise in airport shops, and to dream of a day when a major league club will again call Montreal home. "I don’t think it is a matter of if," said Warren Cromartie, a former Expos outfielder who has taken a leading role in efforts to bring a team back to Montreal. "It is a matter of when."

[For The Win] Inside prison baseball with the San Quentin Giants - The thing you don’t expect about playing baseball in prison is that everyone is extremely friendly. The entire roster of convicted felons who suited up for the San Quentin Giants on Thursday seemed genuinely grateful for the opportunity to play against some weekend warriors from the outside: Welcoming us and thanking us for coming upon our arrival in the prison yard, stopping by the visitors’ dugout for pleasantries during the game, and thanking us again before we took off to a nearby brewery for a postgame meal.

[ESPN[ Eddie Gaedel's 6-foot-3 grandnephew Kyle Gaedele embraces family's baseball connection - Speaking the night before the 64th anniversary of Gaedel's plate appearance, Gaedele admitted having to answer questions about his great-uncle at every stop of his baseball career: "It's one of the most iconic moments in baseball, so for me to be connected to it through family bloodlines, I'm really proud of that and I know my family is as well. I don't mind talking about it. I take a lot of pride in it," Gaedele said.

[AOL.com] Meaningless Case Study: Baseball-Reference has glaring weight mistakes - Baseball-Reference.com is the greatest thing in the world if you're a baseball fan. You can look up any stat from any year, compare the outputs of Mike Trout and Mickey Mantle, Clayton Kershaw and Sandy Koufax. That site is the know-all source for anything involving history and numbers. But if you actually dig into some research, you'll find it may have some issues and mistakes with weights.