D-backs 3, Rays 6: Archie inconsistent in loss

Man what could have been. The Diamondbacks had multiple chances to win this game, including two separate leads in this game and an excellent opportunity in the 9th with the bases loaded, but they failed to capitalize and took the loss 6-3 in the series finale.

It was a strange start for Archie Bradley, who struggled most of the game to locate his pitches. It sometimes worked, like striking out the side in the 2nd or getting 3 fly outs to David Peralta in the 5th. And then there were the innings where he let it slip, like the 1st where he allowed a Corey Dickerson home run or the 6th, where things unraveled after grabbing two quick outs to start the inning. The good news is Archie is young, and knows where he can improve.

The offense did its part to support the pitching staff, grabbing a quick 2-1 lead in the 2nd. Rickie Weeks Jr hit a line drive to right that cleared the fence and tied things up. Chris Hermann continued his solid production off the plate, walking then stealing second. For some reason an intentional walk to Nick Ahmed followed and Archie singled to center, scoring Hermann. Jean Segura walked to load the bases, but Jake Lamb struck out to end the threat.

The teams traded runs in the 3rd, with Evan Longoria singling to center following a walk by Taylor Motter and a single from Corey Dickerson to tie things up again at 2-2. But the D-backs responded with a run of their own. After a 1-out single from David Peralta, Rickie Weeks singled to put runners on the corners with 1 out. Chris Hermann grounded a ball weakly to the right side, scoring Peralta and giving the team a 3-2 lead.

Things were quiet from both sides until the 6th, when Archie imploded with 2 outs. A Desmond Jennings homer, Tim Beckham triple, and Curt Casali walk ended his day after 5 2/3rds innings. Jake Barrett came on in relief, but was no better, with pinch hitter Steve Pearce singling home a run to give the Rays the lead for good, 4-3.

The Rays tacked on two more runs after that, with Corey Dickerson homering again for his 2nd of the day in the 7th. Steven Souza singled in the 9th to score Mikie Mahtook and give the Ray sour inal score at 6-3.

The D-backs threatened with the bases loaded in the 9th, but Paul Goldschmidt struck out and Peralta grounded into a game-ending double play. Here's the GameGraph which sums up this game nicely.

Source: FanGraphs

Good Guy - Rickie Weeks (+12.7%)

Bad Guy - David Peralta (-25.6%)

Great support for the matinee game, with 20 brave souls watching and commenting on this one. Comment of thread goes to AzDbackfanInDc, who summed up being a Dbacks fan quite nicely.

Off-day tomorrow, so enjoy the day off. We resume on Friday against the Marlins at home. Maybe we'll play better?