Snake Bytes, 7/2: Six straight sucks

Recaps

[AZ Central] Diamondbacks can't play their best baseball in loss to Giants - “We’re at home and this is where we should play our best baseball, so we’re going to start doing that tonight,” the manager said during his pregame news conference. “The Giants are the No.1 team in our division and we need to start beating those teams, and we’ll start tonight.” Friday night’s 6-4 loss in front of 24,859 at Chase Field extending the team’s skid to a season high-tying six straight defeats and it’s probably more than likely things won’t change Saturday or Sunday when the Diamondbacks face Jeff Samardzija and Albert Suarez.

[dbacks.com] Third outs elusive in Shelby Miller's loss - "A couple of times he would get the second out without a guy scoring and then the third out was elusive," Hale said. "I think his arm is sound. He's just got to limit the damage. Obviously if you're not winning the games, it's not great. That's what we're here for; we're here to win games and he's here to win games. He's not happy with it. Just have to do better. He knows that. He will."

[AP] Shelby Miller remains winless at home, Diamondbacks drop sixth straight - Arizona manager Chip Hale was asked whether he considered walking Brown with Cueto's spot up next. "The pitcher and the catcher know the pitcher is on deck so they are trying to pitch, not give him a 'cookie,'" Hale said. "I think the pitch was supposed to be way out and it kind of leaked back over and he did a great job hitting it down the right-field line."

[Arizona Sports] D-backs lose sixth straight - If the D-backs have any hope of climbing back into playoff contention, this is probably the time when they have to make a run. They entered the evening 6.5 games back of the second wild-card spot in the NL, and Friday’s outing marked the first of 12 straight games against NL West opponents. The problem is, six of those 12 games are against the Giants – owners of the second-best record in the league. And nine of the contests are at Chase, where Arizona is now 13-29 this season.

Team news

[AZ Central] Greinke could return next weekend - With Thursday’s off day, the Diamondbacks were able to push back Greinke’s next scheduled start by one day, from Monday to Tuesday. Right-hander Archie Bradley will start Monday, but the club will need another starter on Tuesday. More than likely, Hale said, that start will go to right-hander Zack Godley. “If we feel like (Greinke) can miss a start and get to the weekend against the Giants before the All-Star break, we could get away with it and bring a starter here for one day and flip it back out for a reliever,” Hale said. “As long as things go well this weekend.”

[FOX Sports] Lamb's power surge among season's best developments - Hale has begun exposing him to more lefties, understanding that the only way he's going to get more proficient is to get more opportunities. Lamb's other challenge is with the glove. He made his 12th error on Wednesday, and fifth in his last seven games. "He's got to be consistent," Hale said. "This is a guy who has a chance to be one of the better third basemen in the league offensively and defensively. He's a very, very good athlete, he's a good third baseman, and he's going through a rough time on defense. But he's made some good plays also. Just have to keep working, keep teaching."

[AZ Central] Shelby Miller can’t make sense of latest loss - Throughout what generally has been a nightmare of a year, Miller has fairly consistently owned his mistakes and the results that have come along with them. Perhaps it says something that did not believe he threw as bad as it appeared on Friday night. Miller said. “I felt like, obviously, early on, I made some bad pitches and I was giving up some homers and stuff like that. Tonight, it was one of those things where I got beat on some good pitches. I mean you just tip your cap to them, I guess, and move on to the next one. It’s one I want to put behind me for sure. I don’t think I pitched near as bad as the numbers showed.”

[CBSSports] The injury woes of the Diamondbacks and Dodgers have sculpted the NL West race - For the D-backs, it's more of a quality over quantity issue. They've lost just 287 player days to the DL, which ranks 22nd in MLB this season. However, when it comes to estimated Wins Above Replacement (WAR) lost to injury in 2016, the Diamondbacks are "tops" in all of baseball, according to Man Games Lost. If Greinke's injury turns out to be worse than anticipated, then that'll be another grave blow.

[dbacks.com] Collmenter, Ziegler visit Phoenix veterans - Collmenter and Ziegler chatted with veterans, provided them pizza for lunch and began the Fourth of July weekend by giving back to those who served the country. "It's always been a soft spot, just for what they do, and it's all voluntary; it's not like they're forced into it. They choose to live their lives that way," said Collmenter, who has a brother in the Marine Corps. "Being able to come and talk to these guys and just what they've done, what they've done with their lives, putting it on the line for us, is special. Talking to them, they always think so much of us, but it's the complete opposite way around. They're the heroes."

And, elsewhere

[ESPN] Carlos Santana's 19th-inning homer sends Indians to 14th straight win - "A franchise-best 14th straight win sure didn't come easy for the Cleveland Indians. Carlos Santana homered in the 19th inning off infielder Darwin Barney, and the Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 on Friday. It's the longest winning streak by an American League team since Oakland won 20 in a row in 2002." Trevor Bauer picked up the win with five relief innings. The Indians, however, still rank dead-last in the majors for attendance, averaging only 16,656.

[News & Observer] "Field of Dreams": Fort Bragg - It has never happened before and it might never again after Sunday, when North Carolina hosts a Major League Baseball regular-season game for the first time. This, in baseball parlance, is the state’s call-up, its promotion to The Show. It’s happening at Fort Bragg outside of Fayetteville. Major League Baseball has built a field and a temporary stadium and put up lights for the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins, who play on Sunday night in a military appreciation game that will be televised nationally on ESPN.

[Slate] Two women joined a minor league pro baseball team for the first time in decades - Two women will join the starting lineup of an independent minor league baseball team on Friday, making the Sonoma Stompers the first professional baseball team to employ multiple women since three women played in the Negro Leagues in the 1950s. The California-based Stompers nabbed 17-year-old Kelsie Whitmore and 25-year-old Stacy Piagno for the team; they’ll start off as a left fielder and pitcher, respectively.