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Archie Bradley
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Jimmy Nelson
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| Michael Bourn - LF | Jonathan Villar - SS |
| Phil Gosselin - 2B | Scooter Gennett - 2B |
| Jean Segura - SS | Ryan Braun - LF |
| Paul Goldschmidt - 1B | Jonathan Lucroy - C |
| Welington Castillo - C | Chris Carter - 1B |
| Yasmany Tomas - RF | Kirk Nieuwenhuis - RF |
| Chris Owings - CF | Hernan Perez - 3B |
| Brandon Drury - 3B | Keon Broxton - CF |
| Archie Bradley - RHP | Jimmy Nelson - RHP |
The D-backs still sit at #5 in the Tankapalooza standings, two games behind the Cincinnati Reds. That probably won't remain the case for long if Arizona's pitching doesn't shape up. Our July ERA is a collective 5.80. With just five games to go, that's the highest figure for a single month since May 2010, when we were 6.10. Here are the ten worst calendar months for Diamondbacks' pitchers.
| Rk | Split | Year | ERA | W | L | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | WHIP | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August | 2005 | 6.69 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 3 | 242.0 | 291 | 196 | 180 | 45 | 106 | 175 | 1.640 | .897 |
| 2 | May | 2010 | 6.10 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 4 | 250.2 | 299 | 183 | 170 | 50 | 102 | 198 | 1.600 | .881 |
| 3 | June | 2005 | 5.99 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 4 | 245.0 | 295 | 179 | 163 | 37 | 84 | 169 | 1.547 | .844 |
| 4 | June | 2006 | 5.93 | 8 | 20 | 28 | 6 | 252.0 | 296 | 184 | 166 | 37 | 93 | 212 | 1.544 | .837 |
| 5 | April/March | 1998 | 5.89 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 5 | 233.2 | 247 | 157 | 153 | 42 | 95 | 147 | 1.464 | .824 |
| 6 | July | 2016 | 5.80 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 3 | 169.0 | 200 | 126 | 109 | 26 | 81 | 172 | 1.663 | .860 |
| 7 | April/March | 2010 | 5.62 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 6 | 205.0 | 227 | 138 | 128 | 37 | 75 | 163 | 1.473 | .826 |
| 8 | July | 2004 | 5.36 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 3 | 243.2 | 261 | 169 | 145 | 42 | 108 | 198 | 1.514 | .823 |
| 9 | April/March | 2004 | 5.34 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 3 | 199.0 | 196 | 130 | 118 | 28 | 100 | 181 | 1.487 | .802 |
| 10 | July | 2010 | 5.23 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 3 | 227.0 | 247 | 144 | 132 | 34 | 89 | 178 | 1.480 | .807 |
Neither side of the pitching equation escapes criticism. Our relievers have a 5.56 ERA in July, while Arizona's rotation is at 5.96. However, in terms of decisions, the bullpen are 2-2, and the starters are 3-12, with just three victories in the past five weeks. That rotational ERA so far in July is the third worst for a month in franchise history, behind the first month of 2014 (6.29) and August 2005 (6.00). In nineteen attempts, our pitchers have three quality starts this month: two by Archie Bradley (July 10 and 16) and one by Robbie Ray (July 17). So, I guess Bradley tonight represents our best chance of success.
Overall, the 5-14 record for the team so far in July is the worst for a month in 12 years, since the apocalypse which was July 2004. That's not going to be threatened, even if the D-backs lose every game the rest of the way, they'd still be two games better than the 5-23 record posted by the team in 2004. The team need to win two of the remaining five games to surpass the third-worst mark, from the last month of 2014, when they went 7-19. Given the last three of the games here will be on the road in Los Angeles, I'd be a lot more confident in the team doing it, if they can get one of those victories under their belts this afternoon.