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Matt Wisler
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Robbie Ray
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| Ender Inciarte - CF | Jean Segura - 2B |
| Adonis Garcia - 3B | Michael Bourn - CF |
| Freddie Freeman - 1B | Paul Goldschmidt - 1B |
| Matt Kemp - LF | Jake Lamb - 3B |
| Nick Markakis - RF | Mitch Haniger - RF |
| Anthony Recker - C | Chris Owings - SS |
| Dansby Swanson - SS | Brandon Drury - LF |
| Gordon Beckham - 2B | Tuffy Gosewisch - C |
| Matt Wisler - RHP | Robbie Ray - LHP |
The last time the Diamondbacks won two games in the same series in walk-off fashion, it was August 2013, when we swept the Baltimore Orioles on a trio of them, in nine, eleven and fourteen innings. But those were different: we trailed after six innings of the opener, and tied things up in the bottom of the ninth for both the second and third victories. Comebacks like that just seem enormously more satisfactory than contests like last night, where we led from two outs into the bottom of the first inning, and were up by four after eight innings, then somehow found ourselves having to hang on, merely to force extra innings.
At that point, the game became like betting with house money for the Atlanta Braves - a chance to win a game they had no business still playing. Fortunately, Arizona still prevailed, but it felt more like a desperate victory, snatched from the jaws of another, considerably more satisfactory win than anything. I have to question Chip Hale's bullpen usage too, since there's no way it should have taken six relievers to get through three innings. Admittedly, he's not helped by the lack of reliable arms down there these days, but the pair to whom he says he'll now be turning, were both burned before the seventh inning stretch. Which is why we saw Dominic Leone in a save situation. Anyone surprised how that worked out?
That, however, will not be a problem tonight, with Leone no longer on the roster. Instead, we could get to see the 23rd different reliever used by the Diamondbacks this season, with Vincente Campos making his major-league debut. It's already a record, the 22 current bullpen arms used having broken the previous mark of 21, set in...2015. Yeah, bullpen churn appears to be a trademark of the Hale era. Coincidentally, the only team to have used more this year are tonight's opponents from Atlanta, who have already reached 24 relievers. Good job we won't be facing each other in September, or who knows how many pitching changes we might be seeing.