Snake Bytes 06/13: On the Road Again

It is that time again for the Arizona Diamondbacks to embark on a road trip beginning with a brief interleague stop against the Detroit Tigers. The two teams split the series at Chase Field earlier this season. The Diamondbacks send Zack Greinke (8-3, 3.20 ERA) to face off against Buck Farmer (2-0, 0.00 ERA) to begin the two game series. Farmer is the current owner of the longest scoreless inning streak in the American League at 13 innings while Greinke is coming off of his shortest outing all season.

Diamondbacks 11, Brewers 1

[D’backs.com] Ray K's 12, D-backs hit 4 HRs in rout of Crew - We were treated to the pitchers duel as advertised between Robbie Ray and Chase Anderson. That is until after Milwaukee took Anderson out of the game after the seventh inning stretch, and the wheels fell off sending their hopes over the guard rail in a blaze of glory. Four home runs, including a first pitch grand slam from Paul Goldschmidt, and ten runs followed in the bottom half of the seventh and eighth innings. Anderson struck out eight Diamondbacks surrendering only four hits through six innings. Meanwhile, Robbie Ray lasted 6 ²⁄₃ striking out twelve on only three hits.

"They came in a little thin in their bullpen and used some of their key guys in that first game," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "We felt like at some point we were going to expose their bullpen. Seemed like we did.”

[Arizona Sports] Robbie Ray, four homers help D-backs thump Brewers

[ESPN] Ray deals, Goldschmidt slams, Diamondbacks rout Brewers 11-1

Diamondbacks News

[Arizona Sports] Diamondbacks land three big bats on Day 1 of 2017 MLB Draft - If you participated in the Draft Thread, then you are surely aware of the surprise when the Diamondbacks selected first baseman Pavin Smith from Virginia. Perhaps I am in denial that there is a possibility Paul Goldschmidt may not be in a Diamondbacks uniform some day. I pray that it is another overreaction on my part. Mike Hazen & Co went for high upside bats with their first 3 selections. Smith rarely strikes out hitting more home runs than he struck out in his junior season. Their second pick at number 44 was third baseman Drew Ellis from Louisville while taking catcher Daulton Varsho from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

[D’backs.com] Goldy, Lamb rising but still out of starting lineup - Goldy quietly leads all Senior Circuit position players in WAR at 3.2 per Fangraphs, yet he is only in third place in All Star voting for National League first baseman. That has to change quickly. Jake Lamb currently sits in 6th in WAR among NL thrid baseman and will need a strong surge in the month of June to make it as a reserve. Voting ends on June 29th.

[AZ Central] Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb's life changed by friend's death - This is a story I remember being told when Jake Lamb was first brought into the league. Lamb and Josh Dickerson met through his sister, Megan Lamb, when Dickerson and Megan were undergoing treatment for cancer. Dickerson passed away while Lamb was in college shortly before being drafted by Arizona. It changed his outlook on the game and life. Jake has “JD2” stitched in his glove to honor his late friend.

“I was just in a bad place,” Lamb said. “I took the game way too serious. If I had a bad game I’d take it out on the people around me. I wasn’t fun to be around.” Dickerson’s death changed all that. Almost immediately Lamb’s attitude began to improve. These days, he’s the same even-keeled personality day in and day out.

[AZ Central] Chaparral 3B Jacob Gonzalez expects to sign after being drafted 58th overall by Giants - What is worse than seeing Gonzo in Dodger blue? How about seeing his son in a Giants uniform? Jacob plans to give up his scholarship with Texas Christian University and sign with the Giants. He hit .489 in his senior season and was a two-time All Arizona selection. Best of luck to the son of the man who brought us the greatest moment in franchise history.

"I couldn't be happier and more excited for him," Luis Gonzalez said. "Spring training is in Arizona. No doubt that he will sign. Jacob and his representative will make it happen and he'll be reporting to camp."

Around the League

[ESPN] Power Rankings: Slugging Yankees closing gap on Astros - Three NL West teams in the top 6 of this week’s edition. Superfight II heavyweight matchup with the Colorado Rockies awaits the team at the end of this road trip. ESPN keeps Arizona at #6 as does FanRag Sports while USA Today moves them up to that same position.

[Fox Sports] The best draft pick on each MLB team’s active roster - Not much of a surprise who takes the top spot for Arizona. Paul was also one of the lowest drafted players to make the list. Small market teams like Arizona (or at least forced into small market by ownership) have to rely on homegrown talent. Poor draft strategy and player development has a larger impact on a team that is unable to sign big ticket free agents. Difficult to believe that Joe Mauer was drafted all the way back in the same year that the D’backs won the World Series.

[Bleacher Report] The Worst Offenders of Baseball's Biggest Problem: The Game's Still Too Slow! - I would not go as far to claim that Zack Greinke is wasting time on the mound as he is a methodical, cerebral pitcher. A long competitive game does not annoy me, but and obscene amount of pickoff attempts during an otherwise lost game is a quick way to get under my skin (looking at you Milwaukee). I would imagine that Goldy has a lengthy time in between pitches taken for the same reasons as Greinke. His routine has become robotic. If you really want to speed up the game, three consecutive pickoff attempts without throwing a pitch should count as 1 ball.