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Zack Greinke limited the Giants to two runs over 6 2⁄3 innings. The top of the Arizona lineup got the job done, and the bullpen managed to secure the win, with Fernando Rodney securing his 32st save of the season.
Related: Goldy Homers, Greinke Wins, Rodney Saves
Related: Greinke, Goldy Pace Diamondbacks Past Giants
With Bryce Harper on the DL, the NL MVP race is heating up. Giancarlo Stanton is launching home runs at a furious pace, but Paul Goldschmidt is continuing his consistently excellent play, hitting his 30th home run and passing 100 RBI on the season, all while playing for a playoff-bound team.
Diamondbacks’ Bradley Embraces Players’ Weekend
Archie “Hollywood” Bradley is enjoying the fun the players get to have with nickname jerseys and feels the weekend is good for the sport.
Related: Sheriff Rocks Cowboy Boots Before Players’ Weekend
The return of Robbie Ray to the Arizona rotation helped to keep the Diamondbacks ahead of the Washington Nationals’ pitching staff for the NL lead in team strikeouts.
Related: Robbie Ray, Arm Feeling ‘Fresh’ After Return
Pitch Counts are Walker’s Plague
The right-hander has not pitched poorly during his recent 10-game winless streak, but his pitch count is keeping him from going deep into games.
Ahmed’s Impending Return Creates Options for Lovullo
The return of Nick Ahmed from the 60-day DL should give manager Torey Lovullo some more flexibility on the middle infield, allowing Ketel Marte to field some innings at second base.
Bullpens may be fickle things, but the Diamondbacks can count on at least two things. Archie Bradley is consistently dominant, arguably the best reliever in the game, and Fernando Rodney continues to be a Jekyll and Hyde reliever.
Around MLB
Colorado Has a Holland Problem
Speaking of erratic closers, the Greg Holland that started the season so dominant, yeah, he hasn’t been seen in a few months now.
Has Corey Kluber Passed Chris Sale for AL Cy Young?
Chris Sale keeps getting all the publicity for piling up the strikeouts, but Corey Kluber has quietly been taking over the rest of the AL pitching leaderboards. Meanwhile, the NL Cy Young race continues to get more heated.
Baseball Must Outgrow Old-school Violence
The recent Yankees-Tigers game which resulted in multiple brawls and a player getting beaned highlights the dangers of the Old-West mentality still at work in the game.
Is Baseball’s Age of Parity in Danger?
While single-season spending is not as impactful as multi-season spending, it is becoming easier and easier to split the standings into the haves and have-nots.