Snake Bytes 9/12: Just Short

Rockies 5, Diamondbacks 4

[D’backs.com] D-backs' rally falls short in opening loss to Rox - Zack Greinke turned in another impressive start for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2017 season, but his bullpen teammates failed to secure the win. Greinke pitched 7 innings allowing only 5 hits and 2 earned runs as well as striking out 6 batters to give him 200 strikeouts for the season. J.J. Hoover and Andrew Chafin were able to strike out the first 2 Rockies batters of the 8th, but Jake Barrett came in and allowed a triple, a walk, and finally a 3 run home run to Nolan Arenado to give the Rockies the lead. No David Hernandez, Jimmie Sherfy, Archie Bradley, or Fernando Rodney sightings while the Diamondbacks had the lead (Sherfy did appear in the 9th with Arizona trailing).

“If the game was on the line,” manager Torey Lovullo said, “I felt like I wanted Arenado against Jake Barrett. (Arenado) typically doesn’t hit the ball as well against right-handed pitching, and he’s hitting over .400 against left-handed pitchers. I just didn’t want to walk T.J. (McFarland) into that type of a situation. There’s two ways to look at it: We’re going after Cargo (Carlos Gonzalez), we’re going to get Cargo left on left, but I just was trying to choose the lesser of two evils.”

[Arizona Sports] Arenado’s eighth inning blast sinks D-backs - J.D. Martinez continued his impressive month of September with another 3 hit performance raising his average to .294. He now has a higher OPS than Paul Goldschmidt at 1.037. The Diamondbacks left 8 runners on base for the game and could not put together a strong enough rally in the 8th and 9th innings to overtake the Rockies for the victory. 6 Diamondbacks reached base via the walk.

"We just couldn't get that big hit or that big moment to push across for us where we scored a couple of runs," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "We had some opportunities, we just didn't do it. I thought situationally we did things well enough at the right time, the right moments, to score some runs but we were just unable to execute in that last inning."

Diamondbacks News

[Arizona Sports] D-backs slugger J.D. Martinez named NL Player of the Week - This was the 5th time in his career that J.D. Martinez has been named as Player of the Week, his 3rd time this season, and 1st time in the National League. In addition to tying a league record with 4 home runs in a game, Martinez hit .429 for the week, scored 8 runs, had 12 hits, 7 home runs, and 11 RBI’s.

[MLB.com] 'Confident' Bradley looks set to cement closer role - Bradley is pitching himself into a complex situation for the 2018 season. If he had it his way, he would be in the starting rotation. The reality is that he has been one of the most dominant arms out of the bullpen in the league this season, and he could find himself in a higher impact role after the 2017 season. Sunday gave fans in Arizona a glimpse of what Bradley in the closer role could look like.

"In a confident way, I think I can do anything now," [Bradley] said. "That's what the bullpen has made me realize. I don't care if I'm a long guy, a setup man or a starter. I feel like with my attitude and the way I approach my day-to-day activities, I can do anything, any role I'm given."

[AZ Central] Thanksgiving deal for Taijuan Walker, Ketel Marte has Diamondbacks thankful - Some fans, myself included, were surprised when Jean Segura was traded to the Seattle Mariners along with Mitch Haniger for Taijuan Walker and Ketel Marte. Segura had managed to outplay Paul Goldschmidt as the best palyer on the team and was a beacon of pride during the dismal 2016 season. The trade has worked out well for both the Mariners and the Diamondbacks this season. Taijuan Walker has been impressive during the stretch run of the season, and Ketel Marte has filled in admirably after injuries to both Chris Owings and Nick Ahmed.

“Think about what happened,” Lovullo said. “We lost two shortstops in a short period of time and we have Ketel Marte who can step in there and basically hold down the fort and hold his own. Without Ketel Marte we wouldn’t be where we are. Taijuan was the No. 1 prospect in baseball. He had a great fastball but the major leagues can humble you at times and I’m sure he thought things were going to be a little easier than they were. He hit some bumps in the road but he made those adjustments and I saw those adjustments taking place a little bit last year.”

Around the League

[ESPN] Power Rankings: Indians might find it's lonely at the top - A week’s worth of winning will almost always draw praise from national critics. ESPN and Sports Illustrated place the Diamondbacks in the top 5. Surprisingly, Bleacher Report ranks Arizona as a top 3 team ahead of the Dodgers. Fanrag currently considers Arizona a top 5 team as well.

[Sporting News] Rays fall to Yankees in surreal 'home game' at Citi Field - The Tampa Bay Rays good deed towards the Houston Astros after Hurricane Harvey was met with a rude reaction from Mother Nature as Hurricane Irma ravages Florida. The East Coast is not out of the clear yet as Hurricane Jose marches with uncertainty in the Atlantic Ocean. Even though the Rays were considered the home team, they were not able to defeat the Yankees at Citi Field and now sit 4 games back in the wild card.

[Associated Press] Argument pauses for 'God Bless America,' - In a rather amusing moment, Bryan Price paused his argument with home plate umpire Shane Livensparger to pay respect during the singing of “God Bless America,” after Scooter Gennett had been ejected. Interestingly, this was not the first time this has happened in a game. Sportscenter replayed some of the previous arguments in their “Not Top 10.” Some managers resumed their arguments afterwards while others realized the argument was petty and returned to the dugout. A stark contrast from the controversy during the National Anthem in that other American sport.

[CBS Sports] Marlins Park appears to suffer superficial damage to roof during Hurricane Irma - Marlins Park appears to have suffered damage that is minuscule in comparison to what the residents of Florida will face. This brings up memories of Arizona State University’s practice field, an inflatable structure, which practically blew away during a monsoon storm a few years ago. Something tells me Jeffrey Loria will make repairs the responsibility of the new ownership group or the residents of Miami after he collects the insurance money.