clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Snake Bytes 9/6: What a Night for Baseball!

The Diamondbacks continued their winning ways in Los Angeles. The Indians kept pace by winning their 13th straight by going homer happy in Chicago. Justin Verlander proved he is still a dominant force to be reckoned with. Manny Machado abused the Yankees, and the Red Sox needed 19 innings to finish off a tense come-from-behind win.

If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Arizona Diamondbacks v Los Angeles Dodgers Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Arizona 3, Los Angeles 1

Zack Greinke continued to build upon his impressive season, holding the Dodgers to only one run in seven innings, with six strikeouts. He was followed by scoreless innings from Bradley, Hernandez, and Rodney. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks’ offense took advantage of a 10th inning defensive miscue by the Dodgers to secure their franchise record-tying 12th win in a row.

Related: Diamondbacks win 12th straight in 10

Approaching History

All sorts of history will be on the line for the Diamondbacks when they take the field in Los Angeles tonight. First off, with a win, the Diamondbacks could set a new franchise record with their 13th consecutive victory. Even more impressive though is the other record they will be up for. If the Diamondbacks can go four more innings without falling behind the Dodgers, they will tie the 2002 Oakland Athletics (102 .0 innings) for the longest streak in baseball history of innings without trailing the opposition.

Related: Diamondbacks Going for Record 13

Diamondbacks’ Streak a Tale of Resilience

After watching their unlikely hot start to the season get washed away by a six-week slump, and then hitting rock-bottom in Minneapolis, the Diamondbacks have righted the ship and made an impact statement, and are poised to make noise in the playoffs, where anything other than being competitive against the Dodgers in the NLDS will now look disappointing.

Goldschmidt’s MRI Clean

There was good news all around for Arizona on Tuesday. Not only did they secure the season series against the rival Dodgers, but even more importantly, the MRI on leading MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt’s elbow came back clean. The slugging first baseman received a cortisone shot and has been cleared by team doctors to return to action immediately, though it does seen that Torey Lovullo will likely hold him out of action until Friday’s game.

Arizona’s 2017 Roberto Clemente Award Nominee: Paul Goldschmidt

The list of nominees features Major Leaguers whose work in the community focuses on important issues ranging from awareness and fundraising of childhood cancer and other illnesses, education, outreach to underserved children and communities in the U.S. and abroad, care for veterans and more.

Stacking J.D. Martinez Up Against History

Taking a quick and dirty look at some of the math behind J.D. Martinez’s historic night.

NL Wild Card Tracker

Of course all of us here at the pit want the Diamondbacks to keep winning and to finish the season strong. However, even if they limp to a 10-13 record to finish the season, the Colorado Rockies would have to go 17-7 to overtake them. Things are looking good for Arizona.

Related: Diamondbacks Moving Up in Postseason Opps

Around MLB

The Yankees’ Strange Fastball Approach

The Diamondbacks are becoming known for having a number of hard throwers. The Yankees, however, have the hardest throwers in the game. So why do they throw the fewest fastballs in baseball, and is it working for them? Could other hard-throwing teams (like Arizona) learn something from this?

Protecting Players Against Big Data

While Big Data is not actually a “thing” , it does seem that the MLBPA would do well to get the same unrestricted access to Statcast data as the league has.

Red Sox May Possibly Face Sanctions for Illegal Use of Technology

While baseball has never had a rule against stealing signs, there is a rule against using technology, even simple technology like binoculars, to perpetrate the theft. Using replay cameras and an Apple Watch far exceeds the threshold for the illicit use of technology in the game.

MLB’s Exciting Night

Red Sox Go 19 Innings in Comeback Win

THe Red Sox entered the bottom of the ninth down two. They managed to tie it up and force extra innings. Then, in the eleventh, the potential go-ahead run was gunned down at the plate. Eight innings later, Hanley Ramirez flared a single to center to score Mookie Betts from third and send Boston home a winner. The game only took six hours to play.

Verlander Makes Houston Debut

After spending the last 12.5 seasons as one of Detroit’s two franchise players, the highly decorated right hander took the mound for Houston on Tuesday. He didn’t disappoint, building on what has been yet another strong second-half performance. The former Cy Young Award winner threw six innings of one-run ball, striking out seven along the way.

Machado, Orioles Walk Off Yankees

Though it doesn’t sound like much at first, it’s all about context. Fresh off of winning MLB’s AL Player of the Month, Manny Machado launched two more home runs against the Yankees on Tuesday night; one of them a walk-off homer against Dillon Betances, as the Orioles hit four home runs in the game to turn a third inning five-run deficit into a 7-6 victory against their division rivals.

Raker’s Dozen - Tribe Wins 13th Straight

The Arizona Diamondbacks aren’t the only team in baseball piling up wins as the season comes to a close. The Cleveland Indians deposited four balls in the seats on Tuesday en route to a 9-4 victory over the White Sox, their 13th consecutive win of the season. During that winning streak, the Indians have actually trailed the opposition twice in 117 innings of play, helping to put the Diamondbacks’ streak into some perspective.