Arizona Diamondbacks 6, Los Angeles Dodgers 14: Welp

Record: 3-7. Change on 2017: -2.

I’d like to thank the Arizona Diamondbacks for providing very little this afternoon which might have distracted me from my friend’s wedding. The surreptitious checking of the phone for updates pretty much ended about the same time Robbie Ray’s day did: two outs into the bottom of the first inning. For the Dodgers batted around in the opening frame, sending ten men to the plate and scoring six times. Five of the runs were charged to Ray who retired only two batters - and one of those was a runner being caught stealing, otherwise it could well have been even worse. Robbie allowed four hits (including two home-run) and two walks.

Joey Krehbiel failed to mop-up after Ray, allowing both inherited runners to score, plus one of his own. Indeed, Neftali Feliz was the only one of the seven pitchers used by the D-backs at Camelback Ranch not to concede at least one run, throwing a scoreless third. Though T.J. McFarland’s run in the fifth inning was at least unearned, the result of a Ketel Marte error. Los Angeles ran up the score late, scoring four times in the sixth against Taylor Clarke and two more in the eighth off David Carpenter. However, Carpenter did at least lower his spring ERA to 47.25. [He has allowed as many home-runs as outs recorded: four of each]. Our staff allowed 19 hits today.

The batters, understandably, were hard pushed to keep pace. They did score a perfectly respectable six runs on nine hits, including home-runs by Christian Walker and Kevin Cron (both shown above). Yasmany Tomas also continued what is becoming a genuinely surprising spring, getting three hits to improve his average to .500. Walker, Marte and Rey Fuentes each had a hit and a walk, the last-named also stealing a base. But when I said I’d like the D-backs to avoid allowing runs in the ninth inning, I did not mean I wanted them to avoid pitching in the ninth inning, by allowing some many runs early... Over the last five games, that’s 58 runs given up. Fortunately #ItsOnlySpringTraining.

Things probably won’t be any easier for the team tomorrow, as they face the Chicago Cubs at an already sold-out Salt River Fields. Taijuan Walker will see if he can do a bit better than Robbie Ray...