Snake Bytes 8/19: Goldy Great. Godley Not So Much.

Arizona Diamondbacks 6, San Diego Padres 7

[D’backs.com] Goldy’s big night not enough as SD walks off - Even a Herculean effort from Paul Goldschmidt could not save a victory for the D’backs over the San Diego Padres on Saturday. America’s First Baseman went 4-for-4 with 4 RBI’s and a double, driving in all but 2 of Arizona’s runs. The performance raised his batting average above .290 for the first time all season, and he is now 17-for-33 on the road trip. He’s not back, because he never went anywhere in the first place.

“I mean Paul is Paul and it’s almost amazing his average is getting close to .300,” Lovullo said. “It’s been a steady climb with consistent at-bats and just Paul doing the thing that he’s done all his career.”

[AZ Central] Diamondbacks fall to Padres as division lead shrinks - Zack Godley arguably had too long of a leash in this game, but it didn’t help matters that Robbie Ray did not pitch deep into last night’s contest. The bullpen had been saved entirely in the series opener because of Clay Buchholz complete game. It didn’t start terrible, Godley struck out 4 of the first 6 batters he faced in the game and pitched a perfect 3rd inning, but the Padres jumped all over him from that point forward.

“It’s a tough loss to absorb, but we’ve done it before,” Lovullo said. “We know that we have to do to come back out here tomorrow. We can’t reverse time and go back and change the outcome of this game. We’ve got to find a way to get the job done tomorrow. That’s what we’re focused on.”

[AZ Sports] Paul Goldschmidt’s big night not enough as D-backs fall to Padres - T.J. McFarland, Brad Ziegler, and Archie Bradley combined to not allow a single baserunner over 3 innings, but Andrew Chafin and Yoshihisa Hirano could not continue the trend to secure the win. Chafin walked the first batter he faced, Travis Janikowski, and then Hirano took the call after the next two Padres were retired. Lovullo then called for the intentional walk of Hunter Renfroe which setup pinch hitter Christian Villanueva for the walkoff single.

Diamondbacks News

[MLB.com] Who’s leading the crowded NL MVP Award race? - As the season winds down, hot takes regarding award races abound. Near the end of May it appeared that Goldy would fall well outside of the top ten for National League MVP voting. However, from May 23rd to August 17th, a span of 73 games, he has hit .340/.436/.653 with 42 extra base hits and 54 RBI. That’s obviously excluding his 4-for-4 performance last night, and quite honestly he has me believing that he can sustain this performance through the end of the season. If he does, and carries the D’backs to a division title along the way, he stands a chance to win the award for the first time in his career.

[The Athletic] Paul Goldschmidt is on fire, and he’s bringing the Diamondbacks with him - Goldy is easily posting a career high hard hit rate. His ground ball percentage is below his career norm, and he continues to drive the ball to all parts of the field.

“When [Paul Goldschmidt] is swinging the bat well, the rest of the guys jump on,” Lovullo said. “He’s got that presence, he’s got that leadership quality that seems to open the floodgates for all of his teammates.”

[Arizona Sports] NL West and Wild Card tracker: The D-backs fight for the playoffs - The Colorado Rockies were held scoreless against the Atlanta Braves for much of the game Saturday night, but for the second time this week Atlanta’s bullpen blew it late. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers made it interesting against the Seattle Mariners late in their game, but ultimately lost in extras. That means that Arizona and Colorado are now only separated by half a game in the standings, while Los Angeles gains no ground.

[AZ Central] Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo explains confusion over David Peralta’s status - No, David Peralta was not hungover. He wasn’t told to stay at the team hotel after throwing a tantrum when he was withheld from the lineup Friday night. The Freight Train wasn’t clocked doing 80 MPH in a 35 on a Lime scooter in the Gaslamp District. Peralta legitimately was dealing with a stomach issue Friday evening. Torey Lovullo deliberately withheld that information from the reporter pool so that the Padres could not gameplan around his absence. It seems silly, but sometimes the simplest of explanations make the most sense. Go put your aluminum foil back in the pantry, dudes.

Around the League

[Deadspin] Minnesota Steakhouse Pranks Umpire Joe West With Braille Menu - And for the next course, Chef Angel Hernandez made an undercooked steak salad with romaine lettuce fresh pick from Yuma. E. coli included.

[Cut4] A nun at the White Sox game dazzled with a neat trick before throwing an excellent first-pitch strike - Take note, Godley. You actually can throw a hammer curve without falling off of the mound. Godley talks the talk with his last name, but Sister Mary Jo Sobiec is the real deal with her near flawless mechanics.

“She was pretty good, actually,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “We talked to her a little bit but before we were talking to her, she was talking to someone and she wanted to warm up. She had a mitt and a ball. She gave him the mitt. She stepped back at about 45 feet and threw a bullet. I’m like, ‘Wait a minute.’ He threw it back to her and she fielded it barehanded. I was like, ‘OK, she looks like she can play a little bit,’ so we started talking to her. I think she said, ‘I played center and short.’ I said to her, ‘Can you play for us?’ She said, ‘Sure.’

[NESN] MLB Ruthlessly Trolls Tony Massarotti After Latest J.D. Martinez Home Run - Old acquaintance update. J.D. Martinez swatted his 38th home run of the season Saturday night, continuing to make good on the first season of his 5 year pact with the Boston Red Sox. At this rate, he may choose to exercise his opt out after next season in an effort to secure a more lucrative contract. That is if the market trend we witnessed last offseason does not continue going forward. Martinez is not showing any signs of slowing down as his career continues on the wrong side of 30 years old.

[Yahoo Sports] Trevor Bauer calls out ESPN for seriously reporting joke about him rehabbing with ‘CIA nanites’ - Keith Olbermann. Stephen A. Smith. ESPN. Enough said. Just come here for your news dump, folks. At least you can scream directly at the writing staff here in the comments and get an occasional reaction.