Snake Bytes, 8/9: Hello, first place...

Recaps

[Arizona Sports] White-hot Peralta, composed Corbin lead D-backs in win over Phillies - Patrick Corbin made a Wednesday afternoon matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies boring in the best way. Corbin cruised through 7.1 innings, giving up no runs, four hits and zero walks with nine strikeouts in the D-backs’ 6-0 win. Through five innings, Corbin’s only two baserunners were off singles hit by Phillies third baseman Carlos Hernandez. In both the first and fourth inning, Corbin produced two double plays to stop Hernandez from even advancing to second base.

[AZ Central] Home cooking leads David Peralta, D-Backs - Peralta was 10 for 16 (.625 average) in the three-game set against the Phillies — including a walk-off home run in the 14th inning on Monday — and is now 18 for his last 37 (.486) dating back to Aug. 2. His season average is up to .306. “David Peralta is continuing to be one of our offensive leaders,” manager Torey Lovullo said after the game. “I think the league needs to take notice of the success that he’s having. He’s in the middle of a lot of the things that are happening here, and he definitely deserves the credit. “He wants to be right in the middle of all the traffic. That’s what he was born with.”

[MLB] D-backs’ bats light up to back lights-out Corbin - With a tough schedule looming at the end of August and in September, the D-backs need to play well on [a] trip which includes games against the Rangers and Padres in addition to the Reds -- alll teams well under the .500 mark. It dovetails with Lovullo’s philosophy of August being a “moving month” for contending teams, a chance to jump ahead in a crowded National League race for postseason spots. “I know these guys are ready for that challenge,” Lovullo said. “We’ve talked about it, they’ve embraced it and hopefully we come out on the positive side. Hopefully, we have some good news when we come back on that plane ride from San Diego.”

Team news

[Arizona Sports] David Peralta's 'secret' helps him reach marks set by Gonzo, Goldschmidt - Left fielder David Peralta had 10 hits in three games against the Phillies. He also had a secret weapon. “It’s a little secret, but the cooking from my wife, she’s cooking really well, and I’ve got my cousin,” Peralta said. “From Venezuela, first time here in the United States. So I guess he’s my lucky thing.” We’ll keep our voices down if you keep Cousin Jonathan around. Peralta had three games with four hits over the last two series, giving him six such games for the season, a number matched only by New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

[AZ Central] Andriese credits pitching coach with improvement - Andriese said. “I would say that when I was in Tampa … I had inconsistencies in my setup before I pitched. “My first couple outings here — Rangers, especially — I was definitely tipping my pitches, in a sense. I would make good pitches but they would sit on certain pitches. The results were kind of like, 'Huh, how did he hit that pitch so well?'" The goal was also to release some of the stress that Andriese was carrying. “Ultimately you don’t want to have to carry all this tension through your shoulders,” Butcher said. “You want to be able to free up your body a little bit so it works smoother and more efficiently.”

[The Athletic] What has led to Eduardo Escobar’s breakout season? - His contact percentage sat in the low 80s his first several years in the big leagues, but has dropped to 77.8 percent this season. That corresponds with a greater willingness to swing at pitches, both in and out of the zone. He swings more and makes contact less often, but does more damage when he connects. That clashes with Escobar’s own perception of his plan at the plate – “Sometimes, I got into trouble swinging at balls out,” he said. “I’m more focused more at swinging at strikes. I think that’s what’s different this year.” – but the numbers don’t lie. They’re not unusual, either. Trading contact for power is a bargain many hitters wind up making.

[Arizona Sports] Lovullo sees surging Souza not forcing too much - There was an adjustment period of sorts for Souza, coming into a 93-win team that was asking him to play an important role for them. “I think it’s a natural feeling where players come on board and you join a team like this — it’s a bonded family, we had a lot of success and you want to fit in and be a piece of that puzzle,” Lovullo said. “Then you add in the intensity of what Steven brings every single day and he just wanted it so bad. I could sense that … I just want to put him in a situation where he was reminded to be himself.”

And, elsewhere...

[SI] Jayson Werth Talks ‘Super Nerds’ Ruining Baseball - When they come down, these kids from MIT, or Stanford, or Harvard, wherever they’re from, they’ve never played baseball in their life. When they come down to talk about stuff like [shifts], should I just bunt it over there? They’re like, ‘No, don’t do that. We don’t want you to do that. We want you to hit a homer.’ It’s just not baseball to me. We’re creating something that’s not fun to watch. It’s boring. You’re turning players into robots. They’ve taken the human element out of the game.

[MiLB] Pulaski Yankees add live cow raffle to Agriculture Night promotion - The Pulaski Yankees are excited to announce the addition of a live cow raffle to the team’s Agriculture Night presented by Farm Credit of the Virginias on August 22. The team will be selling raffle tickets, with one lucky winner receiving a live cow that will be present at Motor Mile Field at Calfee Park during the Wednesday night game against the Princeton Rays. The cow raffle adds to a lineup of activities that includes a petting zoo featuring Homestead Creamery’s Calf Tour and cow jerseys to be worn by the Yankees players. The specialty jerseys will be auctioned off during the game, with proceeds benefiting 4-H of Pulaski County.

And finally... I’m pinch-hitting for the Internet-less edbigghead. I would not sink to steal his thunder by posting any Snake News (TM). But I will just leave you with this, equally creepy, non-mammalian incident from yesterday...