Snake Bytes 9/18: Contractual Obligation

Arizona Diamondbacks 1, Chicago Cubs 5

[D’backs.com] D-backs pushed further back by Cubs’ Hendricks - The days in the season are dwindling and the D-backs’ deficit in the standings is growing. It’s not a good combination. On Monday night, the D-backs managed just three hits in 8 2/3 innings against Kyle Hendricks as they fell, 5-1, to the Cubs at Chase Field. With the loss, the third-place D-backs will be at least five games out of first place after the Rockies and Dodgers wrap up their showdown in Los Angeles. A Colorado win would leave Arizona 5 1/2 games out, with 11 games left on the schedule.

[AZ Central] Javier Baez hands Diamondbacks another loss as Cubs fans take over Chase Field - After an arduous road trip in which the Diamondbacks lost valuable ground in their quest for a postseason spot, the club probably wanted nothing more than to play for its own fans. But as the Diamondbacks opened a six-game homestand with a game against the Chicago Cubs on Monday at Chase Field, that’s not what they got. Instead, they played against a crowd painted blue and openly rooting for the visitors, who opened the three-game series with a 5-1 victory over the Diamondbacks.

Diamondbacks News

[SB Nation] The Game 7 walk-off finish to the 2001 World Series needs a deep rewind -

[D’backs.com] Larger than life: Peralta grateful for opportunity - The swagger, at least temporarily, was gone. These days, it is next to impossible to find D-backs outfielder David Peralta without his infectious smile, an energy level dialed into overdrive and a larger-than-life personality that could make an extrovert blush. But during a stretch playing independent ball in Texas after his conversion from pitcher to position player seven years ago, an extended hitting slump sucked all of the fun out of the youngster’s game. Peralta stresses that at no time did quitting ever cross his mind, but with his confidence shaken and doubt creeping into his psyche, he made a call to his wife, Jordan, for some much-needed words of encouragement.

[Arizona Sports] Diamondbacks will start reliever Matt Andriese on Tuesday - The Arizona Diamondbacks announced on Monday they will have reliever Matt Andriese start on Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs. Tuesday would have been right-hander Clay Buchholz’s turn in the rotation, but Buchholz was ruled out the rest of the year due to a flexor strain in his right arm. Buchholz was a late scratch on Thursday in Colorado, leading to Matt Koch replacing him. In Buchholz’s place, Koch allowed four earned runs in 3.0 innings. The 29-year-old Andriese was previously a starter in 2016 and 2017 for the Tampa Bay Rays. He started a career-high 19 games in 2016, throwing 127.2 innings and posting a 4.37 ERA.

[AZ Central] What adjustments does Diamondbacks reliever Archie Bradley need to make next season? - Pitchers and batters are constantly at war with one another. When the advantage begins to tilt in favor of one side, the other will make an adjustment. When it inevitably tilts back, more adjustments follow. It’s a cosmic cycle that has been in motion since the early days of baseball. It’s also the situation in which Diamondbacks right-hander Archie Bradley finds himself. Bradley, who not too long ago was regarded as one of the most dominant relief pitchers in the National League, has posted a 3.65 ERA this season, due in part to some particularly poor performances in recent months.

[The Athletic] What happened to the Diamondbacks’ defense? - All little​ over a month ago, the​ Diamondbacks​ had​ what looked like perhaps the best​ defense​ in​ baseball​​ history. The morning of Aug. 9, after Baseball Info Solutions had updated their statistics from the previous day’s games, the Diamondbacks sat atop the leaderboards for Defensive Runs Saved at 108. It was by far the highest total in the majors and it was also the highest in history, surpassing the mark of 107 set by the Cubs in 2016. DRS, like WAR, is a counting stat that can be subtracted from just as easily as added to, but the Diamondbacks had 46 games to pad their record. In a write-up of the achievement, ArizonaSports.com summed things up thusly: “Assuming Arizona doesn’t take a drastic turn to become a self-destructive, mistake-prone defensive team, it can finish the year with that record.” Don’t look now, but that seems to be exactly what has happened.

Around the League

[WISN] Yelich makes MLB history with 2nd cycle in 3 weeks - Christian Yelich became the first major leaguer to hit for the cycle twice in one season against the same team, driving in four runs to lead the Milwaukee Brewers over the Cincinnati Reds 8-0 on Monday night. Less than three weeks after his cycle in Cincinnati, the streaking slugger accomplished the feat against the last-place Reds once again to help the Brewers in their playoff pursuit. Milwaukee began the night 2½ games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central but with a three-game lead in the wild-card race. The previous player with two cycles in one season was Aaron Hill in 2012 (with the Arizona Diamondbacks).

[CBS Sports] How to fix baseball? Two ways MLB can improve its product without changing the game on the field - (Slow clap. These are changes I can get behind. Bravo.)