Snake Bytes 5/19: The White Flag

Arizona Diamondbacks 5, San Francisco Giants 8

[D’backs.com] D-backs seek answers after Godley’s start - Despite the numbers, Godley found the positives in his outing. “I felt like tonight I was back to where I needed to be,” said Godley. “I felt like I was throwing the ball where I wanted with intent and I think the biggest thing is just working on the 0-2 and 1-2 pitches and being able to put guys away. Other than that, felt great.” The D-backs could have juggled the rotation a bit so that they could push this spot until the upcoming series in San Diego, but D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said he did not want to rearrange the entire rotation. Also, he wanted to give Godley a chance. “I felt like it was a good opportunity for Zack to go out and perform,” Lovullo said. “I thought he had been throwing the ball efficiently -- not as good as he has, [but] I thought I would be a good situation for him to get into.”

[AZ Central] Zack Godley’s struggles continue as Diamondbacks fall to Giants - On Friday, General Manager Mike Hazen said the club still held out hope that Godley would right himself and reemerge as a dependable rotation option. He said the club would need to see consistency from him, but he said a rotation that includes Godley would be “ideal.” It is unclear how Saturday’s performance changes those hopes. Asked after the game what the club planned to do with that rotation spot, Lovullo said he expects the organization’s decision-makers to regroup on Sunday morning. “We’ll try to turn the page as quickly as we possibly can … and try to get the guys together and go over what some of their thoughts are and make the best decision moving forward,” Lovullo said. “I don’t know that answer. But we’re going to talk about it.”

[Arizona Sports] Godley’s latest performance does nothing to solve D-backs’ rotation spot - The flood gates opened up in the third inning as Godley regressed back to his first-inning self. After walking Joe Panik, Steven Duggar needed just two pitches to bring in the second baseman. Buster Posey took advantage of the situation on the next at-bat, bringing in Duggar with an RBI single. Posey would later cross the plate off of a Brandon Crawford sac fly. And just like that, it was 4-0 Giants and the subsequent end of Godley’s night. “It’s hard to pitch when you’re falling behind,” catcher Carson Kelly said after the game. “That’s the case tonight. We went over the plate when we were falling behind and sometimes it doesn’t work out like that.”

Diamondbacks News

[MLB Trade Rumors] Mike Hazen: D-backs Will Likely “Look To Add” Starting Pitching - Hazen, cognizant of Godley’s struggles, revealed in the wake of Taijuan Walker’s newest arm injury that Arizona will likely “look to add” starting pitching leading up to the July trade deadline. Hazen didn’t even close the door on a pursuit of free-agent left-hander Dallas Keuchel, per Piecoro, saying: “We’re going to look at starting pitching now, I would imagine, as we move forward. We’ll see how we get through this next brief period of time. And then I’m sure we’ll be looking at all options of starting pitching.” Keuchel may finally end his holdout and sign somewhere once the first few days of June pass, given that a team would no longer have to surrender draft pick compensation for inking the qualifying offer recipient. But the longtime Astro might not be able to help a club for at least a few weeks after signing, considering he’d probably have to ramp up before returning to a major league mound, and could still score a payday outside the Diamondbacks’ comfort zone.

[MLB.com] Saturday’s top prospect performers - D-backs: Domingo Leyba, SS/2B (No. 24) --2-for-4, HR (4), 2B, RBI, 2 R (Triple-A Reno)The 23-year-old switch-hitter was 4-for-29 (.138 average) over his last eight games before breaking out with a pair of extra-base hits including his fourth home run. The 2018 Southern League Championship Series MVP is off to a strong start this season in Triple-A, hitting .291/.346/.459 with 15 extra-base hits in 38 games.

[Arizona Sports] D-backs ace Zack Greinke avoids IL, will make next scheduled start - The good outweighed the bad ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ game against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. Arizona’s ace, Zack Greinke, will not only miss the injured list after suffering an abdominal strain in his previous outing, but will make his next start Tuesday against the San Diego Padres. After going through a light throwing session Friday and a bullpen Saturday, Greinke has been given the green light from manager Torey Lovullo. “Zack’s bullpen went very good,” Lovullo said of the pitcher Saturday. “He’s going to start for us on Tuesday.” That’s nothing but good news for a team fighting to keep position in a competitive NL West.

[AZ Central] Taijuan Walker’s latest injury a blow to Diamondbacks’ rotation depth - Right-hander Taijuan Walker had been a sort of safety-net-in-waiting this season for the Diamondbacks, a potentially valuable rotation piece whose steady recovery from Tommy John surgery gave them peace of mind about the state of their starting pitching. All of that changed this week. Walker left his rehab start on Wednesday at Salt River Fields with right shoulder discomfort. He was diagnosed with a capsule sprain and received a platelet-rich plasma injection, manager Torey Lovullo said. Walker will not throw again for six weeks, a delay that likely pushes his return from the injured list back to August at the earliest. Though it doesn’t immediately impact the club’s current rotation situation, Walker’s injury is the latest issue to arise in what has been a somewhat fluid area of the Diamondbacks’ roster.

Around the League

[Chicago Tribune] Cubs file a formal protest during their 5-2 loss, alleging Nationals closer Sean Doolittle used an illegal delivery - Cubs manager Joe Maddon went to bat for reliever Carl Edwards Jr. to combat what he believes is a double standard. Maddon played the final two outs of the Cubs’ 5-2 loss to the Nationals on Saturday night under protest, alleging closer Sean Doolittle was allowed to tap his front-right foot before delivering a pitch. Maddon was upset because Major League Baseball told Edwards before making his first appearance of the season March 30 that he could not use the toe tap after using it during spring training without any warning. “It’s really simple,” Maddon said. “That’s exactly what Carl (Edwards) was told he can’t do. And I was told it was an illegal pitch and he can’t do it. I went to (umpire crew chief) Sam Holbrook and I told him that. And he said, ‘In our judgment.’ I said, ‘There’s no judgment. If he taps the ground, it’s an illegal pitch, period.’ There’s nothing to judge. You can judge whether he did or not. It’s obvious that he did. If you can’t tell that, then there’s something absolutely wrong. That was my argument.”

[MLB.com] Trout in rare air with 250 HRs before turning 28 - It’s the second-longest homer from Trout that Statcast has recorded, as his best is a 477-foot shot off lefty Chris Rusin on July 8, 2015, at Coors Field. Trout now has the top two longest homers hit by an Angels player since Statcast was introduced in 2015. It was also the third-longest homer in the Majors this year, trailing the Rangers’ Nomar Mazara (482 feet) and the Pirates’ Josh Bell (474). With his 250th career homer, Trout became the sixth American League player ever to reach that mark before turning 28, joining Alex Rodriguez, Jimmie Foxx, Ken Griffey Jr., Mickey Mantle and Juan Gonzalez. He’s the 13th player overall to reach the mark by his age-27 season.

[ESPN] Rangers’ Kelley has lumps removed from throat - Texas Rangers reliever Shawn Kelley was ready to start pitching again while waiting for the results of a biopsy on two lumps that were surgically removed from his throat. Kelley said Saturday that doctors took out a couple of “decent-sized” lumps on Thursday after a biopsy before the surgery was inconclusive. “I still don’t know the results of what’s in my throat, but it’s out, and I’m going to get back to pitching for now,” he said. “We’ll find out when we find out, but for now, I just want to get back to playing, and physically I feel good, I feel healthy. Arm feels good, body feels good.” The 35-year-old right-hander said he expects to get the results from the latest biopsy early next week. Kelley, who doesn’t use any kind of tobacco, said he noticed the issue early this season. He had the lumps checked this month after they got bigger and bothersome while he tried to sleep.