Snake Bytes 8/31: Streak Broken!

Diamondbacks News

Los Angeles 4, Arizona 5

Zac Gallen had another passable performance for the Diamondbacks, helping to further solidify himself as a leading candidate for the 2020 rotation. The somewhat erratic right-hander struck out six and walked only one in his five innings of work. He allowed three runs, but managed to work around some trouble spots and shift-beating squibbers to mitigate the overall damage.

Diamondbacks Win Fifth Straight

Unlike the trouncing Arizona placed on Los Angeles on Thursday, Friday night’s game was a much closer contest, requiring the Diamondbacks to come from behind in the late innings. Josh Rojas had his first career home run, a game-tying two-run shot to right field with two outs in the seventh. Eduardo Escobar added his 31st of the season as well.

You Can Balk It - Locastro Gets Things Done

With the game tied in the eighth inning, Tim Locastro demonstrated why speed can kill. Though he struck out, Locastro still managed to end up on first base by essentially stealing first when the ball got away from catcher Russell Martin. Locastro then stole second and then advanced to third on an Adam Jones single. With the base runners getting into Los Angeles pitcher, Yimi Garcia’s head, Locastro came home, scoring the winning run on a balk.

Eduardo Escobar Presented Second Straight Heart and Hustle Award

Before the game Friday night, Torey Lovullo presented Eduardo Escobar with his second Heart and Hustle finalist award. The Heart and Hustle award was created by the MLBPAA in 2005. The award is presented annually to an active player who demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and embodies the spirit, traditions and value of the game.

Are the Diamondbacks Ready for a Bullpen Youth Movement? (The Athletic)

Despite the success of Kevin Ginkel and the imminent arrival of some starters destined to eventually wind up in the bullpen, Zach Buchanan cautions that the Diamondbacks are unlikely to go too far down the youth movement path.

Nick Ahmed Being Rewarded for Conviction

Injuries made the process take longer than some might have liked, but Nick Ahmed’s belief in himself and in the process he chose to adopt, despite the coaching he was receiving, have paid off. The late bloomer is now one of the top players at his position in the game.

Around Baseball

Medical Examiner Releases Toxicology Report (The Athletic)

The Tarrant County medical examiner’s toxicology report released Friday showed pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who died in his Southlake, Texas, hotel room on July 1, had a mix of fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol in his system at the time of his death. Skaggs’ death, the report said, was ruled an accident; it states that the 27-year-old essentially died choking on his own vomit while under the influence.

Expect there to be more developments in this case, as there were low levels of the opiates in his system, indicating that alcohol was likely the primary contributor. The Skaggs family has hired a high profile lawyer to investigate exactly how and why Skaggs had the opiates in his system to begin with.

Related: Tyler Skaggs Officially Died of Accidental Overdose

Stark: 10 Things Learned in August (The Athletic)

...in the PCL, where, if we set the bar at 130 innings, only three starting pitchers in the whole league have an ERA under 5.00!

That includes the “pitcher-friendly” division of the PCL, folks. There is a reason why teams are now openly stating that they will not send pitching prospects to the PCL.

Ranking the 2019 Playoff Dark Horses

The Diamondbacks still rank fifth on this list, despite how far they are removed from the second Wild Card slot.

The Toughest Remaining Schedules

MLB ranks the Diamondbacks as having the third-toughest remaining schedule.