Game #71, Diamondbacks 4, at Padres 10

Another getaway day, another potential sweep. Another BAD potential sweep... It hasn’t be a horrible series all things considered, but it hasn’t been pretty for Arizona fans either. For those of us east of y’know, Arizona, it’s been a late series up until this afternoon. I’m hopeful some of that Wednesday magic shows up again today (Narrator Voice: It did not)!

Lineups

1st

Top

Varsho popped out to shallow right to start the game. But Thomas with a nice infield hit to Cronenworth. Speed baby; it’s a fun tool to have attached to a hit tool for once. And Rojas got a nice single through the traditional short stop position. After 11 pitches, Walker drew a walk. Bases juiced for Pavin (playing 1B! Not DH or OF!); he popped out to left, not deep enough even for Thomas to tag up. Luplow then struck out looking. No runs scored. At least Clevinger’s pitch count is already inflated?

Bottom

Profar quickly singled to center. Followed by a Cronenworth HBP (only a graze, but not ideal). But Voit struck out. As did Alfaro. Kim then zipped one to third that Rojas stopped, but couldn’t actually play. Bases loaded for Nola; he laced one up the middle, scoring two. Grisham then singled to right, scoring another run, and advancing Nola to third. Azocar then got a ball passed Rojas, scoring Nola. Oh man. Abrams popped out to first! The inning ended! 4-0 SAN DIEGO

2nd

Top

Perdomo lined out to first. Hager then singled to right. Herrera flew out to deep center (I’m liking him more and more). And Varsho quickly popped out to right, ending the inning.

Bottom

Profar singled to left. Cronenworth then grounded to first, but Perdomo couldn’t catch the throw from Smith, so no outs. Voit then singled up the middle, scoring Profar and advancing Cronenworth to third. Alfaro grounded into a double play that needed to be called by a challenge. And Kim grounded out to second to end the inning. But damage done. 6-0 SAN DIEGO

3rd

Top

THOMAS HOMERED TO RIGHT; no speed necessary! Rojas followed that up with a strikeout. Walker grounded out to third. Smith then flew out to right.

Bottom

Nola grounded out to Hager. It was nice to get an out without giving up a hit first. Grisham watched strike three right down the middle. Azocar tripled down the third base line... So much for a clean inning. Rojas is not showing off any defensive skills at the hot corner today. Luckily Abrams flew out to right. 6-1 SAN DIEGO

4th

Top

Luplow got to second on a lazy fly ball to left/center when Grisham ran into Profar and the ball dropped in. Perdomo earned himself a nice, confident walk on a borderline pitch. Hager bunted to pitcher and Clevinger got Luplow at third. Herrera then struck out. Varsho got the count to 3-0, but then swung at a pitcher’s pitch and grounded out to third.

Bottom

Profar blooped a singled to right. Cronenworth lined out to right. Voit struck out swining for MadBum’s 2000 strikeout! Then Alfaro struck out swinging as well! 6-1 SAN DIEGO

5th

Top

Adrian Morejon on to pitch. Thomas grounded out to second. Rojas grounded out to second. Walker decided to spice things up a bit and line out to center.

Bottom

Weaver in for Bumgarner. Kim struck out on a foul tip. Nola singled to left. Grisham singled to center. Azocar struck out looking. Abrams singled to third... Rojas is having a rough day on defense. San Diego has challenged him and learned that he can’t handle the spot. Profar singled to right, scoring two. Cronenworth did ground out to first though. 8-2 SAN DIEGO

6th

Top

Smith reached on an error by Voit. Luplow then walked. Perdomo flew out. Hager singled to center. Nick Martinez in to replace Morejon. Herrera grounded out to first, but SMITH SCORED! Varsho stuck out swinging on 4 pitches to end the threat.

Bottom

Caleb Smith in for Weaver. Voit struck out swinging. Alfaro homered to left. Kim lined out to left. And Nola grounded out to short. 9-2 SAN DIEGO

7th

Top

Thomas struck out swinging. Rojas grounded out on the first pitch (just a rough day all around). WALKER HOMERED TO DEEP LEFT! Smith walked. Luplow flew out to right.

Bottom

Smith walked Grisham. Azocar lined a double down the third base line (over Rojas’ head this time), scoring Grisham. Abrams popped out to third (finally a ball Rojas handled without incident). Smith then hit Profar (no San Diego player/coach/fan liked it, not sure I think Caleb has the command to avoid things like that). Cronenworth struck out with a BIG swing. Nomar Manzara in to run for Profar (uncertain if it was an injury issue from the HBP or just a massive lead). Voit lined out to third (amazingly Rojas got there and handled it without issue). 10-3 SAN DIEGO

8th

Top

Perdomo grounded out to second. He ran hard, which I appreciate in late innings of a game like this. Hager grounded out to third on a single pitch. Herrera split right and center with a single. Herrera took second on a passed ball or foul tip, I’m not sure which and not motivated enough to check the official ruling. Varsho struck out swinging. He looks lost at the plate.

Bottom

Wendelken on the mound now. Alfaro singled to right. Then took second on a ball that reached the backstop. Kim grounded to third, which Rojas fielded well, but the throw was short and Smith couldn’t corral it on a short hop, allowing both runners to advance. Second and third nobody out. Nola walked on four pitches. Grisham popped out to short in shallow right field. Azocar lined a ball off Wendelken to Perdomo who started a double play to end the inning. 10-3 SAN DIEGO

9th

Top

Thomas reached on an error by Martinez. Rojas flew out to center on the first pitch (he saw 11 pitches in 5 at bats; something is obviously wrong with him today). Walker singled up the middle. Smith grounded to pitcher, who chose to spin and throw to second, but instead threw to right/center, allowing THOMAS TO SCORE and Walker to third! Luplow flew out to center, no one advanced. Perdomo grounded to Kim who threw to second and erased Smith. That’s game. 10-4 SAN DIEGO

Bottom

Lol so unnecessary.

Conclusion

This game sucked. There’s no beating around the bush. The Diamondbacks basically didn’t show up today. But there were highlights. Perdomo’s at bats still look great; he has a discerning eye for the strike zone like few others. Thomas’ home run was good to see. He’s making adjustments as needed, something we’ve seen Varsho do fairly well and watched Beer fail miserably at the last two years. And Bumgarner struck out the 2000th batter of his career. That’s all I’ve got for good news. The rest was all bad. Rojas lost all my faith in his ability to play third in a single game. Every time San Diego hit it in the general direction of third base, I cringed, assuming a hit or error or bewildered look on his end.

Fangraphs

Comment of the Day

This is the most rec’d comment for today. I’m not going to lie, I don’t remember which reliever prompted Jack’s sarcasm, but y’all liked it!

Next Up

After an off day of travel tomorrow, the Diamondbacks will host the Detroit Tigers for 3 games at Chase Field. We don’t have a starter announced yet for Friday’s opener (6:40pm Arizona Time only on AppleTV+), but we’ll be going up against Rony Garcia of the 4.97 ERA in 38IP this season. In theory we should all enjoy this weekend; Detroit has a worse record than we do in a far less competitive division. However, they do have a lot of young guns on their roster, so I’ll be holding my breath a little bit; the memories of Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are still a tad fresh.