Snake Bytes: 6/8 - No Rain to End the Pain

Diamondbacks News

Arizona 8, Cincinnati 14
The Diamondbacks tabbed Tyler Gilbert to make an injury start against the Reds on Tuesday evening. Gilbert proved unable to finish two innings. Caleb Smith was better, but still allowed two more runs in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings of work. This left the Snakes down by nine runs after only three innings. They closed the gap some with a five-run rally in the eighth. That’s when Noe Ramirez accepted the meltdown challenge, making it only two-thirds of an inning while surrendering five runs to Cincinnati. Arizona tacked on three more runs in the ninth, but it was far too little too late.

Fifth Starter ‘In Flux’ After Rough Gilbert Outing
With Humberto Castellanos on the IL and Tyler Gilbert getting shelled, the Arizona Diamondbacks are looking for a serviceable arm to fill the fifth starter slot. With the recent arrival of Dallas Keuchel, the writing is on the wall as to who that will be in the next week or so. Luke Weaver may also be ready by the time the spot in the rotation comes up again on Sunday.

Rain-Delayed Comeback Falls Short
Cincinnati’s Graham Ashcraft shut out the Diamondbacks for six innings, allowing only three hits, while not surrendering a free pass. It wasn’t until the eighth inning that Arizona’s bats finally broke through with a five-run eighth, punctuated by Geraldo Perdomo’s fist career home run, a grand slam.

Perdomo Ends Scoreless Streak in Grand Fashion
The Diamondbacks’ run of scoring futility came to an end in the eighth inning last night when shortstop prospect Geraldo Perdomo hit his first career home run off of Reds’ reliever, Jared Solomon. Not only was it a career-first home run, but it came with the bases loaded, making Perdomo’s inaugural home run one of the grand slam variety.

Perdomo’s Grand Slam:

Kelly Taking Aim at Command Issues

After starting off the season as one of the best starters in baseball through his first six starts, Kelly has since allowed 17 runs in 17 innings of work. The struggling right-hander feels that productive bullpen sessions have helped him to identify what was wrong with his feel and timing.

Carson Kelly’s Return Seems Imminent:

Other Baseball News

Angels Fire Joe Maddon
While I expected someone to feel the heat as a result of the Angels’ current losing streak, this was not the expected move. Although, it is not entirely surprising, given that GM Perry Minasian inherited Joe Maddon as manager and rather publicly was not in Maddon’s corner.

MLB Suspends Hector Neris, Dusty Baker
MLB has suspended Astros reliever Hector Neris and manager, Dusty Baker as a result of an incident involving the Seattle Mariners on Monday night. Benches cleared after Neris hit Mariners infielder Ty France in the top of the ninth inning. After a pair of ejections, the sides were warned. Julio Rodríguez followed the France hit-by-pitch with a two-run homer. Two batters later, Neris sailed a fastball behind Suárez’s head, and home plate umpire Chris Guccione ejected both Neris and Baker.

Verlander Becomes Active Strikeout Leader
Justin Verlander had a season-high 12 strikeouts against the Mariners. The feat gave Verlander 3,086 strikeouts for his career, moving him into 17th place, just ahead of ahead of John Smoltz, on the all-time list. The feat also moved Verlander past Max Scherzer for the most strikeouts among active pitchers.

Yankees First to 40 Wins
The Yankees have now won seven straight en route to pacing all of MLB atop the standings.

Semien Kills Slump with Three Homer, Seven Hit Day
With seven hits and three homers, Semien tied a franchise record for hits in a doubleheader, joining Marlon Byrd (Sept. 8, 2009) and the Washington Senators’ Fred Valentine (July 29, 1966). After his seven-hit performance, which included his 11th career multi-homer game, Semien is now slashing .317/.371/.651 in his past 15 games, including four homers and nine hits in his past three alone.