Snake Bytes: 08/08 - Happy Days

Diamondbacks News

Tidings from Turambar: D-backs 6, Rockies 4 - AZ Snake Pit

Jim McLennan: The Ginkel outing deserves mention in a couple of other ways. As mentioned in the GDT, he was the first Diamondback in five years, and the sixth in franchise history, to have an outing of six or more batters without recording a single out. He’s also the first Arizona pitcher since 2014 to have a Win Probability of -60% or worse, in a game the team went on to win.

Mark Melancon picks up save, D-backs rally late to win series over Rockies (arizonasports.com)

“We had a little bit of a situation there, I thought he stepped up and got the big out with Grichuk,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said postgame.

Davies, Walker reward trade-deadline faith, lead D-Backs past Rockies (azcentral.com)

In the case of Davies, the Diamondbacks held on to an expiring contract who, in theory, provides little value to a team outside of playoff contention. But this season, players and coaches alike have spoken of a winning culture that didn’t exist in last year’s 52-110 finish. Players like Davies make that possible.

Mark Melancon gets save after losing grip on closer role (mlb.com)

“I totally understand, and at the end of the day I’m looking to win a ballgame,” Melancon said after receiving the news Friday. “I understand where he’s at. I haven’t performed the way I’ve wanted to. The results haven’t been there. We’re strong down there. Torey made it clear that I can get back in that role and be solidified there. Just to break it up and have a different look sometimes is good. I still think closing is where I have the most value, but right now I totally understand Torey and I agree with him. We need a different look right now, and that’s fine.”

D-backs’ Brent Strom, Tommy Henry work to improve LHP’s breaking stuff (arizonasports.com)

Arizona Diamondbacks pitching coach Brent Strom worked with rookie Tommy Henry in the bullpen Saturday, and the southpaw walked away with improved spin rate on his breaking balls. Strom visited with reporters after the session, and said he noticed Henry gripped his slider and curveball on his fingertips. “Really good breaking ball pitchers that I’ve had a chance to be around … they hold the ball a lot deeper in their hand,” Strom said.

D-Backs ace Gallen hoping to strike balance with new change-up (azcentral.com)

Until the All-Star break, he was throwing the pitch nearly 87 mph. Although Strom noted the success of pitchers with various change-up speeds, pitching coordinator Dan Carlson considers a gap of 10 mph between a fastball and change-up to be the ideal difference.

The logic goes that at slower speeds, a change-up has more margin for error. “That way if I do make a mistake in terms of location, the speed difference might still be able to get it off the barrel,” Gallen said.

Merrill Kelly enjoying best stretch of career for Diamondbacks (azcentral.com)

Surprise, surprise: we are not the only ones enjoying his good performance.

Around The MLB

Jacob deGrom Is Back | FanGraphs Baseball

Ben Clemens: Watching deGrom elicits awe, but it also elicits worry. How can his arm stand it? How can he throw so hard so consistently? Will his body continue to betray him in new ways? He’s pushing the limits of his craft, honing each pitch to a gleaming sheen and overpowering lineups with it. I’m imploring you: watch his next start. The one after that is never guaranteed, and the multi-year run he’s on is rare even in the great sweep of baseball’s history.

Manny Machado, new-look San Diego Padres ‘not at all’ concerned despite sweep by Los Angeles Dodgers (espn.com)

The Padres are now 2-8 against the Dodgers this season and have fallen 15½ games behind them in the division. Given that, Machado was asked if he was concerned about how the Padres match up with the Dodgers — a team they seem destined to face in the postseason.

“Concerned?” he shot back. “Why would I be concerned? Not at all. I’m f---ing Manny Machado,” he quipped.

Cardinals sweep Yankees for seventh straight win (mlb.com)

“The way we’re playing lately, we really weren’t able to do that the whole first half, but now we’re hitting, pitching and playing defense. I remember saying that we hadn’t put it all together yet, but in this homestand, we put it all together.”, said Nolan Arenado.

All the losing makes it hard to play with ‘high morale,’ Shohei Ohtani says (yahoo.com)

“Remaining motivated in that way is hard,” Ohtani said in Japanese when asked if it’s difficult to stay motivated because the Angels are not playoff contenders.

Anthony Banda Elects Free Agency - MLB Trade Rumors

The Blue Jays acquired Banda from the Pirates for cash considerations in early July, adding a bit of left-handed relief depth to the bullpen. Banda appeared in seven games with the Jays (including one appearance as an opener), and posted a 4.26 ERA over 7 1/3 innings. For the 2022 season as a whole, Banda has a 5.88 ERA in 26 combined frames with Toronto and Pittsburgh.

Pete Rose dismisses sexual misconduct questions during Phillies event (azcentral.com)

Rose acknowledged in 2017 that he did have a relationship with the woman, but he said it started when she was 16. He also said they never had sex outside Ohio.

Across The Pacific

Murakami makes NPB history by slamming 5 home runs in a row (Japan)

The 22-year old slugger made history to hit 5 home runs in one game: a feat never accomplished in Japan. With all his accomplishments, Murakami is known for his humbleness around the league.

“I never think of baseball as a job. It is part of my life,” Murakami said during the NPB All-Star games held last week. “Each day, I relish many things—the pain, the joy and the fun—while playing (baseball),” he said.