SnakeBytes 6/16: On to the next

Diamondbacks News

(Arizona Sports) D-backs drop 3rd straight to Phillies, Ryne Nelson searches for consistent results

Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson produced another mixed bag of results Thursday in a 5-4 defeat to the Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona’s third straight loss at Chase Field.

Nelson caused 14 swings and misses and finished five strikeouts with three different pitches. But a vaunted Phillies lineup jumped on him in the second and fourth innings to end his start early.

(12 News) Diamondbacks drop series against defending NL Champion Phillies

“This team is probably a little bit frustrated, having lost a couple tough games in a row. That’s a good team over there,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Thursday. “We gotta fight to learn how to win these games and expect to win these games. I know we do. But they’re the defending National League Champions for a reason. It’s nice to go toe-to-toe with them but I’m not all about moral victories. I like wins. Period. End of story.”

(SI) D-backs Drop 3rd in a Row to Phillies, Losing 5-4,

The D-backs have now lost three in a row for the third time this season. They have not had a four game losing streak yet in 2024. They will try to avoid that when they face the Cleveland Guardians tomorrow night at 6:40 P.M. for the first of a three game weekend series. Zac Gallen will try to bounce back from his most recent poor start. He’ll face Tristan McKenzie.

(AZ Central) Lovullo non-committal on Ryne Nelson’s future in Diamondbacks’ rotation after loss

That response could be a window into the team’s decision. Lovullo has been directly asked about a pitcher’s rotation spot at least four times this season. Twice, he confirmed the pitcher would make his next start. Twice, he demurred — once with Madison Bumgarner, once with Brandon Pfaadt. Both pitchers were removed from the 26-man roster the next day.

(USA Today) Manfred hopes voter rejection of Coyotes arena won’t hurt Diamondbacks stadium deal

“I think that Ken Kendrick has indicated a willingness to fulfill his side of sort of the public/private partnership to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars,” Manfred said. “I’m hopeful that whatever went on with the Coyotes is not an indication of a lack of public support to fulfill the public part of that partnership to keep the Arizona facility a first-class major league facility.”

MLB News

(CBS News) Update: Nevada Gov. signs A’s stadium bill; MLB lays out process for Las Vegas move

“This [Manfred’s assertation that Oakland did not attempt to make a deal] is just totally false. There was a very concrete proposal under discussion and Oakland had gone above and beyond to clear hurdles, including securing funding for infrastructure, providing an environmental review and working with other agencies to finalize approvals,” Thao said. “The reality is the A’s ownership had insisted on a multibillion dollar, 55-acre project that included a ballpark, residential, commercial and retail space.”

(Yahoo! Sports) Ohtani gets the win, ties for the MLB HR lead as the Angels beat the Rangers 5-3

Ohtani’s 10th homer in his past 16 games, and the second pitching start in a row when he also went deep, matched Pete Alonso for the big league lead and extended his hitting streak to 12 games. The left-handed hitter also went into the upper deck to the left of center in the series opener Monday and again Wednesday — those going 459 and 453 feet. His second homer in Monday’s game, a 388-foot drive that just cleared the left-field wall, came on the first pitch of the 12th inning.

(MLB.com) Luke Raley Homer lifts Rays to 50 wins

With the victory, Tampa Bay became the first team in the Majors to win 50 games this season. Only six other teams in MLB’s Wild Card Era (since 1994) have reached 50 wins as quickly as the Rays (50-22): Cleveland in 1995, Seattle in 2001, the White Sox in 2005 and the Yankees in 1998, 2018 and last year.