Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #120: 8/15 @ Rockies

Yep, last night’s losing pitcher, Joe Mantiply, will be starting this afternoon for the D-backs in Coors Field. From what I can see, it’s the first time the D-backs have ever used a starting pitcher on 0 days rest - let alone one who took the loss and failed to record an out the night before. Either Torey Lovullo is playing 4-D chess, or - and social media this afternoon appears to be leaning this way - he has lost his mind. It’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for him. I imagine it’s a plan to lure Colorado into stacking their line-up with right-handed hitters, and after the first, the D-backs will turn to Slade Cecconi and/or Bryce Jarvis the rest of the way. Mind you, lefties seemed to have no issue with Mantiply last night...

Ranking the power rankings

More underwhelming news for the D-backs here, as their losing streak reached nine, before taking two of three from the Padres over the weekend. Was that enough to keep them above San Diego? Well, let’s see, shall we?

• MLB.com: #19 (last week #14)
• CBS Sports: #19 (last week #20) - “They had lost nine in a row heading into Saturday. They’ve now won two in a row! Let’s not get too excited. They only beat the Padres.”
• USA Today: #18 (last week #17) - “The Diamondbacks are 26-40 against teams with a winning record.”
• Sports Illustrated: #19 (last week #20) - “It took Arizona 12 days to pick up its first win of August, Saturday. The Diamondbacks snapped a nine-game losing streak and collected a much-needed series victory, over the Padres.”
• ESPN: #18 (last week #13) - “The D-backs find themselves in a free fall. On Tuesday night, they suffered their seventh consecutive loss and fell to .500 for the first time since April 7. Since the start of July, they’re 8-24, during which they’ve batted .227/.302/.366 and pitched to a 5.33 ERA, making them a bottom-three offense and pitching staff for a span of five and a half weeks. The D-backs are still very much in this, but they need to turn it around fast. “We play with intensity and energy with a certain swagger,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo told reporters after Tuesday’s game. “I haven’t seen that in a while.””

In the end, the D-backs did indeed do just enough to keep their noses in from of the Padres, though this is likely as much to do with San Diego’s failings as their own successes (which have been limited to the Padres for about the last two weeks!). The D-backs dropped an average of 1.8 spots this week. Here’s the NL West standings, and the chart of the season to date.

1. Dodgers: 2.8
2. Giants: 11.4
3. Diamondbacks 18.6
4. Padres: 19.0
5. Rockies: 28.0