D-backs Preview #125: 8/22 @ Rockies

Line-up

The Diamondbacks are 1-7 in Coors field this year, with two of those losses being walk off losses. May 23rd and of course last night . Their lone victory in Colorado came on April 6th

With losses the last two games the Diamondbacks have now taken over the worst road record in MLB from the Rockies.

AZ: 14-47, CO:14-45, TX: 15-46

They’ve also crept to within one “back” in the loss column of the Baltimore Orioles for the #1 pick in the 2022 draft

BAL: 38-84, AZ: 41-83, TEX:43-80, PIT: 44-79

Full MLB Standings from Baseball-Reference

Torey Lovullo notes

Monday Starter still TBD. They will announce after the game. There are many moving parts

Luke Weaver: They are still working through next steps for Luke and are not yet ready to announce when he will be activated or in what role

Kole Calhoun took 4-5 live AB’s in a B game yesterday, but did not run the bases. That should be coming soon

Joe Mantiply is rejoining the team today in Colorado but is not yet activated. He will throw a bullpen session however.

Merrill Kelly is in day 8 of his mandatory 10 day quarantine. He will need to undergo several negative tests and then needs to be cleared by a MLB review committee before he can be cleared to re join the team. Most importantly, Torey said he spoke to Merrill, and “he’s feeling full of life, feeling good.”

Last Night’s top of the 9th : A very interesting question from Nick Piecoro about the choice to pinch hit Rojas first and then VanMeter vs the other way around. Rojas got intentionally walked never getting to swing the bat and then VanMeter flew out to end the game. Nick was wondering if Bud Black would have been less likely to walk VanMeter. The last 3 minutes or so of the audio Torey gives detailed description of what they’re talking about 15-20 minutes before the fact, and all the considerations that they have to walk through in the moment. He did mention that Buddy usually doesn’t Intentionally Walk batters at home. Actually Colorado is tied for fewest IBB in the NL with 13. 6 at home, 7 on the road. D-backs are tied for the most IBB, with 34, (15 H, 19 A) Good food for thought for all us armchair managers.

Torey Lovullo audio [or link]