AZ Snake Pit - Game #28, April 30: Diamondbacks 8, Dodgers 5An unofficial Arizona Diamondbacks community and bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47033/azsnakepit_f.png2018-05-01T01:30:53-04:00http://www.azsnakepit.com/rss/stream/170693092018-05-01T01:30:53-04:002018-05-01T01:30:53-04:00Arizona Diamondbacks 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 5, Slicing and Dicing
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<img alt="MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xR6awS9KDi5bNuRUa6bP_UgL75Y=/0x362:3891x2956/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59585529/usa_today_10815392.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Did Jerry Layne and Zack Greinke just become best friends!?</p> <p id="stwvTZ">Let me first state how thankful I am that this game did not go into extra innings. I am very grateful that <span>Zack Greinke</span> and Jerry Layne agree on a strike-zone that drove the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> hitters into insanity.</p>
<p id="0oGVyJ">The <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> jumped on the Dodgers early with <span>A.J. Pollock</span> starting the night off with a homer to left field. Pollock was able to barrel the ball up with an 0-2 count which is rather impressive. <span>Nick Ahmed</span> and Zack Greinke both singled driving in a run a piece. Greinke’s hit was rather impressive as it was absolutely ripped. Like the broadcast team talked about, Greinke has garnered a-lot of respect as a hitter and thus changing the game plan for opposing pitchers.</p>
<p id="UigKsE">Ahmed and Pollock added home runs in the 4th and 5th respectively. This was Pollock’s second home run of the night. The Dodgers attempted to mount a comeback on the shoulders of <span>Yasmani Grandal</span>, <span>Joc Pederson</span> and <span>Max Muncy</span>. However, it was not enough. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Yes, Steve, the results speak for themselves. A.J. with his second multi-homer game this season and the <a href="https://twitter.com/Dbacks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dbacks</a> are cruising once again. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BeatLA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BeatLA</a> <a href="https://t.co/wTcrFFZzPa">pic.twitter.com/wTcrFFZzPa</a></p>— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/FOXSPORTSAZ/status/991154556405858305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2018</a>
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<p id="R9LmGM">Our prayers will be up for David Peralta as he took a nasty pitch form Tony Cingrani and nailed him in the right wrist. It seemed to barely get him, however it will be something to watch. The positive note here is that Peralta was able to get a run in to extend the D-Backs lead to 3. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Oh, no. This is not how you want to get an RBI. Peralta is hit in the hand (with the bases loaded) and has to leave the game. <a href="https://t.co/zgQ2PnmO8F">pic.twitter.com/zgQ2PnmO8F</a></p>— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/FOXSPORTSAZ/status/991171869716836352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2018</a>
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<p id="QgAqUq">Jarod Dyson also took a nasty spill when Chris Taylor’s throw was long and lifted Bellinger off of the bag. Thus causing Bellinger to try and place a tag which led to Dyson’s spill. Dyson’s pain was not for nothing as the lead was extended to 4.</p>
<p id="GhkXsM">I will be the first to admit that I may have made a grave mistake in terms of my win predictions. This team is exceeding expectations. This game indicated alot of what is providing the D-Backs with the ammunition to win, and some great signs from Zack Greinke. Zach was hitting all of his spots tonight and using the strike zone that Jerry Layne provided. </p>
<p id="J7KRKW">With Jake Lamb and Steven Souza having missed time, you cannot afford to lose the offensive capabilities of the top of your lineup. Finally, this team is a defensive juggernaut. Like Bob Brenly said on the broadcast, even though David Peralta left the game, the defense did not worsen.</p>
<p id="Zb7EcT">The D-Backs bullpen continues to be one of its strengths. While Yoshi gave up the bomb to Max Muncy, he stopped the bleeding. That is the biggest thing you ask from your bullpen. The Sheriff came in and gave up a run on a long Joc Pederson line-out. This led to Archie Bradley getting the call as Matt Kemp was officially announced into the game. The biggest thing you have to worry about is the injuries to top players. Archie Bradley came into a high leverage situation with a runner on third and was tacked on for a run. His ability to work quickly and get strikes is impressive. Brad Boxberger came in to close out the game and earned it by getting Muncy, Valera and Chris Taylor out with less than 8 pitches.</p>
<p id="ylJM3u">This may be the D-Backs fan in me, however this game didn't seem as intriguing as previous matchups. While the score indicates a close game, (for myself at least) it didn't really feel in doubt. Yes you had the, “late inning comeback,” but it didn't really worry me. A.J. Pollock’s third bomb of the night was just the insurance needed to put away the Dodgers.</p>
<p id="SG90Lx"><strong>Snake Stars</strong></p>
<p id="NeGh0J">☆☆☆: Zack Greinke: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO, 2-2, 1 RBI*<br>☆☆: A.J. Pollock: 3-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, 3 HR<br>☆: Nick Ahmed: 3-5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR</p>
<p id="AhAezo">Roll Call: With 719 comments and 36 commenters, we were joined by alot of great D-Backs fans! These commenters included AZKodiak, AzRattler, BigSmarty, CumulusChoir, DORRITO, Desert_Devil, Diamondhacks, Fangdango, GuruB, Jackwriter, Jim McLennan, Makakilo, Michael McDermott, MikeDavisAZ, MikeMono, MrMrrbi, SonomaComa1999, Sprankton, The so-called Beautiful, Turambar, asteroid, bbtng, cardshuffle, coldblueAZ, edbigghead, hotclaws, kamshing, kilnborn, megnetic, onedotfive, ponus, red_leader, rustynails77, shoewizard, since_98, smartplays. </p>
<p id="82g2QL">I am deeming SonomaComa1999 the commenter of the night due to the sheer volume of comments he produced (66 in fact).</p>
<p id="JfTDTf">Fangraphs: </p>
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<p id="09HTJl">For the D-Backs, Zack Greinke posted a 20% WPA, with Nick Ahmed and A.J. Pollock posting WPA’s of 13.3% and 12% respectively.</p>
<p id="WWJS4E">The Dodgers were a different story with only Yasmani Grandal posting a positive WPA (15.5%). Ross Stripling led the way with a -18% WPA. While Cody Bellinger and Kike Hernandez posted WPA’s of -12.4% and -10.6% respectively.</p>
<p id="jhx8C2">This is the second Monday recap I’ve done this season, and both have involved the Los Angeles Dodgers. Through the extra inning extravaganza and this game tonight, I think I can gladly state that this Dodger team is drastically worse. The Dodgers lineup was a mix of hyped up prospects and no-namers (sorry Max Muncy). With the news of <span>Corey Seager</span>’s season ending injury and <span>Cody Bellinger</span>’s apparent beef with <span>Dave Roberts</span>, this Dodgers team looks defeated. </p>
<p id="BkO83X">#BeatLA</p>
<p id="Yq3GtC">[Torey Lovullo just said in the post-game press conference that the X-rays on Peralta’s hand were negative, and he’s day-to-day. That’s a huge bullet Arizona appears to have dodged, but I imagine he will not be in the lineup tomorrow. That’s one hella painful way of getting out of facing Clayton Kershaw!]</p>
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https://www.azsnakepit.com/2018/5/1/17305896/arizona-diamondbacks-los-angeles-dodgers-recapAlexander Boxwell2018-04-30T20:30:02-04:002018-04-30T20:30:02-04:00Preview, #28: 4/30 vs. Dodgers
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<img alt="Arizona Diamondbacks v Los Angeles Dodgers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VK7Du8JWzOuYhRbTAQyLDrF32jQ=/0x54:2760x1894/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59583251/946010638.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>If it seems like we’ve seen a lot of the Dodgers this year... it’s because we have. </p> <div id="SM7iyD">
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<h3>Today's Lineups</h3>
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<th align="left">LOS ANGELES DODGERS</th>
<th align="left">ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS</th>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Chris Taylor - SS</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">David Peralta - LF</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Chase Utley - 2B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Jarrod Dyson - RF</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Yasmani Grandal - C</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Paul Goldschmidt - 1B</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Cody Bellinger - 1B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">A.J. Pollock - CF</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Joc Pederson - LF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Daniel Descalso - 3B</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Alex Verdugo - RF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Chris Owings - 2B</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Enrique Hernandez - CF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Nick Ahmed - SS</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Max Muncy - 3B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Jeff Mathis - C</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Ross Stripling - RHP</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Zack Greinke - RHP</td>
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<p id="bPsp7L">By the final pitch Thursday, the D-backs will have faced the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> ten times in their first thirty-one games. And we won’t be finished, with two more on the far side of the <a href="https://www.crawfishboxes.com/">Astros</a>’ series, this time in LA: that’ll be 12 in 36, or 33% of all our games this season. We then won’t see the Dodgers again until the very end of August, and who can say what the landscape of the division may be like by that point? But now is not a bad time to be facing LA. Just when it looked like they were turning things around, having won seven of eight, they ran right into the buzz-saws which are the... uh, <a href="https://www.fishstripes.com/">Marlins</a> and <a href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">Giants</a>, dropping series to each. And they’ve now lost <span>Corey Seager</span>, the best SS in the majors over the past two years, for the season.</p>
<p id="PzyOyj">They currently sit seven games back of Arizona, and while there’s still an awful lot of baseball to be played, this does give the D-backs an advantage. Even splitting these games would work in our favor, because it would mean the Dodgers failed to gain any ground, and have four fewer contests in which to do so. If the D-backs can take three out of four, that would be better still, obviously. It would send the Dodgers nine games back, and they have not been so far down in the NL West since June 2014. A sweep, and 11 back? Glad you asked. That hasn’t been matched since September 2012, before they began their streak of five consecutive division titles. </p>
<p id="Ib05ly">It won’t be easy, with Kershaw lurking in the wings for his start. But it has certainly been a long time since the Dodgers have looked so vulnerable in April. None of those five title campaigns began as badly. This is their worst start to a season since 2010: that year was the last time the Dodgers had a losing record, and they finished fourth in the division. The news about Seager won’t have helped matters, and the D-backs have a golden opportunity. if not to sink the Dodgers’ season completely, certainly to push it out onto some extremely thin ice. We could do with <span>Zack Greinke</span> being the ace he can be tonight, and beginning the process. </p>
<p id="phgPjv">Silvino Bracho is up from Reno, as a short-term fill-in for Robbie Ray’s spot. And Steve Gilbert just Tweeted that Kris Medlen has been scratched from his scheduled start tonight for the Aces, so it’s possible he could become the Ray-placement on Friday. Something to keep an eye on. </p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2018/4/30/17305276/preview-28-4-30-vs-dodgersJim McLennan