AZ Snake Pit - Game #80, June 27: Diamondbacks 2, Marlins 1An unofficial Arizona Diamondbacks community and bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47033/azsnakepit_f.png2018-06-28T02:00:16-04:00http://www.azsnakepit.com/rss/stream/172755152018-06-28T02:00:16-04:002018-06-28T02:00:16-04:00D’backs 2, Marlins 1: Big Game Bob Returns
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<img alt="MLB: Arizona Diamondbacks at Miami Marlins" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-si-dz_DUHsLloblWIgDer_FDAE=/0x0:3045x2030/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60206011/usa_today_10911800.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>It took the best of Robbie Ray in his return to defeat the Miami Marlins in a low scoring affair.</p> <p id="T9aCkn"><strong>Record: 46-34. Pace: 93-69. Change on 2017: -4.</strong></p>
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<p id="OsIenR">Before we get started, let’s discuss a little bit of this day in history. On June 27th, 2003 the Florida <a href="https://www.fishstripes.com/">Marlins</a> squared off against the <a href="https://www.overthemonster.com/">Boston Red Sox</a> in Fenway Park. Former D’back Byung-Hyun Kim took the start for the Sox against Carl Pavano. The Red Sox would score 10 (!!!) runs in the top of the 1st inning without recording a single out! The first 11 Boston hitters would reach base safely before the first out, and it would require two pitching changes from Florida to find that elusive out. By the time the inning had concluded, Boston had tacked 14 on the board, and <span>Johnny Damon</span> was a home run away from the cycle. I share that story with you because the offensive performance was drastically different tonight, 15 years later.</p>
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<p id="cQ258z"><span>Robbie Ray</span> returned to the MLB mound for the first time since he went down with an oblique stain on April 29th in Washington. He was scheduled for another rehab start with the Reno Aces tonight, but with the Miami Marlins being equivalent to the talent level he would have faced the team decided to activate him early. Tonight was arguably his best start of the season. Early on his fastball velocity was touching 93-94 mph. He had difficulty at times with the command of his offspeed pitches, but was efficient with his pitch count through the first three innings requiring only 35 pitches. That’s more than acceptable by his standards. </p>
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<p id="rmhdEd">The truth of the matter is that there isn’t much offense to recap in the early goings of this contest. Lefty Wei-Yin Chen opposed Robbie on the mound for the Marlins entering the game with a 6.70 ERA. Both men faced the minimum through the first three innings, Robbie requiring a double play in the 3rd to do so. Chen allowed his first baserunner and hit in the 4th inning on a walk to <span>Paul Goldschmidt</span> and a single from <span>John Ryan Murphy</span>, but Arizona was unable to produce anything of the two out effort.</p>
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<p id="YNQuhT">The most difficult inning for Robbie came in the 4th. After delivering a first pitch strike to leadoff batter <span>Starlin Castro</span>, he issued eight straight balls to walk both Castro and <span>Brian Anderson</span> to put men on first and second base with no outs. All it took was a mound visit to correct course because he retired the next three in order on a groundout and two strikeouts. </p>
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<p id="kuVFl3">The <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> decided they would use their half of the 5th inning to pick on center fielder <span>Lewis Brinson</span> as the first three men successfully hit it in his direction to reach base. <span>Ketel Marte</span> got it started with what should have been a single, but when he saw <span>Brinson</span> put his head down and jog to the ball he turned on the burners towards second base. Brinson made a strong throw to second, but Marte went in with one of the most beautiful, angled, feet first slides you will ever see to avoid the tag. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">"That is a thing of beauty." -- Bob Brenly on the hook slide that earned Marte a hustle double. <a href="https://t.co/q2ffgK6KbQ">pic.twitter.com/q2ffgK6KbQ</a></p>— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/FOXSPORTSAZ/status/1012130488947888129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2018</a>
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<p id="q6KaUu">How’s that for fundamentals, Keith? </p>
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<p id="BKsP94"><span>Chris Owings</span> followed that up with a single to Brinson himself to advance Marte to third. Brinson got the ball in quicker this time around, except when the throw came in it hit the mound allowing Owings to take second on the bounce. It had the making of a big inning with two runners in scoring position and no outs. <span>Deven Marrero</span> kept the train going with yet another single to Brinson scoring Marte easily. However, that would be the end of heads up baserunning in the inning for the Diamondbacks for Owings was thrown out easily at home trying to score as well. It makes sense in retrospect that he would attempt to score considering Brinson’s questionable throw on Owings’ single prior. Chen buckled down striking out Ray and <span>Jon Jay</span> to end the inning with Arizona managing only a single run.</p>
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<p id="UwjGeI">Robbie Ray’s return outing concluded after the 6th inning having thrown only 83 pitches, 56 for strikes, striking out 6, allowing 2 hits, 2 walks, and no runs. “Big Hit” <span>Daniel Descalso</span> was ultimately the deciding factor in this game. He came to the plate in a pinch hit appearance in the 8th inning to face left handed reliever Adam Gonley, and took him deep to right field for a solo shot giving Arizona a 2-0 lead. It was a key insurance run because even though Yoshi Hirano and <span>Archie Bradley</span> kept Miami off the bases in the 7th and 8th, <span>Brad Boxberger</span> ran into trouble in the bottom of the 9th. After falling behind the leadoff hitter <span>Starlin Castro</span> 2-0, Castro drove a 2-1 fastball down the heart of the plate to the Clevelander Night Club in left field bringing Miami within 1 run. It was the 4th home run that Boxberger has allowed this month and 6th on the year. He walked <span>Brian Anderson</span> next, so Don Mattingly went with slugger <span>Justin Bour</span> off the bunch to represent the winning run. Torey Lovullo had <span>Andrew Chafin</span> ready in the bullpen to face the lefty, but he stuck with Boxberger who got <span>Bour</span> on a called third strike. A wild pitch allowed <span>Anderson</span> to move into scoring position, but Boxberger retired <span>Lewis Brinson</span> on a groundout and <span>Derek Dietrich</span> on a flyout to secure a closer-than-it-should-have-been 2-1 victory.</p>
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<cite>Fangraphs</cite>
<figcaption>Arizona Diamondbacks 2 @ Miami Marlins 1, 06/27/2018</figcaption>
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<p id="cxKEgs"><strong>Three stars: Robbie Ray, +37.3% WPA, 6.0 innings, 6 K’s, 2 BB, 2 H, 0 ER</strong></p>
<p id="hiYJlf"><strong>Two stars: Daniel Descalso, +11.8% WPA, pinch hit solo home run</strong></p>
<p id="dTFCHe"><strong>One star: </strong><span><strong>Ketel Marte</strong></span><strong>, +3.9 WPA, go ahead run, stellar feet first slide to avoid tag</strong></p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">"That was about as good as it could have been." -- Robbie Ray on his first start in two months. <a href="https://t.co/UfjLlmPkFu">pic.twitter.com/UfjLlmPkFu</a></p>— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/FOXSPORTSAZ/status/1012182864123723776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2018</a>
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<p id="1V7N4l">Total comments: 459</p>
<p id="4i8Bdq">Total commenters: 25</p>
<p id="qGBGjV">Commenter list: <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/AzDbackfanInDc">AzDbackfanInDc</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/BobDolio">BobDolio</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/DBacksEurope">DBacksEurope</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/GuruB">GuruB</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Jackwriter">Jackwriter</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Jim%20McLennan">Jim McLennan</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Keegan%20Thompson">Keegan Thompson</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Makakilo">Makakilo</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Michael%20McDermott">Michael McDermott</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/MikeMono">MikeMono</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/PrettyBoyFloyd13">PrettyBoyFloyd13</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Rockkstarr12">Rockkstarr12</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Sprankton">Sprankton</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/asteroid">asteroid</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/david.munter">david.munter</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/dzuch">dzuch</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/edbigghead">edbigghead</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/gamepass">gamepass</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/kilnborn">kilnborn</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/lildbackfan21x">lildbackfan21x</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/preston.salisbury">preston.salisbury</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/shoewizard">shoewizard</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/since_98">since_98</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/smartplays">smartplays</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/suroeste">suroeste</a></p>
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<p id="sNwDqq">You wanna know what is more embarrassing than the attendance in Miami? The participation in the GDT on our sister site for the Marlins, Fish Stripes. My intention in even looking at their GDT was to try something different and pull the CoTD from there.... buuuuuut that franchise is completely devoid of fan interest. Rightfully so.</p>
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<p id="A5mmNp">My thoughts exactly. It’s damn good to have #RayDay back. With the victory today Arizona has its first win on a Wednesday since, *flips calendar, April 11th. A record of 3-9. Sheesh. </p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/diamondbacks-gamedays/2018/6/28/17512494/dbacks-2-marlins-1-big-game-bob-returns-daniel-descalso-robbie-rayKeegan Thompson2018-06-27T22:06:50-04:002018-06-27T22:06:50-04:00Arizona Diamondbacks 2, Miami Marlins 1
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<img alt="MLB: Arizona Diamondbacks at Miami Marlins" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/SlDsnPaAU2_V9tpvFhkgJR1Kfm0=/0x0:2723x1815/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60204087/usa_today_10911796.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Big Game Bob Ray returned to the mound tonight for the first time in two months and was solid. </p> <p id="0qmoEG"><span>Robbie Ray</span> made his return to the MLB mound today for the first time since he strained his oblique on April 29th in Washington. Outside of a shaky start in the 4th inning against the first two <a href="https://www.fishstripes.com/">Marlins</a> faced, Ray looked essentially the best he has all season. Early in the game his fastball was touching 93-94 mph. His command issues were there at times but not significant, the worst being when he walked <span>Starlin Castro</span> and <span>Brian Anderson</span> on 8 straight pitches to begin the 4th inning. However, he struck out the final two batters of that inning to prevent any damage. It was smooth sailing for him around that occurrence as he threw 83 total pitches, 56 for strikes, in 6 innings tallying 6 strikeouts on 2 hits and 2 walks. <a href="http://MLB.com">MLB.com</a> box score shows a game score of 74.</p>
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<p id="m23pyT">Unfortunately, Miami Marlins left handed starter Wei-Yin Chen was effective in his own right holding the <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> to only a single run through 6 innings. In fact, each starter had faced the minimum through 3 innings, Robbie erasing the first baserunner he allowed in the 3rd with a double play. The lone run off of Chen came in the 5th inning on a string of hits aimed at center fielder Lewis Brinson. Ketel Marte led off the inning with one of the most beautiful hustle slides you’ll ever see legging a single into a double. <span>Chris Owings</span> advanced him to third on a single of his own to Brinson, and was able to move up to second on an errant throw back in. <span>Deven Marrero</span> kept the hits coming directed at Brinson with a single to score Marte. Owings also attempted to score, but was cut down rather easily on a strong throw from Brinson. </p>
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<p id="uvy2zs">Arizona tacked on an insurance run in the 8th inning off of reliever Adam Gonley on a pinch hit solo shot from <span>Daniel Descalso</span> which proved to be the deciding factor. The Marlins countered in the 9th with a solo home run from <span>Starlin Castro</span> off closer <span>Brad Boxberger</span>, but that would be all the scoring Miami could manage in the game. Full recap to follow.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/diamondbacks-gamedays/2018/6/27/17512216/arizona-diamondbacks-2-miami-marlins-1-robbie-rayKeegan Thompson2018-06-27T18:00:02-04:002018-06-27T18:00:02-04:00Preview #80: 6/27 @ Marlins
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<img alt="Arizona Diamondbacks v Washington Nationals" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/r7_DUW-ErsWEZYu__hHjEiAqni4=/0x0:3000x2000/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60202325/952781108.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>And after the return of Shelby Miller... The return of Robbie Ray</p> <div id="aGS0F1">
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<h3>Today's Lineups</h3>
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<th align="left">ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS</th>
<th align="left">MIAMI MARLINS</th>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Jon Jay - RF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Starlin Castro - 2B</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Nick Ahmed - SS</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Brian Anderson - RF</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Paul Goldschmidt - 1B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Cameron Maybin - LF</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">John Ryan Murphy - C</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Lewis Brinson - CF</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">David Peralta - LF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Derek Dietrich - 1B</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Ketel Marte - 2B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Miguel Rojas - SS</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Chris Owings - CF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Yadiel Rivera - 3B</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Deven Marrero - 3B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Bryan Holaday - C</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Robbie Ray - LHP</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Wei-Yin Chen - LHP</td>
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<p id="8NDoWr">Ray’s return comes two days short of two months since his last outing, which was an abbreviated four-out outing in Washington on April 29. The D-backs were 19-8 at the time, having gone 4-2 in Ray’s six starts. They have played exactly .500 ball in his absence (going 26-26), so Ray’s return will provide a welcome boost. I am unsure quite how deep he can be expected to go. He only had two rehab starts, throwing 46 and 66 pitches respectively. Obviously, it’s not at all the same situation at <span>Shelby Miller</span>, who was dealing with a lay-off more like fourteen months than two. But I presume the team decided that 85 or so pitches of <span>Robbie Ray</span> (especially vs. Miami) was preferable to 100-odd from <span>Matt Koch</span>. </p>
<p id="ZjWjup">The move of <span>Alex Avila</span> to the disabled list will mean some shuffling around of roles behind the plate going forward. It probably won’t make too much difference for Ray, whose six pre-injury starts were evenly split between <span>John Ryan Murphy</span> and Avila. Obviously, <span>Zack Greinke</span> will continue to work with Jeff Mathis. But how will the other four starters have their workloads split up? Both Mathis and Murphy are right-handed, so there’s no longer the platoon possibility that Avila offered. Murphy is clearly the better bat, especially against right-handed pitching (Mathis’s OPS was below Avila’s there), and this is the clearest chance yet for him to seize the everyday starter’s job. </p>
<p id="2IwBC5">Got a bunch of special features to write up after each of the next three games. This one is #80, so I’ll be updating the playoff <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/odds">odds</a> piece as soon as those figures all become available. Then we reach the half-way point of the season, so it’ll be time to check in at the SnakePit Casino for <em>Place Your Bets</em> [having inexplicably zoned out and forgotten to do the one-third check-in after 54 games! Mind you, that was mid-May, when no-one was exactly feeling very interested...] And then Friday, back at Chase against the <a href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">Giants</a>, will be the 40th home game, so we need to do an update on the humidor stats we’ve been tracking. Stay tuned for all those, through Saturday...</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2018/6/27/17511490/preview-80-6-27-marlinsJim McLennan