AZ Snake Pit - Game #7: 7/30, Diamondbacks 3 vs. Dodgers 6An unofficial Arizona Diamondbacks community and bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47033/azsnakepit_f.png2020-07-31T01:27:38-04:00http://www.azsnakepit.com/rss/stream/211121262020-07-31T01:27:38-04:002020-07-31T01:27:38-04:00Dodgers 6, Diamondbacks 3 - New Day, Same Ray
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<img alt="MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yqdySVFO56kqrwMiX40MgcFv2bQ=/0x0:5069x3379/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67136779/usa_today_14649840.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Looking to get back on track, Ray struggled with command and control, leading to an early deficit that was too much to overcome.</p> <p id="SYYLID">Much has been discussed about <span>Robbie Ray</span>’s inability to go deep into games. This year was supposed to be different, with a new delivery and physique lending to better command and efficiency. It’s been everything but so far, and tonight was no exception. </p>
<p id="HfRUK5">A walk to <span>Mookie Betts</span> led things off for the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a>, and <span>Max Muncy</span> singled to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Two flyballs later, and it looked like <span>Ray</span> was going to escape with minimal damage, just a lone run given up at that point, but man of glass <span>A.J. Pollock</span> homered to left to push LA up <strong>3-0</strong> after 1 inning.</p>
<p id="miKYrZ"><span>Ross Stripling</span> was the opposing pitcher for the Dodgers, and while he has had decent career numbers against the D-backs (career ERA under 4), the offense didn’t care, as they continued their struggles. The only things of note were a homer from <span>Ketel Marte</span> in the 3rd and a two-out double from <span>Carson Kelly</span> early on.</p>
<p id="mRupHH">Ray continued to struggle with his command over the rest of his start, walking 6 batters over 4 2/3rds IP. But despite that, he only allowed a solo homer to <span>Corey Seager</span> and a double to <span>Pollock</span> who scored after a couple of ground outs. All in all another disappointing performance for Ray, who seemingly could not find his fastball command as Jack pointed out in the GameThread, he threw 44 total with only 18 counting as a strike. </p>
<p id="WYlRE9">You hope Ray figures it out sooner rather than later, as he himself has mentioned it’s an important season for him. Not only as a potential FA but as a current rotation piece for the 2020 <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a>. Ray will only see 10 more starts this season and if they’re anything close to the level we’ve seen so far, he might have to take a bounceback 1-year deal rather than cashing in on a relatively weak SP market.</p>
<p id="kHWgKi">The offense finally pounced in the 6th, down <strong>6-1</strong> after <span>Seager</span> and <span>Muncy</span> homered, <span>Marte</span> took a wild curveball from <span>Stripling</span> to the dome for a HBP. A fielder’s choice from Escobar followed, but <span>Christian Walker</span> doubled to left, scoring a run. Vargas popped out against new pitcher <span>Adam Kolarek</span> but <span>Carson Kelly</span> blooped a single to right to score <span>Walker</span> from 2nd, cutting the lead to <strong>6-3</strong>. Unfortunately that was all the offense could muster the rest of the way. Special mention must be made to Daulton Varsho, who made his MLB debut in the 9th and even drew a walk after working the count full against <span>Pedro Baez</span>.</p>
<p id="BVPy2B">In relief the bullpen was tasked with finishing off the final 4 1/3rds innings of this game and they performed admirably. <span>Stefan Crichton</span>, <span>Alex Young</span>, <span>Junior Guerra</span>, and <span>Yoan Lopez</span> all pitched scoreless appearance in their allotted 3 batters minimum, with only Young allowing a homer to the aforementioned <span>Muncy</span>.</p>
<div id="bUA9Me">
<iframe src="https://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2020-07-30&team=Diamondbacks&dh=0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="450" width="450" style="border:1px solid black;"></iframe><br><span style="font-size:9pt;">Source: <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2020-07-30&team=Diamondbacks&dh=0&season=2020">FanGraphs</a></span>
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<p id="mXmamb"><span>Ketel Marte</span> led the way with a 7.1% WPA thanks to his solo homer and 2/4 showing, while <span>Robbie Ray</span> was a porous -25.9% WPA after allowing 6 walks and 5 runs in 4.2 IP.</p>
<div id="3u7E9H"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="1">
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<th colspan="2">Roll Call Info</th>
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<td width="150">Total comments</td>
<td>198</td>
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<td>Total commenters</td>
<td>22</td>
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<td>Commenter list</td>
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<a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Augdogs">Augdogs</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/ChuckJohnson56">ChuckJohnson56</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Craig's%20City%20Counsell">Craig's City Counsell</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/DesertWeagle">DesertWeagle</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Docnoeld">Docnoeld</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Driaz">Driaz</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/GuruB">GuruB</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Jack%20Sommers">Jack Sommers</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Jim%20McLennan">Jim McLennan</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/MrMrrbi">MrMrrbi</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/NikT77">NikT77</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Oscar%20Goldman">Oscar Goldman</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Smurf1000">Smurf1000</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Snake_Bitten">Snake_Bitten</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Steven%20Burt">Steven Burt</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/gzimmerm">gzimmerm</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/kilnborn">kilnborn</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/onedotfive">onedotfive</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/since_98">since_98</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/vonJunk">vonJunk</a>
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<td>Story URLs</td>
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<div><a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/2020/7/30/21348087/gameday-thread-7-7-30-vs-dodgers">https://www.azsnakepit.com/2020/7/30/21348087/gameday-thread-7-7-30-vs-dodgers</a></div>
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<p id="r2WCg9">Comment of the thread goes to since_98 for this excellent meme.</p>
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<p id="ycS5GL">The Dodgers and D-backs are back at it tomorrow same time as tonight with <span>Zac Gallen</span> facing off against Tony Gonsolin. Let’s hope the offense shows up.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2020/7/31/21349056/dodgers-diamondbacks-game-recap-july-30thSteven Burt2020-07-30T21:30:00-04:002020-07-30T21:30:00-04:00Gameday Thread, #7: 7/30 vs. Dodgers
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<img alt="Moore Kisses Cup" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hFQUQFZIQg_rVC8xNzt5GYADSMc=/0x0:4997x3331/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67136240/51765064.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OTD?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OTD</a> 1966: Host-nation England beat Germany 4-2, winning the World Cup at Wembley Stadium for the first and only time. <a href="https://t.co/0n0LcdbQk2">pic.twitter.com/0n0LcdbQk2</a></p>— Politics & Contemporary History at Salford (@SalfordUni_PCH) <a href="https://twitter.com/SalfordUni_PCH/status/1288724279580864513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 30, 2020</a>
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https://www.azsnakepit.com/2020/7/30/21348087/gameday-thread-7-7-30-vs-dodgersJim McLennan2020-07-30T20:30:00-04:002020-07-30T20:30:00-04:00Preview #7: 7/30, Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers
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<img alt="Arizona Diamondbacks Summer Workouts" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DhEjpnCC9CzIk-xWRALuBzTvH7s=/0x0:6633x4422/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67136017/1254716424.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Our home opener. For some loose definition of those words, since it’s at home, but hardly open...</p> <div id="q5QVcX">
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<h3>Today's Lineups</h3>
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<th align="left">DODGERS</th>
<th align="left">DIAMONDBACKS</th>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Mookie Betts - RF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Ketel Marte - 2B</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Max Muncy - 1B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Kole Calhoun - RF</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Justin Turner - 3B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Starling Marte - CF</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Cody Bellinger - CF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Eduardo Escobar - 3B</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">A.J. Pollock - LF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Christian Walker - 1B</td>
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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">Corey Seager - DH</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Jake Lamb - DH</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Enrique Hernandez - 2B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Carson Kelly - C</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Will Smith - C</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Nick Ahmed - SS</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name"></td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Ross Stripling - RHP</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Robbie Ray - LHP</td>
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<p id="TPHBud">Yeah, this isn’t quite the game we expected to see when the 2020 schedule was originally announced, almost a year ago (August 19, 2019, to be specific). The team was then <em>supposed</em> to open this season’s campaign at home against the Braves on March 26. Obviously, that didn’t happen. The home opener ended up getting pushed back by more than four months, and as for Atlanta... Well, we’d need to make it to the post-season before there is any chance of seeing them. At least we’ll be able to watch the game with our commentators there, rather than trying to figure it out off monitors showing a remote feed of whatever gets sent. Can’t have been easy for Bob and Bert.</p>
<p id="UI6Tz8">I was curious whether the lack of crowds has led to any reduction in “home field advantage” generally. We’re 83 games in, as we start play today, and although that is still a relatively small sample size, which could be distorted the schedules, the evidence so far suggests that it has indeed gone. Home teams right now are at 41-42 for a .494 win percentage. There has never been a time in recorded baseball history when home teams have been below .500. The previous lowest was over a century ago, back in 1917, when they went 620-605 for a .506 W%. More recently, it hasn’t been below .520 since 1994, when it was .517, and has generally been in the .530-.540 range of late. Something to keep an eye on.</p>
<h4 id="iStumO">Pre-game audio from Torey Lovullo </h4>
<p id="HvqvKI"><strong>Daulton Varsho: </strong>He’ll be a bench player for now. Looking for his bat and baserunning off the bench and his positional versatility in outfield or catcher. He talked a lot about Varsho’s ability to control an at bat</p>
<p id="Ocia0U">Torey made out today’s lineup yesterday, and decided not to change it just to get Varsho into lineup his first day up.</p>
<p id="L3KhJR"><strong>Kevin Cron: </strong>Addressing why Cron was sent out, it was hard decision, but he’ll get an opportunity to get more at bats at Salt River and get “Tuned up” and maybe help down the road.</p>
<p id="yRw0jB"><strong>Level of Concern with 2-4 start: </strong>Torey said he’d be addressing the same things he did today whether they came home 2-4 or 3-3. He clearly is not happy with the execution of the basics. </p>
<blockquote><p id="ttNzMS">“I’ve seen us pick up the baseball, I’ve seen us turn double plays, I’ve seen us get in the right position in cutoff situations, I’ve seen us control the strike zone offensively, I’ve seen us pound the zone from a pitching standpoint.”</p></blockquote>
<p id="1viyjp"><strong>Jake Lamb: </strong> I asked him point blank, “Are you nearing the point where Jake needs to start putting the bat on the ball or you’re going to start having a tough time penciling him into the lineup?”</p>
<p id="jW1UXX">Torey hesitated a second before answering, pursed his lips and said <strong>he didn’t want to say anything before sitting down and talking with a player</strong> but spoke in general about the entire team, going out of the zone and swinging at balls, and taking strikes. Then he said this: “When a player <strong>approaches that threshold</strong> …. I’m probably paying attention to it in a very close way” (Emphasis Mine)</p>
<p id="V8KoFQ"><strong>Jack’s take:</strong> I think Lamb needs to turn this around tonight or he could already start to lose playing time. Tomorrow’s LA starter is still TBD: righty or lefty we don’t know. Saturday they get lefty Julio Urias so Jake is definitely sitting for that game. Sunday is righty Walker Buehler’s turn. If not tonight, I’d guess Jake needs to start hitting by end of this series, or his playing time will be curtailed. Just a sense I got from Torey’s expression, tone, caution in how he worded things, and the specific comment about <strong>threshold</strong> leads me to believe Jake’s decision point is upon him. </p>
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https://www.azsnakepit.com/2020/7/30/21348100/preview-7-7-30-diamondbacks-vs-dodgersJim McLennanJack Sommers