AZ Snake Pit - Game #5: 4/12, Diamondbacks 1, Astros 2An unofficial Arizona Diamondbacks community and bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47033/azsnakepit_f.png2022-04-13T02:30:07-04:00http://www.azsnakepit.com/rss/stream/227866792022-04-13T02:30:07-04:002022-04-13T02:30:07-04:00Astros Pip Diamondbacks 2-1
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<figcaption>Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Anemic offense and Melancon meltdown sink the Snakes</p> <p id="ioI6qo"><strong>Record: 1-4, Pace: 32-130</strong></p>
<p id="rfANCX">A tight, well pitched, well played ballgame on defense was spoiled in the 9th inning when <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> closer Mark Melancon gave up the go ahead run to take the loss to the <a href="https://www.crawfishboxes.com">Astros</a>, 2-1. While it will be tempting to focus on that 9th inning meltdown, the real story is the near total lack of offense. </p>
<p id="HQq6mm">The game started off with a two base error from Sergio Alcantara at 3rd. One out later starter Madison Bumgarner hit Alex Bregman but got a popout and hard lineout to center to escape that jam. He retired the side in order in the 2nd and 3rd, and worked around a couple of singles in 4th with no harm done. But in the 5th Madbum hung a curve to Jose Siri who wrecked the pitch over 450 feet to left center above the homerun porch. He was none too pleased with Siri’s bat flip and hopping around after the homer either. </p>
<p id="Wu95CS">That was the lone run given up by Bumgarner. He was efficient and his pitch count was under control. However there was a lot of hard contact and fly balls, with just 3 grounders. He gave up a double and a walk in the 6th and was pulled for Noe Ramirez who retired the side quickly to end the threat. After the game Madison said he was happy with his fastball and cutter, and he used them the great majority of the time. He couldn’t quite get the feel for the curve though. </p>
<p id="OOD7DF">Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks offense was doing their thing. Which so far this year, means nothing. Facing last year’s rookie of the year runner up Luis Garcia, they managed just two hits and two walks. Tonights mostly left hand lineup should have been able to do more against Garcia, who has big left-right splits. </p>
<p id="0LSnfl">David Peralta lead off the 4th inning with a double, but never moved up from there. Christian Walker flew out and Pavin Smith popped out. Seth Beer worked a tough walk, but Alcantara popped out to end that threat. They made Garcia work with 24 pitches in the 1st and 19 in the 4th, and got him out of the game early, but no runs crossed. </p>
<p id="sOCoPB">The D-backs finally got on the board in the 6th thanks to big fly to left from Walker, his 2nd HR of the year. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Back-to-back games with a Walker blast <a href="https://t.co/gascQ8iQ5d">pic.twitter.com/gascQ8iQ5d</a></p>— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BALLYSPORTSAZ/status/1514086299015204871?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2022</a>
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<p id="LS2jLK">There were more chances after that homer. Pavin Smith walked and advanced to 3rd on two wild pitches from Astros reliever Blake Taylor, but Beer flew out and pinch hitter Cooper Hummel grounded out to leave him there. </p>
<p id="POauXa">In the top of the 9th Mark Melancon came into a tie game. Prior to that Noe Ramirez, J.B. Wendelken, Joe Mantiply, and Ian Kennedy combined for 3 innings of scoreless relief. Melancon got two quick outs. But he just couldn’t command his knuckle curve tonight. He left one hanging to Siri, who roped it into the right centerfield gap for a double. Melancon bounced a couple more in the dirt and walked Altuve. Finally Michael Brantley singled into left on a cutter for the go ahead and winning run. </p>
<p id="zAnQzf">The D-backs managed to get the tying run to 3rd in the 9th with two outs, but pinch hitter Carson Kelly flew out to end the game. </p>
<p id="OBMwUz">One bright spot was the defense of rookie Catcher Jose Herrera. He made a teriffic diving catch on a popped up bunt in foul territory in the 6th. In the 7th he nailed Siri by three feet trying to steal second base. His recorded pop time of 1.86 was the 2nd fasted in MLB so far this year. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Second career game and José Herrera's already making plays like this. <a href="https://t.co/WOxgaqcyxr">pic.twitter.com/WOxgaqcyxr</a></p>— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BALLYSPORTSAZ/status/1514087450720845824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2022</a>
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<p lang="da" dir="ltr">José Herrera unleashed the hose! <a href="https://t.co/Gr8LqC3Gwr">pic.twitter.com/Gr8LqC3Gwr</a></p>— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BALLYSPORTSAZ/status/1514091700771250182?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2022</a>
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<p id="sVFmdk">As tempting as it is to hang Melancon out to dry, the offense went 4 for 30 tonight and their team batting average went UP. They are drawing a lot of walks, but just can’t come up with base hits. If you only score one run, the only way you can win is to throw a shutout. That’s not a reasonable expectation. There are certainly issues with Melancon. His velocity is still down two MPH and bouncing that curve has been a consistent problem. But it’s too early to write off his season. </p>
<p id="0baTJt">They get another shot at the Astros tomorrow, game time 12:40 at Chase Field. It doesn’t get any easier for the bats, facing Framber Valdez. Merrill Kelly will go for the D-backs. </p>
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<p id="0XJTsn">Win Probability Box Score from Fangraphs <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2022-04-12&team=Diamondbacks&dh=0&season=2022">HERE</a></p>
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<p id="ZoBUQg">Bullpen Stalwarts: Noe Ramirez +.145 & Ian Kennedy +.104 lead from the pitching side. </p>
<p id="gBbPqE">Christian Walker +.088 . Making outs with runners on base in the 1st and 3rd dented his WPA from his homer.</p>
<p id="xARqjq">Mark Melancon with a whopping -.307 , but Geraldo Perdomo managed -.213 and Kelly’s strikeout with tying run on 3rd registered -.158. It was a team effort though, as there were 7 other D-backs hitters with negative batting WPA</p>
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<p id="mBuZJR">The comment of the night goes to MrRBI17. This is a win in anybody’s book. </p>
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https://www.azsnakepit.com/2022/4/13/23023033/astros-pip-diamondbacks-2-1-mark-melancon-madison-bumgarner-christian-walkerJack Sommers2022-04-12T21:30:00-04:002022-04-12T21:30:00-04:00Gameday Thread, #5: 4/12 vs. Astros
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<p>On this day in 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin performed the first human spaceflight, completing one orbit of Earth in 108 minutes.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2022/4/12/23022864/gameday-thread-5-4-12-vs-astrosJim McLennan2022-04-12T20:00:00-04:002022-04-12T20:00:00-04:00D-backs Game Preview, #5: 4/12 vs. Astros
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<figcaption>Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>A new Diamondback joins the roster</p> <div id="eY1Htn">
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<h3>Today's Lineups</h3>
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<th align="left">ASTROS</th>
<th align="left">DIAMONDBACKS</th>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Jose Altuve - 2B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Daulton Varsho - CF</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Michael Brantley - LF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Ketel Marte - 2B</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Alex Bregman - 3B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">David Peralta - LF</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Yuli Gurriel - 1B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Christian Walker - 1B</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Kyle Tucker - RF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Pavin Smith - RF</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Aledmys Diaz - DH</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Seth Beer - DH</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Jeremy Pena - SS</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Sergio Alcantara - 3B</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Jason Castro - C</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Geraldo Perdomo - SS</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Jose Siri - CF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Jose Herrera - C</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">Luis Garcia - RHP</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">M. Bumgarner - LHP</td>
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<p id="crXwzN">This <em>should</em> have been Zac Gallen’s first outing of the season. But that has been pushed back after the pitcher suffered a freak cut on his finger (more on that below), to the upcoming Mets series over the weekend. With the off-day yesterday, Madison Bumgarner can start tonight’s contest on his usual rest, with Merrill Kelly following him to the mound tomorrow night. Thereafter... We’ll see, what with Gallen’s finger issue and Caleb Smith last precisely one inning in his season debut against the Padres. But at least it does not appear to be any recurrence of the shoulder problems which slowed Gallen’s entrance this spring, and led to him being dropped into the #5 rotation slot. </p>
<h4 id="90HIMW">Roster moves</h4>
<p id="L8ClrR">The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:</p>
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<li id="4RJVy9">Recalled INF <strong>Yonny Hernandez</strong> (No. 19) from Triple-A Reno.</li>
<li id="eQ567B">Yesterday, optioned INF <strong>Drew Ellis</strong> to Reno.</li>
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<p id="UlIEHj">Well, that did not take long. Ellis got three starts at third-base in the opening series, going 1-for-8 with four strikeouts, and didn’t exactly look good doing it, also making an error. An interesting choice to see Hernandez get the call up. He was picked up from the Rangers in a trade five days ago, in exchange for minor-leaguer Jeferson Espinal. Yonny played 43 games for them last year, mostly at third, hitting .217/.315/.252 for a .567 OPS (OPS+ 61). I wonder if he’s a stop-gap for the still absent Wilmer Difo, last heard of still sitting in the Dominican Republic due to visa problems. He is not on the 40-man roster, however, and has also played more as a middle-infielder than at the hot corner. </p>
<p id="tMYvzR">What’s particularly worthy of note is that Hernandez is listed at only 140 pounds in weight. Per our friends <a href="https://www.lonestarball.com/2022/1/18/22889362/2021-year-in-review-yonny-hernandez">over at <em>Lone Star Ball</em></a>, “Yonny is the only player in the B-R database with at least 25 games played in the 21st century who is 140 pounds or less” The piece also looks at his numbers, and concludes that his impressive walk rate in the minors was going to be tough to reproduce in the majors. The issue is his power is limited, meaning major-league pitchers would have no problem challenging him in the zone. And so it proved: in the majors he had a walk-rate of 10.2%, which is decent, but well below his minor-league figure of 15.2%. However, being “better than Ellis” is likely a pretty low bar. </p>
<h4 id="evYDI1">Torey Lovullo Pre Game Comments</h4>
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<li id="ohIg1r">
<strong>Zac Gallen</strong> pushed back to the Mets series. He pinched his thumb in the spring loaded electrical box at home. They want to let the skin heal as much as they can before he pitches. They haven’t decided for sure, but it sounds like it will be Zach Davies on Friday and Gallen on Saturday. </li>
<li id="FaryQa">
<strong>Luke Weaver</strong> MRI: He was diagnosed with a “Mild” Flexor Pronator Strain. They feel they caught it early and dodged a potential bullet. He is shut down from all throwing for 7-10 days. No exact time table for return was given. Torey was asked about any difficulty Luke might have had getting loose, but he said there were no such issues reported. Nothing popped up that night and he only reported the discomfort the next day. Torey also said that he went with Luke on short notice in part because he needed two innings from whatever reliever he was going to put in next, (he didn’t get it) and also he wanted Luke to get ready quickly without having to think about it too long. He used the phrase “shocking the system”</li>
<li id="oLPJft">
<strong>Caleb Smith’s</strong> rotation spot may already be in jeopardy. Torey was very non committal when asked if he was going to get another start. </li>
<li id="HxVNkh">
<strong>Yonny Hernandez:</strong> Torey mentioned that Hernandez had a productive series against the D-backs when the Rangers came to town last year. He was 1 for 5, with 2 walks, one sac, and two stolen bases. Torey talked up his baseball IQ and defense. His role will be playing a little bit of 2b and a little bit of 3b. Sergio Alcantara will get most of the playing time at 3</li>
</ul>
<p id="WDN0b5">[P.S. I stood next to Yonny Hernandez. He’s listed at 5’9”, 140 but neither are accurate. He’s definitely shorter than that, and he’s quite muscular. I’d guess 5’6 or 5’7” tops, but put his weight closer to 165-170]</p>
<ul>
<li id="HWZCSQ">
<strong>Drew Ellis: </strong>Torey praised his defense, but offensively felt he was making a lot of mistakes mechanically and he felt that before he got in too deep a hole here at the major league level it would be better for him to get things straightened out in Reno. </li>
<li id="GIWoEH">
<strong>Pitch Com:</strong> Feedback is very good, and getting more and more popular. Just one or two guys were using in spring training, but it’s caught fire and just about everybody is using it. There are some pitchers that are not however and they are not forcing it on anyone.</li>
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<p id="LPJkCg"><em><strong>I think it’s speeding up the game. It’s very crisp. I think it’s 10-12 second before the next pitch is delivered. The pace of game is improved. Pitchers seem to like it. I think this is a very good decision this industry has made. </strong></em><br><br>He also mentioned that it forces the hitters to be ready. A lot of hitters are calling time out because they don’t feel ready. Torey would like to see receivers in everybody’s hat. Some pitchers are using only when a runner is on 2b, some are using for every pitch. </p>
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<li id="Mjzn68">
<strong>Carson Kelly</strong> sitting tonight against tough righty. Tomorrow is a day game after night, and since he’d need to sit for one of the two games anyway, better to have him start against the lefty. Torey also wanted to see how Jose Herrera and Madison Bumgarner work together as they worked well in spring. </li>
<li id="QtfvfU">
<strong>Nick Ahmed</strong> is engaging in all baseball activities, including throwing. </li>
<li id="GJES5e">
<strong>Jordan Luplow </strong>has been limited to coach pitch in the cage, and hasn’t gotten on the field yet. </li>
<li id="0TsAkP">
<strong>Josh Rojas </strong>is about to begin his baseball and swing activities soon.</li>
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<p id="d1LouF"><a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23385684/lovullo.mp3">Torey Lovullo audio</a></p>
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https://www.azsnakepit.com/2022/4/12/23022650/d-backs-game-preview-5-4-12-vs-astrosJim McLennanJack Sommers