AZ Snake Pit - Game #53: 6/3, Diamondbacks 8, Pirates 6An unofficial Arizona Diamondbacks community and bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47033/azsnakepit_f.png2022-06-03T22:57:00-04:00http://www.azsnakepit.com/rss/stream/229176042022-06-03T22:57:00-04:002022-06-03T22:57:00-04:00 D-backs 8, Pirates 6: Slump?
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<img alt="MLB: Arizona Diamondbacks at Pittsburgh Pirates" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IWB8fOI8qIsC47bAfY17ilUrU50=/0x0:3320x2213/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70942139/usa_today_18436917.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Yes, there was beer involved with this recap</p> <h4 id="L29Z0y">Record: 26-27. Pace: 79-83. Change on 2021: +8.</h4>
<p id="nSgvIY">I’m back! This time I’ll actually have beer!</p>
<p id="ReNPnh">Got a promotion at work yesterday so I’ve earned this pint and a few more. So join me in my celebration and let’s watch the Dbacks in the land of Pirates.</p>
<p id="LuDZtV">Cheers!</p>
<p id="iPvbme"><strong>Inning 1</strong></p>
<ul><li id="GGptFD">Opening up the game and soothing a lingering hangover (good scotch hurts) with Sunshine Bliss by AleSmith. We as Arizonans know that sunshine is both a blessing and a curse so let’s pray it’s a blessing today.</li></ul>
<p id="Drni70">No blessings heaped upon the DBacks in the 1st half of the frame with our bats going down 1-2-3. <br>Kelly doesn’t exactly thrill me as he allows a leadoff double. Not thrilled one bit.</p>
<p id="o6xskD">That lead off double (as anyone could have predicted) comes back to bite MKelly in the ass as a wild pitch brings across the plate the Pirate’s first run. Blessedly that’s all he allows, but no one likes to make up ground this early in the game…0-1 Pirates going in to the 2nd. </p>
<p id="qaErrH"><strong>Inning 2</strong></p>
<ul><li id="sdV1YJ">CWalk! We’re tied right back up with one swing of the bat and one out later Pavin gets aboard with a double. An error then allows McCarthy to reach 1st and Pavin to hustle over to 3rd, and Thomas’s DEEP sac fly makes it 2-1 Dbacks.</li></ul>
<p id="LWj9TB">Kelly’s up again and it’s starting to look like that strike zone is eluding him a little, though I guess that’s kinda deceptive as he’s just over 50% on his strikes. Still, it feels like he’s off a bit as he issues another walk to put two Pirates aboard (Yar) with no outs here in the 2nd. <br>Despite a great snag by Kelly at a comebacker Jack Suwinski still is able to come in from 3rd to score and we’re tied once more going in to the 3rd: 2-2</p>
<p id="HjMKxx"><strong>Inning 3</strong></p>
<ul><li id="FAAQoN">Rojas starts things off with a leadoff single, followed one out later by Walker getting plunked on the shoulder to 1st (intentional?). It amounts to nothing though and we’re off to the bottom of the frame.</li></ul>
<p id="Tk8Ucv">Kelly allows another run in the 3rd and once more avoids what could have been a disastrous inning. Feels like both pitchers are one bad toss away from a big crooked number. 2-3 Pirates going in to the 4th. </p>
<p id="CNvoGy"><strong>Inning 4</strong></p>
<ul><li id="e4g5nq">Thomas keeps me in the edge of my bar stool with a 1out bomb deep to right field. Tied again folks!</li></ul>
<p id="sJh33b">Kelly FINALLY has a drama free inning in the 4th, and we’re off to the 5th tied at 3 apiece.</p>
<p id="MwH0mW"><strong>Inning 5</strong></p>
<ul><li id="Zj0pRp">Rojas just barley reaches 2nd on a double and Marte makes that effort seem kinda silly with a 2run bomb putting us up once more.</li></ul>
<p id="MzPsns">To those wondering, yes, I’ve had two more beers and my hangover is mostly gone (thank God). Now I’m home and I’ve switched gears to an old fashioned. Yummy. <br>While giving my booze update McCarthy draws a 1out walk to juice up the bases after a series of Dbacks hits/walks; like I said, one of these pitchers was one bad toss away from a crooked number and luckily it wasn’t us. <br>Banda gets a big K against Thomas to make it 2outs, but a crap pitch brings Peralta in to home quite dramatically ( collision but he’s fine) and we thus tack on one more run this fun inning. <br>We load the bases again but no dice. Can’t complain about at 6-3 lead though.</p>
<p id="inq2Ji">Kelly once more throws another bloodless inning. Bravo!!!!</p>
<p id="ygdILX">6-3 Dbacks going in to the 6th!</p>
<p id="BUHGUW"><strong>Inning 6</strong></p>
<ul><li id="NACn6H">De Los Santos is the Pirates flavor of the inning this go-round. On that note Walker almost gets another home this night. Seriously folks, he was inches away from a 2run blast. It was not to be though and our lead remains at 6-3 going in to the bottom of the 6th.</li></ul>
<p id="O5FX4w">Mantiply comes in relief if Kelly here in the 6th and quickly benefits from a double play after allowing a leadoff single, followed by a K. Thus we’re off to the 7th with our lead very much intact. Huzzah!</p>
<p id="kSwRiL"><strong>Inning 7</strong></p>
<ul><li id="hmjLXT">Our 4th homer of the night is courtesy of Jake McCarthy who CRUSHED a laser beam of a drive in to right field to make it a 7-3 game.</li></ul>
<p id="K727vr">LOL! Alek Thomas homers for the 2nd time tonight and the 5th overall Dbacks homer to make it 8-3 Dbacks. Loving this game thus far.</p>
<p id="klU3LH">Ramirez comes in to relieve Mantiply in the 7th and even though he makes things a bit interesting we still roll in to the 8th with our lead unassailed.</p>
<p id="r9tAqd"><strong>Inning 8</strong></p>
<ul><li id="0WJN0O">For the first time in what feels like forever our bats take a break. Well deserved for sure after how this game has gone, so I can’t be too mad.</li></ul>
<p id="EnUkp8">Nothing much to report in the bottom of the 8th outside of a great grab in left field, but what’s important is that our lead is still intact and we’re off to the 9th. 8-3 Dbacks </p>
<p id="4X5hO8"><strong>Inning 9</strong></p>
<ul><li id="5O7yCK">Nursing my cocktail and quite content with the Dbacks despite another (lol) scoreless Dbacks inning. Can’t complain with a good cocktail and a commanding lead.</li></ul>
<p id="zwSwsv">Whelp. Wendelken comes in to “close out” this game and promptly allows the first 2 Pirates to get aboard. Not exactly what any Dbacks fan wants to see.</p>
<p id="XWIPGc">Good feelings quickly fade as Hayes’s drives in three runs with a bomb just over the center field wall. Now we’re in a much closer 8-6 game than any one of us would like to be in….ughhh</p>
<p id="1wAHhL">Melancon comes in to close out things and prompt allows a single, still with no outs…</p>
<p id="8qFzIz">Thankfully that’s all the drama he allowed and with a ground out this game is over.</p>
<p id="gMJkB1">Cheers all!</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="qb48Ky">
<h4 id="yXGMP4">Bells and whistles, by Jim</h4>
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<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BdDFNsktjlUDwllXWjx69tS7-Xg=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23607020/chart.png">
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<p style="text-align:center"><a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2022-06-03&team=Pirates&dh=0&season=2022">Click for details</a> at Fangraphs.com
<br><b>Muhammed Ali: Christian Walker, +16.1%</b>
<br>Mike Tyson: Marte, +13.8%; Thomas, +12.4%
<br><b><i>Glass Joe: Daulton Varsho, -8.2%</i></b></p>
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<p id="05fKzg">No comments turned up in Sedona Red, though I am tempted to pick Jack worrying about how long a hitting slump the D-backs would have. Turns out the answer is: one game. :) Same two teams tomorrow night, with Zach Davies starting for Arizona. It’s a 1:05 pm first pitch, Arizona time. </p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2022/6/3/23153249/d-backs-8-pirates-6-slumpTurambar2022-06-03T19:00:00-04:002022-06-03T19:00:00-04:00Gameday Thread, #53: 6/3 @ Pirates
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<img alt="Boxing legend Muhammad Ali (L) and basball home ru" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/O2Dr6aQgV4aP1Zgyw_3AhscLSsM=/0x0:2048x1365/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70941766/51972803.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo credit should read STEVE JAFFE/AFP via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>On this day in 2016, Muhammad Ali died</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2022/6/3/23153566/gameday-thread-53-6-3-piratesJim McLennan2022-06-03T18:00:00-04:002022-06-03T18:00:00-04:00Diamondbacks Game Preview #53: 6/3 @ Pirates
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<img alt="Los Angeles Dodgers v Arizona Diamondbacks" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3RfM52MIwklRdNgHIIWT01dzqus=/0x0:4406x2937/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70941605/1399820203.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Why can the Pirates beat the Dodgers and we can’t?</p> <div id="hFARHH">
<div class="pane sports_data_widget lineup clearfix">
<h3>Today's Lineups</h3>
<div class="lineup">
<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" class="zebra">
<thead>
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<th align="left">DIAMONDBACKS</th>
<th align="left">PIRATES</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="td-last td-name">Daulton Varsho - C</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Ke'Bryan Hayes - 3B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-last td-name">Josh Rojas - 3B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Bryan Reynolds - CF</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-last td-name">Ketel Marte - 2B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Daniel Vogelbach - DH</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-last td-name">Christian Walker - 1B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Michael Chavis - 1B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-last td-name">David Peralta - LF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Rodolfo Castro - 2B</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-last td-name">Pavin Smith - DH</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Jack Suwinski - RF</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-last td-name">Jake McCarthy - RF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Diego Castillo - SS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-last td-name">Alek Thomas - CF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Tucupita Marcano - LF</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-last td-name">Geraldo Perdomo - SS</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">Tyler Heineman - C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-last td-name"></td>
<td class="td-first td-name"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="td-last td-name">Merrill Kelly - RHP</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">JT Brubaker - RHP</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="q93Wuc">
<h4 id="fkLOlW">Roster moves</h4>
<p id="XrigCD">The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:</p>
<ul>
<li id="Xr0BYq">Recalled RHP Taylor Widener from the Taxi Squad.</li>
<li id="euLpwj">Optioned LHP Paul Fry to Triple-A Reno and will remain on the Taxi Squad.</li>
<li id="7owyWU">Reinstated RHP Keynan Middleton from the 15-day injured list (right elbow inflammation) and optioned him to Reno.</li>
</ul>
<p id="7zkfad">As has been well documented, the D-backs have played very well this year, against everyone except the Dodgers. They are 2-9 against LA, but comfortably above .500 when facing everyone else, with a record of 23-18. The .561 win percentage the latter represents would be enough to put them in a wild-card spot, if it weren’t for those pesky 11 games against Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the Pirates are the complete reverse. They are coming off their first road sweep of the Dodgers since 2000 and went 5-1 there... yet are 17-26 against everybody else. What’s more remarkable is that, before this season, the Pirates were even worse than us. From 2017-21, they went <strong>2-23</strong> vs. LA, including <a href="https://stathead.com/tiny/8nd4i">16 losses in a row</a>. </p>
<p id="i3VBOI">To be fair, they are probably lucky to have won five of six. They only just outscored the Dodgers by a 30-27 margin, mostly because the one defeat was an 11-1 blowout loss. But the main reason for their success, is they have hit Los Angeles pitching better than any other team in the National League this year: a line of .272/.345/.505 for an .850 OPS, compared to a National League average of .643. The D-backs come in at .586, though there are quite a few teams who <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/tools/split_stats_lg.cgi?full=1&params=oppon%7CLAD%7CNL%7C2022%7Cbat%7CAB%7C">have done worse</a>. With regard to pitching, Pittsburgh are middle of the pack, allowing Los Angeles a .775 OPS which is close to NL average (.770). Meanwhile Arizona are dead last in the league, LA having feasted on our pitching to an .842 OPS. </p>
<p id="qJUZ9s">What happens in this series, really depends on what version of the Pittsburgh line-up makes the journey back to their home turf. Their overall OPS this year is .653, the lowest in the league and almost <em>two hundred points</em> below what they managed over the six games against Los Angeles. If that’s the kind of hitting we see at PNC Park this weekend, there’s a good chance the Diamondbacks can take two of three or better. Unless the home team somehow discovered a stock of the superbouncy balls from the past couple of years, I’m leaning towards the larger sample size of general Pirates’ suckiness. </p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2022/6/3/23153587/diamondbacks-game-preview-53-6-3-piratesJim McLennan