AZ Snake Pit - Game #89, Diamondbacks 1, Dodgers 6An unofficial Arizona Diamondbacks community and bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47033/azsnakepit_f.png2013-07-09T01:07:22-04:00http://www.azsnakepit.com/rss/stream/42691152013-07-09T01:07:22-04:002013-07-09T01:07:22-04:00Diamondbacks 1, Dodgers 6: Delgado singled out
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<img alt=" (L-R) Shiloh, Julianne Ashcraft, wife to fallen firefighter Andrew Ashcraft, Ryder and Tate Andrew throw out the first pitch before tonight's game." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Kep6D2j5gcsZsme48fX5Zr1pHkc=/0x6:4000x2673/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/16130459/173151836.0.jpg" />
<figcaption> (L-R) Shiloh, Julianne Ashcraft, wife to fallen firefighter Andrew Ashcraft, Ryder and Tate Andrew throw out the first pitch before tonight's game. | Christian Petersen</figcaption>
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<p>The Diamondbacks' five-game winning streak came to an abrupt end as they met a buzz-saw named Zach Greinke tonight. He held Arizona to two hits over seven innings, and while Randall Delgado gave us a quality start, that wasn't enough. </p> <h4>Record: 47-42. Pace: 86-76. Change on 2012: +4.</h4>
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<p>"I'm the enemy. Because I like to think, I like to read. I'm into freedom of speech, freedom of choice. I'm the kind of guy who would sit in the greasy spoon and think "Gee, should I have the T-bone steak or the big rack of barbecued spare ribs with the side order of gravy fries?" I <u>want</u> high cholesterol. I <u>want</u> to eat bacon, butter and buckets of cheese alright? I <u>want</u> to smoke a Cuban cigar the size of Cincinnati in a non-smoking section. I wanna run around naked with green Jell-o all over my body reading a <i>Playboy</i> magazine. Why? Because maybe I feel the need to, okay, pal?"</p>
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<p>Yeah, the game started off as <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> vs. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a>, with <i>Demolition Man </i>on AMC occupying us during the commercial breaks [I've seen that gem enough times I could pretty much recite you the dialogue, so it's not as if we need to see every scene]. But as things unfolded in the game, the ratio of baseball to Stallone/Snipes gradually shifted toward the latter, and by the end, we were pretty much locked on to the movie, with occasional checks back to the game to see how it was going. <i>Click</i>. Yep, still losing. <i>Click</i>.</p>
<p>One of the things this season has particularly taught me, is the importance of the long view. I no longer get even fractionally upset about single at-bats, poor innings or even bad games, because they represent such a tiny fraction of the overall picture. Every team <u>will</u> have a losing streak. It will probably be long, and will suck. You can lose seven in a row and even have a month where you go 11-15, and still win <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/world-series">the World Series</a>, as the 2011 <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">St. Louis Cardinals</a> did. Bottom line: you're going to lose 60 games or more, just about every year, and I ain't even <i>slightly</i> concerned, while I know we're assured of going to bed tomorrow night, alone in possession of first place in the division.</p>
<p>Tonight wasn't really much of a shock. <span>Randall Delgado</span> was decent enough, but Y*s**l P**g's miraculous luck with balls in play appears to have infected the entire Dodger line-up this evening, as they had a BABIP of .440 against Delgado. They knocked out 11 hits - all of them singles - off our starter, but it was enough to score three runs over six innings. He was still throwing plenty of strikes, and didn't walk anyone, but there didn't seem to be quite the same movement or precise location as he had against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.amazinavenue.com/">Mets</a> at Citi Field. He went six, with three strikeouts; he still seems the most likely candidate for Reno, when <span>Brandon McCarthy</span> or <span>Trevor Cahill</span> return.</p>
<p>The visitors' luck with BABIP was limited to facing Delgado either. <span>Charles Brewer</span>, <span>Tony Sipp</span> and Will Harris faced 16 more Los Angeles batters over the rest of the way, with one walk and four strikeouts: the remaining 11 balls in play led to six hits, for an overall BABIP on the night of .472 for the Dodgers. Sipp was particularly sharp, fanning both batters he faced, including the Puig: it's abundantly clear if you saw his at-bats in the series against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">Giants</a>, that he will swing at absolutely anything, but the Diamondbacks' pitchers appear to have skipped out on their video homework, and he had two singles before they figured it out, and fanned him in his 4th and 5th PAs.</p>
<p>Particularly embarrassing was that Greinke had more hits at the plate (three) than he allowed over seven innings of work (two). There have been seven three-hit appearances by pitchers in the majors this year - two of them are now owned by Dodgers' starters against the Diamondbacks, with Ryu having the other, back in April. Another factor that perhaps didn't help was an outfield of <span>Martin Prado</span>, <span>Gerardo Parra</span> and <span>Jason Kubel</span>. The last-named operated in right-field and looked largely lost, with more than one ball that you like to think a more proficient fielder would have caught. He did gun down <span>Hanley Ramirez</span> at second on one, but a run also scored as a result.</p>
<p>It wasn't as if Kubel made up for it at the plate, though to be fair, he was hardly alone, as the offense managed only four hits in total. Our best chance against Greinke came in the third, when he lost control and walked Kubel and <span>Didi Gregorius</span> to get things started. But Delgado bunted the ball too firmly back to the pitcher, allowing Greinke to nail the lead runner, Gerardo Parra struck out swinging at a pitch which posed a bigger threat to his shoe-laces, and <span>Aaron Hill</span> grounded out to the infield on his first pitch. We were one-hit into the bottom of the seventh, a <span>Paul Goldschmidt</span> single being the sum total of offense, and he was promptly erased by the inevitable double-play.</p>
<p>Martin Prado doubled with two outs in the seventh, and the Diamondbacks finally got in the board with two outs in the ninth inning. Goldschmidt got his second hit of the night, advanced to second on defensive indifference and broke up the shutout bid, scoring on Chavez's double. More of a token gesture than any real comeback, however, and there was no further damage done.</p>
<p align="center"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2013-07-08&team=Diamondbacks&dh=0&season=2013"><img alt="20130708_dodgers_diamondbacks_0_2013070905237_live_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1700181/20130708_Dodgers_Diamondbacks_0_2013070905237_live_medium.png"></a><br>[<i>Click to enlarge, at fangraphs.com</i>]<br><b>John Spartan: Didi Gregorius, +4.2%<br><i>Dr. Cocteau: <span>Eric Chavez</span>, -13.0%</i></b></p>
<p><a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/lgraphs/20130708_Dodgers_Diamondbacks_0_2013070905237_live.png"></a></p>
<p>Fairly brisk Gameday Thread for a Monday, at 625 comments in total. Clefo led the way, with Zavada's Moustache and BulldogsNotZags second and third respectively. Also present: AzRattler, Circa4life, Diamondhacks, Fangdango, GuruB, Jim McLennan, JoeCB1991, JoelPre, Majabe, Marc Fournier, Rockkstarr12, The so-called Beautiful, TolkienBard, azshadowwalker, blank_38, cole8865, hotclaws, imstillhungry95, onedotfive, porty99, preston.salisbury, rd33, snakecharmer and soco. Clefo gets the CotN for this bit of truth:</p>
<p><span class="cactions mod "> <span id="comment_mod_tools_172292899" class="tools actions_link"> </span> </span></p>
<div class="sbn-comment citem ui-state-depth-1 recommended ui-state-no-avatar moderator collapsible" data-comment-depth="1" data-comment-id="172293001" id="comment_item_172293001" data-timestamp="1373342147" data-user-id="222807">
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<a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Clefo" class="avatar" id="comment_avatar_172293001"> <img src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/profile_images/908751/milhousecropped_small.jpg" alt="Clefo"></a> <span class="collapse_toggle collapse_toggle_button"><span class="ss-icon"></span></span>
<h2 class="title collapse_toggle" id="comment_title_172293001"><a id="comment_172293001">This does reinforce one thing</a></h2>
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<p>My God are the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.purplerow.com/">Rockies</a> terrible</p>
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<p>weltanschauung</p>
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<div class="meta">by <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Clefo" class="poster">Clefo</a> on <a href="http://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/7/8/4505528/gameday-thread-89-7-8-vs-dodgers#172293001" class="date">Jul 8, 2013 | 8:55 PM</a> <a href="http://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/7/8/4505528/gameday-thread-89-7-8-vs-dodgers#comment_tease" class="reply_link" title="reply to this comment" data-comment-id="172293001" id="comment_reply_172293001">reply</a> <span class="cactions mod "> <a id="rec_link_172293001" class="recommend rec-link recommended" href="http://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/7/8/4505528/gameday-thread-89-7-8-vs-dodgers#">rec <span class="rec-count" id="comment_rec-count_172293001"> (4) </span> </a> <a id="flag_link_172293001" class="flag flag-link flag_link " href="http://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/7/8/4505528/gameday-thread-89-7-8-vs-dodgers#"> flag </a> <a href="http://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/7/8/4505528/gameday-thread-89-7-8-vs-dodgers#" id="actions_link" class="actions_toggle">actions</a></span>
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<p>We'll be hoping for better tomorrow night, as the newest Dodger makes his debut on the mound, <span>Ricky Nolasco</span> starting for them. We send up <span>Ian Kennedy</span>, and the first pitch will be 6:40pm again.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/7/9/4506102/diamondbacks-dodgers-randall-delgado-zach-greinkeJim McLennan2013-07-09T00:34:44-04:002013-07-09T00:34:44-04:00Diamondbacks 1, Dodgers 6
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/d2E0gPaxec1ztw3plwUfPC8Bsl8=/0x66:4000x2733/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/16129593/173155030.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Christian Petersen</figcaption>
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<p>The winning streak ended, in no uncertain fashion, as Zack Greinke and two Dodgers' relievers combined to four-hit the Diamondbacks, while their offense piled up 17 against Randall Delgado and the D-backs' bullpen.</p> <p>The game was scoreless through three innings, but the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> used three singles to open the scoring in the fourth inning, and then four more in adding two additional runs in the fifth. Delgado did get through six innings without further damage, scattering 11 hits - all singles - while walking none and striking out three. <span>Charles Brewer</span> allowed two runs on three hits and a walk, but was bailed out by <span>Tony Sipp</span>, who struck out the two batters he faced. Will Harris pitched the ninth, and allowed the sixth and final Dodgers run.</p>
<p>There was precious little offense to speak of, with the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a>' best chance off Greinke coming in the third after back-to-back walks to <span>Jason Kubel</span> and <span>Didi Gregorius</span>, but nothing came of that. <span>Paul Goldschmidt</span> had our first hit, then was immediately erased on the customary daily double-play. <span>Martin Prado</span> got the second, a two-out double in the seventh, and Goldschmidt added the third, when we were down to our last out, Eric Chavez following up with a double to break the shutout bid. The teams will reconvene tomorrow night at Chase Field, with <span>Ricky Nolasco</span> talking on <span>Ian Kennedy</span>, as the D-backs seek to even the series.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/7/9/4506148/diamondbacks-dodgers-recapJim McLennan2013-07-08T20:00:06-04:002013-07-08T20:00:06-04:00Preview: Kill the Puig (figuratively)
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<img alt="Aaron Hill, worships the ground St. Yasiel will soon walk on. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vtmSYLYmB5M2XcwTrJs8Y2FjEdU=/98x0:3900x2535/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/16112311/20130707_jrc_bh1_133.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Aaron Hill, worships the ground St. Yasiel will soon walk on. | USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>LA has had a decent run of late. Now, let's see how they do against a good team.</p> <p>
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<br><span>Zack Greinke</span><br>RHP, 6-2, 4.30</h5>
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<br><span>Randall Delgado</span><br>RHP, 1-2, 3.67</h5>
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<a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Diamondbacks</a> Line-up</h4>
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<li> <span>Gerardo Parra</span>, CF </li>
<li> <span>Aaron Hill</span>, 2B</li>
<li> <span>Paul Goldschmidt</span>, 1B</li>
<li> <span>Eric Chavez</span>, 3B</li>
<li> <span>Martin Prado</span>, LF<br>
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<li> <span>Miguel Montero</span>, C</li>
<li> <span>Jason Kubel</span>, RF</li>
<li> <span>Didi Gregorius</span>, SS</li>
<li> Randall Delgado, P</li>
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<p>Those may seem like fighting words, considering that, since bottoming out at 12 games below .500 on June 21, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> have gone 12-3. However, that was against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.gaslampball.com/">Padres</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">Giants</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thegoodphight.com/">Phillies</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.purplerow.com/">Rockies</a>, whose combined record is 24 games below .500, with a run differential of -136. You might find this hard to believe, but they actually <u>lost</u> a game to Colorado, which as this weekend's series showed, is pretty hard to do. Their schedule is about to get considerably harder, so we'll see whether the new, improved Dodgers are actually improved, or just an illusion caused by calendar patsies.</p>
<p>This series does remain important, of course, and it would be very nice to take two out of three, if only to shut up certain members of the media. They seem convinced that Los Angeles just needs to show up at Chase Field tonight, as they continue their procession to the National League West title. Never mind the fact that we're 7-2 against Los Angeles already this season, and the record improved to 17-4 if you go back about a year, to the start of July 2012. Because that was then, and now the Dodgers have the unstoppable force which is St. Yasiel of the Pigpen and his BABIP of Invulnerability.</p>
<p>That won't matter, if we pitch as well as we have the last cycle round the rotation. In five games, Arizona has allowed nine runs in 51 innings, for a 1.59 ERA. Our starters have allowed six runs in 38 innings (1.42 ERA), pitching seven or more frames every time, and with a combined K:BB ratio of 37:5. Admittedly, the Dodgers will get the back end of our rotation - yeah, who'd have thought <span>Ian Kennedy</span> would have the worst ERA of anyone to have started for the D-backs so far this season, yet we would still be in first place. However, the way Delgado and <span>Tyler Skaggs</span> pitched last time, I'm not dreading the replacement pitcher experience, as I might have in previous years.</p>
<p>The excellent starts over the weekend should mean we have an almost fully-rested bullpen, who saw a total of three innings of work, pitched by <span>J.J. Putz</span>, Charlie Brewer and <span>Josh Collmenter</span> respectively, during the series against Colorado. Everyone else got to put their feet up and recharge, following a stressful road-trip, and that should mean normal service has been resumed. However, I'd be perfectly happy for Delgado to give us another seven innings - not because he has to, this time, simply because he's pitching well enough that there's no need for Kirk Gibson to take him out of the game.</p>
<p>Victory tonight would put us 5 1/2 games up in the West, dropping not just a speed-bump, more like a spike strip, in the way of the Dodgers' procession. Psychologically, it would be a great reminder that, hello, the D-backs are still here, still in first place, and have absolutely no intention of following the script and rolling over for LA.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/7/8/4504940/preview-game-89-diamondbacks-vs-dodgersJim McLennan