AZ Snake Pit - Game #125, Diamondbacks 7, Reds 10An unofficial Arizona Diamondbacks community and bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47033/azsnakepit_f.png2013-08-22T01:17:02-04:00http://www.azsnakepit.com/rss/stream/44094052013-08-22T01:17:02-04:002013-08-22T01:17:02-04:00Diamondbacks 7, Reds 10: Can't Plug A Leake
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<figcaption>How this game felt | Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Well, that didn't quite end up the disaster it seemed to be, but it still didn't do anything good for the Diamondbacks playoff hopes.</p> <h4 style="text-align: center;">Record: 65-60. Pace: 84-78. NL West: -8.5</h4>
<p>The game didn't start on a high note for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a>. After a swift 1-2-3 top of the first inning, <span>Brandon McCarthy</span> took the mound and gave up a home run to the first batter he faced, Shin-Soo Choo. That was balanced out a little by a nice jump from <span>Paul Goldschmidt</span> to snag a high throw from <span>Martin Prado</span> for an out, but it still left a few tinges of dread in our hearts.</p>
<p>That dread was stoked in the second inning. Another 1-2-3 showing from the Diamondbacks offense was at least followed by two quick outs for McCarthy in the bottom half. But things fell apart quickly, as he gave up singles to <span>Devin Mesoraco</span> and Zack Cozart. Mike Leake came to the plate, and justified all those complaining AL announcers about letting pitchers hit by- no, wait, sorry, he hit a ground rule double, scoring Mesoraco. Choo came to the plate and singled to center to bring in Cozart and Leake, and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Reds</a> took a 4-0 lead into the third inning.</p>
<p>It didn't get better from there. Another 1-2-3 inning for Leake, and the Reds were back at bat. A single, a fielder's choice, and another single put two runners on with one out for Cincinnati. Chris Heisey doubled down the line to bring both runners in, and Devin Mesoraco singled to get Heisey in and run the score to 7-0. That was the end of McCarthy's outing- <span>Josh Collmenter</span> was called in from the bullpen, and got a ground out from Cozart and a swinging K from Leake to end the inning.</p>
<p>Fourth inning! Fortunes change! Well, okay, not much. But the Diamondbacks at least broke up Mike Leake's perfect game bid, finally getting their first base runner with a one out single from Martin Prado. Of course, things didn't go well in the bottom of the inning, as <span>Shin-Soo Choo</span> started the inning with a double off the wall and scored on a single from <span>Joey Votto</span> to stretch the lead to 8-0.</p>
<p>Okay, <i>then</i> it started getting a little better. I mean, after being down 8-0, it'd be hard not to.</p>
<p>It started with a single from <span>Wil Nieves</span> in the top of the fifth. <span>A.J. Pollock</span> followed that up with a single of his own, and both runners advanced on a wild pitch from Leake. <span>Didi Gregorius</span> struck out swinging, and <span>Jason Kubel</span> was sent in to pinch hit for Collmenter, ending his outing surprisingly early. Kubel surprised us all (okay, many of us, at least) by singling to right field, bringing both runners in to score and end the shut out. Adam Eaton stepped to the plate and decided it was time for his second home run of the season, and like that, we had cut the Reds' lead in half as we entered the bottom of the fifth.</p>
<p>Will Harris pitched the fifth and Eury De La Rosa took the sixth , both pitchers giving 1-2-3 innings out of the bullpen. Then in the top of the seventh inning, with Manny Parra taking the hill for the Reds, the Diamondbacks offense took another shot at the lead. The damage came with two outs again, this time starting with <span>Tony Campana</span> beating out an infield single. A walk to Adam Eaton ended <span>Manny Parra's</span> night, and <span>J.J. Hoover</span> came in for Cincinnati. He gave up a hit to the first batter he faced, allowing Martin Prado to single in Campana from second and advancing Eaton to third. A four pitch walk to Paul Goldschmidt loaded the bases as the tying run, but <span>Aaron Hill</span> couldn't take advantage of it, flying out to end the inning.</p>
<p>Oh, but the Diamondbacks offense wasn't done yet. <span>Joe Thatcher</span> gave up a leadoff double to Joey Votto in the bottom of the seventh before he got two outs and let <span>Heath Bell</span> earn the third. That took us to the eighth inning, where the Reds called on big Jonathan Broxton. Broxton didn't quite live up to the memories of his days as a shut-down closer in LA, giving up a long bomb to <span>Gerardo Parra</span>- called a double at first, but then corrected as a home run upon further review. Hooray, robots! After walking Nieves on four straight pitches, Broxton was pulled, looking like an injury. <span>Aroldis Chapman</span> came in for the Reds. He got a ground out from Pollock on a great play by <span>Todd Frazier</span> at third to get the out. Didi Gregorius drew a walk, which brought <span>Matt Davidson</span> in to pinch hit for Heath Bell. Davidson hit a perfect double play ball, but Gregorius made a great slide to distract Brandon Phillips. Phillips's throw to first ended up sailing past Joey Votto, and Wil Nieves came around to score on the play, making the score 8-7. A strike out of Adam Eaton came on a questionable strike two and an ugly swing for strike three, and we were on to the eighth.</p>
<p><span>Brad Ziegler</span> came in for the Diamondbacks, gave up a one out single to Cozart and then struck out Aroldis Chapman. Then... He got unlucky. Choo singled to right to give the Reds two runners on, and then a floater by Todd Frazier was just past Didi's glove to land in the outfield, scoring Cozart. Votto walked to load the bases, and then Ziegler got a ground ball to Didi that had all his momentum going in the wrong direction to get an out, scoring Choo. <span>J.J. Putz</span> came in for Ziegler and got pop out to end the inning, but the Reds had taken their lead to 10-7.</p>
<p>The Diamondbacks tried in the ninth, at least. A lead-off walk to Prado was followed by a single for Goldschmidt, giving us the tying run at the plate. But all we got was a pop out, a fielder's choice, and a line out, and whatever hope of a miraculous come back dissipated into the muggy Cincinnati evening.</p>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe style="border:1px solid black;" width="450" height="450" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2013-08-21&team=Reds&dh=0"></iframe></div>
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<span>Source: </span><a style="font-size: 9pt;" href="http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2013-08-21&team=Reds&dh=0&season=2013">FanGraphs</a>
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<p><b> </b></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><b><b style="font-size: 9pt;">Paul Goldschmidt: Paul Goldschmidt (+8.2%)</b></b></div>
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<span>Supporting Cast: Martin Prado (+6.9%<br></span><i><i style="font-size: 9pt;">The Villain of the Piece: Brandon McCarthy (-35%)</i></i>
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<p><i> </i></p>
<p>Blaaaaah. I mean, it was a game that went downhill early, and the attempt at a comeback was slightly soured by the complete failing of it, especially from a usually reliable bullpen arm like Ziegler. Ah, but is there such a thing? I fear there isn't.</p>
<p>A fairly active thread, given the afternoon start time and the terrible score, but much of that was discussions of doom. BulldogsNotZags took first place in the commenting, and he was joined by 4 Corners Fan, AF DBacks Fanatic, AJV19, Airwave, Augdogs, AzRattler, Clefo, Diamondhacks, Fangdango, FatBoysEatMeat, GODSCHMIDT, Gildo, GuruB, Husk, Jim McLennan, Lozenge, The so-called Beautiful, Turambar, Zavada's Moustache, asteroid, azcougs, azshadowwalker, catbat, cheese1213, cole8865, hotclaws, imstillhungry95, kishi, melliemacker, onedotfive, piratedan7, rapdawg, rd33, shoewizard, soco, and xmet. I'm awarding Comment of the Day to Zavada's Moustache, because Community references make me laugh:</p>
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<h2 style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 17px; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'Gotham SSm A', 'Gotham SSm B', Arial, sans-serif; overflow: hidden; color: #292929; background-color: #ffffff;" class="title collapse_toggle ">Wait...</h2>
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<p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.8em; line-height: 1.5;">How long have I been asleep? Is Napster still a thing?</p>
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<div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; margin-top: 12px; font-family: 'Gotham Narrow SSm A', 'Gotham Narrow SSm B', Arial, sans-serif; background-color: #ffffff;" class="meta">by <a style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c62030 !important;" target="_blank" class="poster" href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Zavada's%20Moustache">Zavada's Moustache</a> on <a style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin-right: 8px; color: #c62030 !important;" class="date" href="http://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/8/21/4645520/gameday-thread-125-8-21-vs-reds#179742925">Aug 21, 2013 | 5:58 PM</a>
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<p>So an early start tomorrow, 9:35 Arizona time for first pitch. Be here, or be somewhere else. Maybe at some sort of function where The Man is compensating you for your labor with currency. Y'know, if you're a sell out or something. Whatever!</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/8/22/4646324/diamondbacks-7-reds-10-mike-leake-paul-goldschmidt-brandon-mccarthyDevin Jessup2013-08-21T23:03:35-04:002013-08-21T23:03:35-04:00Diamondbacks 7, Reds 10
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<p>What looked to be a pure rout by the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Cincinnati Reds</a> turned into a closer game than expected, but the end result was the same. <span>Brandon McCarthy</span> delivered a fairly disastrous start for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a>, giving up a solo home run to start the bottom of the first, and allowing a total of seven runs in 2.1 innings.</p>
<p><span>Mike Leake</span> started the game off well for Cincinnati, going 1-2-3 through the Diamondbacks lineup in the first three innings, but the offense started waking up in the middle innings. An RBI single from <span>Jason Kubel</span> broke up the shutout, and a home run from Adam Eaton cut the lead in half. The Diamondbacks continued to add on, cutting the Reds lead down to one run in the eighth inning. But Brad Ziegler struggled in the bottom of the eighth, allowing Cincinnati to string together singles and pad their lead, and the Diamondbacks offense couldn't score in the ninth.<span> </span></p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/8/21/4646246/diamondbacks-7-reds-10Devin Jessup2013-08-21T17:31:11-04:002013-08-21T17:31:11-04:00Preview: ...and breathe in
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<figcaption>Jamie Sabau</figcaption>
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<p>Third game of a four-game set against the Reds in Cincinnati, with the teams having split the first two - that's probably better for them than us... Brandon McCarthy tries to give the Diamondbacks the edge tonight. </p> <p>
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<br><span>Brandon McCarthy</span><br>RHP, 2-7, 4.84<br>
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<br><span>Mike Leake</span><br>RHP, 10-5, 3.01</h5>
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<span><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a></span> line-up</h4>
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<span>Adam Eaton</span>, LF </li>
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<span>Martin Prado</span>, 3B</li>
<li> <span>Paul Goldschmidt</span>, 1B</li>
<li> <span>Aaron Hill</span>, 2B</li>
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<a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/31904/gerardo-parra">Gerardo Parra</a>, RF</li>
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<span>Wil Nieves</span>, C</li>
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<a class="sbn-auto-link" href="../../mlb/players/107726/a-j-pollock">A.J. Pollock</a>, CF </li>
<li> <span>Didi Gregorius</span>, SS</li>
<li>Brandon McCarthy, P</li>
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<p>Little steps. That's the way to look at this road trip, which has gone 3-2 so far, against teams with better records than the Diamondbacks. Normally, this would be more than satisfactory, but it may not prove "good enough", and there are still enough pit-falls in the rest of the schedule to turn this into the effective end of the season. But I think we should get through it, one game at a time. Yesterday was a good result, not least because Patrick Corbin's complete game gives Kirk Gibson a lot more flexibility with his bullpen, as they've only had to throw a total of two innings over Monday and Tuesday [funny seeing <span>Trevor Cahill</span> warm up in there yesterday!]</p>
<p>But it's probably the offense I'm more concerned about today, going up against Leake. though McCarthy's three starts since coming back off the DL have been a distinctly mixed bag, with an overall ERA of 4.24. He has lost all three, but only one has seen him get through six innings, and a K:BB ratio of 14:7 over 17 innings isn't something to write home about either. The pair of road starts have been an issue, with McCarthy taking 197 pitches to get through ten innings, not a recipe for success. But the main problem this season continues to be a 29% line-drive rate, which is higher than any qualifying pitcher in the National League. Fingers crossed that doesn't persist tonight.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, we face Leake, though there is hope, because... Well, he appears to have sprung one in two of his last three starts, allowing 11 ER in 10 innings against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brewcrewball.com/">Brewers</a>. However, maybe that's a familiarity things, since his three recent starts against NL West opponents proved much more successful, with two earned runs over a total of 20 innings, facing the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">Giants</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.gaslampball.com/">Padres</a>. He also did a pretty good job of shutting the Diamondbacks down when we faced him in mid-June, holding us to four runs and a walk over eight innings, with a two-run shot by Parra all that we had to show for it.</p>
<p>Bottom line is that we probably need a) good McCarthy to show up, and b) to take advantage of whatever opportunities show themselves, since there probably won't be many of them. We're five behind the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Reds</a> for the second-wild card spot, and again the difference between victory and defeat in this contest would represent a two-game swing: we win, and we're four back; we lost and the gap would expand back to six games. If this isn't quite as much as "must win" as last night, it's probably a "really would like to win," and hopefully, McCarthy and the rest of the D-backs can provide that.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/8/21/4645156/diamondbacks-reds-previewJim McLennan