AZ Snake Pit - Game #58: Diamondbacks 0, Reds 5An unofficial Arizona Diamondbacks community and bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47033/azsnakepit_f.png2014-06-01T01:47:01-04:00http://www.azsnakepit.com/rss/stream/55325372014-06-01T01:47:01-04:002014-06-01T01:47:01-04:00Diamondbacks 0, Reds 5: Fractured...
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RL5-prn6rU0XdiXfftXS3y9gf-E=/5x0:3995x2660/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/33760605/494970151.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Norm Hall</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Johnny Cueto beat the D-backs and broke A.J. Pollock's hand, it couldn't have gotten much worse than that. </p> <p>It was just going to be your typical disappointing 2014 D-backs loss up until <span>A.J. Pollock</span> was hit by a <span>Johnny Cueto</span> change-up on the right hand. He was taken back for x-rays and the result certainly isn't pretty:</p>
<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p>A.J. Pollock has a fractured right hand.</p>
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) <a href="https://twitter.com/nickpiecoro/statuses/472966752532303872">June 1, 2014</a>
</blockquote>
<p>
<script charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</p>
<p>Pollock's play has been on a steady incline as the season has gone along and was just named National League player of the week last week for his latest surge at the plate. For this to happen right when things were starting to look good for the center fielder is a microcosm of the 2014 season for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a>. At this point it's a crushing loss, and while that may be overstating it a bit, recent history has shown that hand injuries are tough to come back from.</p>
<p>One of the bright spots that I was going to take away from such a terrible game was how fun it has been to watch Pollock play in the outfield and his approach at the plate. Cueto ruined that for me.</p>
<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Reds</a>' right hander allowed just five hits tonight while striking out seven over his 7 1/3 innings of work. The D-back hitters didn't have any answer for Cueto, and couldn't come up with the big hit when runners were in scoring position late in the game.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It’s striking how different a pitcher can look from one inning to the next.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As is typically the case, <span>Brandon McCarthy</span> breezed through the first inning, striking out two. He then recorded a seven-pitch second innings, and a 1-2-3 third, facing the minimum.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Cue the 4<sup>th</sup> inning melt down.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/assets/4543357/Screen_Shot_2014-05-31_at_8.03.14_PM.png" target="_blank"><img alt="Screen_shot_2014-05-31_at_8.03.14_pm_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/assets/4543357/Screen_Shot_2014-05-31_at_8.03.14_PM_medium.png"></a> <br id="1401601243017"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Billy Hamilton</span> led off the inning with a single, which of course doesn't help any situation due to all of the attention he garners when he reaches. Even so, McCarthy had opportunities to get out of the inning, but couldn’t make the right pitches when he needed to. <span>Brandon Phillips</span> and <span>Todd Frazier</span> had RBI singles, and <span>Brayan Pena</span> knocked in a run of his own with a double to right center.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Reds cashed in three runs in the fourth and forced McCarthy to throw nearly 40 pitches in the inning, after just 31 through the first three. It has to be mental with him at this point.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At that point, the Reds hitters looked extremely confident at the plate and were taking healthy hacks on whatever came their way. And when it rains, especially for McCarthy, it pours. Cinci scored two more in the fifth before Kirk Gibson had enough and pulled him in favor of <span>Joe Thatcher</span> to get the final two outs of the inning.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The combination of Thatcher, Cahill, Perez and Reed all contributed to the zeroes in the final 4 2/3 innings of the game.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4543365/chart.png" target="_blank"><img alt="Chart_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/assets/4543365/chart_medium.png"></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The show must go on without Pollock. Wade Miley will toe the rubber tomorrow against <span>Alfredo Simon</span> to try and tie the series up at two wins apiece.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/6/1/5768906/diamondbacks-reds-pollock-handRoss Dunham2014-06-01T01:29:52-04:002014-06-01T01:29:52-04:00A. J. Pollock fractures hand
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Kz5YqZ3rQi7wSxhMRdJsNr6IDas=/3x0:3996x2662/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/33760245/20140529_ajl_ak4_109.JPG.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Well, the brightest shining light in this disappointing 2014 just got dimmed, with the news that A.J. Pollock has broken his hand. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p><span>A.J. Pollock</span> was removed from tonight's game with a fractured right hand.</p>
— <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Arizona Diamondbacks</a> (@Dbacks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dbacks/statuses/472966716121968640">June 1, 2014</a>
</blockquote>
<p>
<script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Pollock was hit on the hand by a 92 mph <span>Johnny Cueto</span> fastball during this evening's 5-0 loss to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Reds</a> at Chase Field. Adding insult to injury, the umpire initially called it a foul ball, and it took an appeal from Kirk Gibson to get the call overturned and a hit by pitch ruled instead. A.J. had been insanely productive of late, and when he left the game, had a line of .316/.366/.554, easily the best of any regular D-backs - that's a .920 OPS, with the next best being <span>Paul Goldschmidt</span>, at .884. By fWAR, Pollock was also leading the team, with 2.0 fWAR, ahead of Goldschmidt at 1.6.</p>
<p>There's no word of any recovery time, but one imagines we may be looking at something similar to <span>Aaron Hill</span> last season, who ended up missing over two months and 63 games, after he suffered fractured bones in his hand when hit by a pitch. There'll certainly be a roster move, but not sure what as yet. We could see the return of <span>Tony Campana</span> to play center, or the team may try running <span>Ender Inciarte</span> out there on a regular basis. It's definitely going to hurt the team, just as they came to the end of the month of May with a winning record for it, substantially better than the one they posted in April.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/6/1/5768924/a-j-pollock-fractures-handJim McLennan2014-06-01T01:08:15-04:002014-06-01T01:08:15-04:00Diamondbacks 0, Reds 5
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7XFqBkOj7r4gL8IuHB12uYLCObM=/0x20:4000x2687/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/33759715/20140531_jla_sz6_268.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Johnny Cueto was on the mound for the Reds, and Brandon McCarthy for the D-backs. It didn't really go well for the team with McCarthy. </p> <p><span>Johnny Cueto</span> absolutely dominated the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> tonight. The final line for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.redreporter.com/">Reds</a>' right hander was 7 1/3 IP, 5 hits allowed, seven strike outs and just one walk on the night. The D-backs had opportunities to push across runs in the sixth and eighth innings but it wasn't to be. And while that should have been the story of the night, the focus was elsewhere for D-backs fans.</p>
<p><span>Brandon McCarthy</span> blew up yet again. Once more, he had a great first three innings, where he faced the minimum and struck out three along the way. And once more, he looked like a completely different pitcher in the fourth inning. The Reds -- starting with <span>Billy Hamilton</span> each inning -- scored five off the the Arizona starter in the next inning and a third to chase him from the ball game.</p>
<p>Perhaps a bright spot for Arizona is the fact that the score remained the same for the rest of the game, a testament to the bullpen's work in the final 4 2/3 innings. Kind of hard to think positive after a 0-5 game where the D-backs hottest hitter in <span>A.J. Pollock</span> suffered a fractured right hand.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/6/1/5768814/diamondbacks-reds-scoreRoss Dunham2014-05-31T21:00:12-04:002014-05-31T21:00:12-04:00Preview: McCarthy seeks to tame Reds menace
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/weDE046j62OvSrAdI5gz0QWbhmg=/0x130:2667x1908/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/33753889/482984039.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Doug Pensinger</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Brandon McCarthy takes the mound for Arizona this evening. Will he be good past the third, or are we going to see another one of these disturbingly-frequent mid-inning meltdowns?</p> <p>
<style type="text/css">table.oldschool {
border-width: 1px;
border-spacing: 2px;
border-style: outset;
border-color: gray;
border-collapse: separate;
background-color: white;
}
table.oldschool th {
border-width: 1px;
padding: 3px;
border-style: inset;
border-color: gray;
background-color: white;
-moz-border-radius: ;
}
table.oldschool td {
border-width: 1px;
padding: 3px;
border-style: inset;
border-color: gray;
background-color: white;
-moz-border-radius: ;
}
table.newschool {
border-width: 0px;
border-spacing: 2px;
border-style: outset;
border-color: gray;
border-collapse: separate;
background-color: white;
}
table.newschool th {
border-width: 0px;
padding: 3px;
border-style: inset;
border-color: gray;
background-color: white;
-moz-border-radius: ;
}
table.newschool td {
border-width: 0px;
padding: 3px;
border-style: inset;
border-color: gray;
background-color: white;
-moz-border-radius: ;
}
</style>
</p>
<table class="oldschool">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<table class="newschool">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="middle"><img src="http://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/assets/2821375/cin.png" alt="cin_medium"></td>
<td valign="middle">
<h5>
<br><span>Johnny Cueto</span><br>RHP, 4-4, 1.83<br>
</h5>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
<td>
<table class="newschool">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td valign="middle"><img src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2572695/ari.png" alt="ari_medium"></td>
<td valign="middle">
<h5>
<br><span>Brandon McCarthy</span><br>RHP, 1-6, 4.87<br>
</h5>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h4>
<a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> Lineup</h4>
<ol>
<li> <span>A.J. Pollock</span> - CF </li>
<li> <span>Gerardo Parra</span> - RF </li>
<li> <span>Paul Goldschmidt</span> - 1B</li>
<li> <span>Miguel Montero</span> - C</li>
<li> <span>Martin Prado</span> - 3B </li>
<li> <span>Aaron Hill</span> - 2B</li>
<li> <span>Cody Ross</span> - LF</li>
<li> <span>Chris Owings</span> - SS</li>
<li> <span class="sbn-auto-link">Brandon McCarthy </span>- P</li>
</ol>
<p>Maybe it's McCarthy who should be in the bullpen, not <span>Trevor Cahill</span>? I mention this, because of McCarthy's astonishing splits this season. For his first 25 pitches, he's basically unhittable - but after that, it goes increasingly pear-shaped. And not one of those crunchy, tasty and fresh pears either: it's more like one which got stuck at the bottom of the box, and is consequently well past its' best before date.</p>
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<td data-stat="split_name" class="tooltip sort_default_asc" align="left">Split</td>
<td data-stat="PA" class="tooltip" align="center">PA</td>
<td data-stat="AB" class="tooltip" align="center">AB</td>
<td data-stat="R" class="tooltip" align="center">R</td>
<td data-stat="H" class="tooltip" align="center">H</td>
<td data-stat="HR" class="tooltip" align="center">HR</td>
<td data-stat="BB" class="tooltip" align="center">BB</td>
<td data-stat="SO" class="tooltip" align="center">SO</td>
<td data-stat="strikeouts_per_base_on_balls" class="tooltip hide_non_quals" align="center">SO/W</td>
<td data-stat="batting_avg" class="tooltip hide_non_quals" align="center">BA</td>
<td data-stat="onbase_perc" class="tooltip hide_non_quals" align="center">OBP</td>
<td data-stat="slugging_perc" class="tooltip hide_non_quals" align="center">SLG</td>
<td data-stat="onbase_plus_slugging" class="tooltip hide_non_quals" align="center">OPS</td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr data-row="0">
<td><span>Pitch 1-25</span></td>
<td align="right">72</td>
<td align="right">70</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">11</td>
<td align="right">2</td>
<td align="right">2</td>
<td align="right">18</td>
<td align="right">9.00</td>
<td align="right">.157</td>
<td align="right">.181</td>
<td align="right">.257</td>
<td align="right">.438</td>
</tr>
<tr data-row="1">
<td><span>Pitch 26-50</span></td>
<td align="right">73</td>
<td align="right">68</td>
<td align="right">9</td>
<td align="right">19</td>
<td align="right">3</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">18</td>
<td align="right">4.50</td>
<td align="right">.279</td>
<td align="right">.319</td>
<td align="right">.485</td>
<td align="right">.805</td>
</tr>
<tr data-row="2">
<td><span>Pitch 51-75</span></td>
<td align="right">80</td>
<td align="right">73</td>
<td align="right">16</td>
<td align="right">24</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">14</td>
<td align="right">3.50</td>
<td align="right">.329</td>
<td align="right">.367</td>
<td align="right">.548</td>
<td align="right">.915</td>
</tr>
<tr data-row="3">
<td><span>Pitch 76-100</span></td>
<td align="right">58</td>
<td align="right">56</td>
<td align="right">9</td>
<td align="right">20</td>
<td align="right">2</td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">8</td>
<td align="right">8.00</td>
<td align="right">.357</td>
<td align="right">.362</td>
<td align="right">.607</td>
<td align="right">.969</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>That's pretty much in line with the eye test. We've seen it time and time again this year: McCarthy comes out of the gate looking like an ace, only to melt down horribly after the first few innings. That's why he has posted an ERA of 2.18 through the first three frames, and 7.39 thereafter. Now, some dropoff is to be expected. But across the NL this year, OPS in the first 25 pitches is .700, and it's only 44 points higher from 76-100 - not the <u>531</u> points we're seeing from McCarthy. So, while small sample sizes do still apply to these figures, the results are SO extreme, there does seem to be something up.</p>
<p>However, there is hope for improvement, McCarthy's ERA of 4.87 ranks him 91st of 100 qualifying pitchers. But his FIP [Fielding Independent ERA] is a hair below four and ranks 67th. His xFIP - a variant of FIP that uses expected home-run rates - is even better, all the way down at 2.88, the 12th-best in the majors. Of course, xFIP doesn't win games. but it does seem credible that his HR/FB% of 21.2% should come down eventually; last year, it was less than half that, and his career figure is 10,0%. He's also striking out batters at a career-high rate, 7.8 per nine innings, and that augurs well for the future too.</p>
<p>But if it could all start regressing soon - ideally, past the third inning this evening - I think we'd all appreciate it.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/5/31/5768402/diamondbacks-reds-previewJim McLennan