Collapse returns: Diamondbacks surrender 4-run eighth in loss to Rockies
DENVER — Brendan Rodgers did not hesitate when asked to select a turning point from Monday night.
“That lead-off single when (Charlie Blackmon) gets on, he busts his butt to get down the line and really shows the boys that we're still in this game,” Rodgers, the Rockies’ second baseman, said.
Down the hallway in the Diamondbacks’ clubhouse, manager Torey Lovullo would’ve agreed with everything except the descriptor Rodgers used. That, Lovullo said, was an error.
It might not have been officially ruled as such, but a 75.4 mph one-hopper directly to Geraldo Perdomo is a play Lovullo wants his shortstop to make every time. Instead, Perdomo could only knock it down and fire to first a split-second too late to beat Blackmon.
How big that miscue would turn out to be. At the time, the Diamondbacks held a 4-2 lead with no outs in the eighth inning, seemingly destined for their first three-game winning streak in over two months. By the time they walked off the mound two pitching changes and four runs later, they were en route to a devastating 6-4 loss.
“We execute a little bit better in the bottom of the eighth inning in a couple of different ways, I don't think we allow four runs,” Lovullo said. “And that's the difference in the game.”
The seeds of that inning were sown two frames earlier, when Lovullo elected to remove his starting pitcher, Merrill Kelly, from the game. Given the hitter-friendly conditions at Coors Field, Kelly had one of the most impressive outings of his season. He allowed a pair of solo home runs, but worked around them to go six innings and strike out 11 batters, the second most of his career.
In the 29-year history of this ballpark, only 16 opposing pitchers had ever struck out that many. Kelly did so while garnering 21 swings and misses, a new career high.
“Slider was probably the best that I've seen it,” Kelly said. “The last couple games, I've really seen some progress on that pitch, both between the slider and the changeup. I would say those are probably the two best. And I was able to elevate some fastballs when I needed to and get some swing and miss.”
And yet, his manager removed him from the game at just 92 pitches. Lovullo said the decision was impacted by two factors. In his last start, Kelly was pulled in the seventh inning with a leg cramp. And at the altitude of Coors Field, Lovullo adds five to seven pitches to a starter’s pitch count.
Removing Kelly, though, put the Diamondbacks in a precarious position. Their two best relievers, Paul Sewald and Kevin Ginkel, were unavailable after having pitched in the previous two games.
Lovullo’s plan: Go to Miguel Castro in the seventh, Joe Mantiply in the eighth and use both Luis Frias and Kyle Nelson based on matchups in the ninth.
Only the Diamondbacks never got that far. The seventh inning went according to plan, but after Perdomo’s miscue to start the eighth, Mantiply — who has seldom been used in high-leverage roles this season — delivered five straight fastballs to Ezequiel Tovar, who hit the last for a single. Ryan McMahon then ripped a middle-middle sinker for another single, loading the bases and ending Mantiply’s night.
Enter Scott McGough, who has a 13.94 ERA since the All-Star break. McGough got a fortunate first out but then, as he has all month, failed to command his fastball up to the next two hitters, allowing a pair of RBI singles that gave the Rockies the lead.
By the time Nelson entered to extinguish the fire, it was too late. It was also hard to escape the idea that, if Nelson and Castro had been the only called upon members of a beleaguered bullpen, the end result might have looked a whole lot different.
Instead, the Diamondbacks wasted one of the best starts you’ll ever see at Coors Field, ahead of two games in which they don’t have a starting pitcher. In doing so, their season’s heart ticked one beat closer to the end.
“Where we're at in the season, we've gotta win a lot of baseball games,” Lovullo said. “And when we let one slip away like this, it hurts.”
Diamondbacks option Jake McCarthy, recall Kyle Lewis
DENVER — The Diamondbacks continued their recent flurry of somewhat surprising roster moves before Monday’s series opener in Colorado, recalling Kyle Lewis and optioning Jake McCarthy to Triple-A Reno for the second time this year.
McCarthy had two strong months after he was recalled in late May, hitting .306 with 21 stolen bases in his first 51 games following his return to the majors. He had cooled off over the past two weeks, though, going 5 for 34 without an extra base hit over his past 13 games.
Lewis, meanwhile, has been on fire at the plate in Reno, slashing an eye-watering .434/.543/.790 over the last month. He does not offer the speed of McCarthy and is primarily a designated hitter, but the Diamondbacks still have four true outfielders — Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Tommy Pham — on their active roster.
“Kyle Lewis just was forcing things by the success he was having in Reno,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “It was just a quality at-bat, controlling the zone, impacting the baseball. And we've told guys, when you go down, if you go and do your job, we're gonna try and do our absolute best to find a spot for you.”
Earlier in the season, the Diamondbacks might have opted for more patience with McCarthy — an important part of their present and future who has struggled for less than two weeks. Of late, though, their moves have conveyed a sense of urgency borne out of their place in the standings.
At 59-59, the Diamondbacks are only 2.5 games out of a Wild Card spot entering play Monday despite having gone 9-25 since July 2. Those last six weeks, though, have turned every game into something resembling a must-win scenario.
“We're in a position now with 44 games left, there isn't a lot of wiggle room,” Lovullo said. “… Our job to push the right buttons, put the right people in the right place, have the right personnel here and try to win every inch we possibly can.”
Lovullo’s sentiment echoes that offered by general manager Mike Hazen on Sunday, shortly after the Diamondbacks designated catcher Carson Kelly for assignment and optioned Ryne Nelson to Triple-A, leaving them with just three true starting pitchers in the majors.
““Things just weren't moving in the direction we needed them to move in,” Hazen said. “I don’t know what the right decisions are in terms of changing the roster construction, but we’re going to make some changes and see if that helps spark what we feel like is a good team that’s not playing the way it did in the first three months of the season. I don’t know what the right answer is, but we’re not just going to sit and watch it.”
Diamondbacks’ rotation still in flux
DENVER — Over the next two days, the Diamondbacks seem set to roll with an ad-hoc approach when it comes to their pitching staff. They do not have a starting pitcher listed for either game.
Left-hander Tyler Gilbert, right-hander Slade Cecconi and right-hander Bryce Jarvis are all options to provide long stretches out of the bullpen and bridge the gap between an opener and the back end of their bullpen.
With Nelson down in the minors, the approach could last beyond this week. In theory, Zach Davies would be an option to return to the majors for a start as soon as Sunday after a rehab start in Triple-A on Tuesday in which he will throw five to six innings and 85 pitches.
Lovullo, though, did not commit to Davies, who has a 7.38 ERA this season, returning after this start.
“There's an overall execution of the gameplan that we want to see,” Lovullo said. “... We want to see him execute. That's really what it comes down to. The execution portion of where he's at.”
Coming up
Tuesday: At Colorado, 5:40 p.m., Diamondbacks TBA vs. Rockies LHP Ty Blach (1-1, 4.22).
Wednesday: At Colorado, 12:40 p.m., Diamondbacks TBA vs. Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (9-9, 5.33).
Thursday: At San Diego, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (12-5, 3.24) vs. Padres LHP Rich Hill (7-12, 5.17).
What to know about the Colorado Rockies
The Rockies entered Sunday with a 45-72 record, putting them on pace for exactly 100 losses, a threshold no Colorado team has crossed in the organization’s 31-year existence. Their worst season was in 2012, when they lost 98 games. Unlike years past, when they would at least field lineups that could bash with the best of them even if their pitching was lacking, the Rockies in recent years have done little of either. This year’s offense ranks third from the bottom in the National League in runs per game (4.24) and their pitching staff is last with a 5.47 ERA. 3B Ryan McMahon has probably been their most productive hitter, with a .250/.335/.462 line and 19 homers, though SS Ezequiel Tovar has been very good since shaking off an ugly start, hitting.270/.301/.459 since May 1. LHP Kyle Freeland has been their most dependable starter, logging a 4.84 ERA in 119 innings. LHP Austin Gomber also has been in the rotation all year, posting a 5.33 ERA in 125 innings.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Collapse returns: Diamondbacks surrender 4-run eighth in loss to Rockies
