Diamondbacks struggle against Dodgers in LA
LOS ANGELES – For the past two weeks, the Arizona Diamondbacks have looked like a team that had turned a corner. But two days at Dodger Stadium, in consecutive games started by their two best pitchers, have suggested they still have a ways to go.
A day after right-hander Zac Gallen was hit hard, right-hander Merrill Kelly was knocked around for seven runs on Tuesday night, and the Diamondbacks fell, 9-1, to a Los Angeles Dodgers team that continues to steamroll toward another division title.
It is an ominous start to what looked like the toughest remaining portion of the Diamondbacks’ schedule. After Wednesday, when they will send right-hander Brandon Pfaadt to the mound in hopes of avoiding a sweep, the Diamondbacks will return home to for three games against the Baltimore Orioles, the team with the best record in the American League.
So far, the two losses have cost them two games in the standings in their chase for a wild-card spot. Coupled with the Giants’ win over the Reds in San Francisco, the Diamondbacks have fallen out of the third wild-card position in the National League.
Gallen and Kelly each rank among the best pitchers in the NL, and together they represent one of the best 1-2 punches in the league. The Dodgers had little trouble with them. In two days, the two starters combined to allow 13 runs on 21 hits in 10 1/3 innings.
“I think it’s pretty impressive what our team’s doing right now,” Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw said. “I mean, those are two good pitchers in Gallen and Kelly and for us to put up those kinds of runs and just keeping the line moving, everybody all the way down the lineup contributing, it’s just really impressive.”
Unlike the night before, when Gallen served up four homers, accounting for all six runs he allowed, Kelly managed to keep the ball in the ballpark. He was no more successful.
The Dodgers collected 12 hits and three walks off him in his five innings. It felt like every time the Dodgers swung, they put a ball in play – and whether it was hit hard or not, more often than not it seemed to find the outfield grass.
“I wasn’t doing a good job of getting ahead of guys,” Kelly said. “I wasn’t doing a good enough job of executing two-strike pitches. I wasn’t doing a good enough job of making quality strikes. When you’ve got those three things working against you against a team like that, going as well as they are, it’s going to be a long night.”
The outing prolonged what largely has been a career-long struggle for Kelly against the Dodgers. In 16 career starts against them, he has posted a 5.27 ERA. He is 0-11 in those outings; the Diamondbacks have won only two of them.
Kelly noted the patience of the Dodgers’ lineup, how infrequently their hitters chase and how stubborn they are to hunting their particular pitch. The approach runs counter to the way Kelly operates.
“I kind of make my money on trying to live on the edges and get people to swing at maybe balls that they shouldn’t and try to get weak contact and that type of stuff,” Kelly said. “This team does a good job of not doing that. If I’m not doing a good job of throwing strikes consistently and throwing quality strikes, I’m going to have some bad days against these guys.”
Kershaw, meanwhile, managed to shut down the Diamondbacks despite featuring neither good stuff nor command. Early in the game he was regularly behind in counts. The Diamondbacks could not capitalize. After he was given a sizeable lead, he attacked Diamondbacks hitters in the zone. They could not capitalize then, either.
His only blemish in five innings came on a solo home run by Corbin Carroll in the fifth, a performance that earned him a win and moved him into a tie with Don Drysdale for the second-most wins in Dodgers history. With 209 wins, he trails only Don Sutton (233) in franchise history.
“It’s great company,” Kershaw said. “Drysdale and Sutton are two of the best, especially in Dodger history, so it’s cool.”
Waiver options aplenty for Diamondbacks, other contending teams
LOS ANGELES — A slew of intriguing players appeared on baseball’s waiver wire on Tuesday, according to published reports, a batch of players whom the Diamondbacks and other contending teams will have to sort through over the coming days to determine whether to submit claims.
Among the players on waivers are Angels pitchers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Matt Moore; White Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger; Angels outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk; and Yankees outfielder Harrison Bader.
The moves are happening now because players have to be in a new team’s organization by Aug. 31 in order to be eligible for the postseason. Out-of-contention teams are essentially giving players away in order to save money on salaries.
Waiver claims on these players will be processed in the reverse order of standings after Wednesday night’s games, a source said. As of Tuesday morning, that would have meant the Diamondbacks were behind the Giants, Reds and Marlins in waiver priority.
According to a source, a team will maintain its position in waiver priority for every player available. That is to say, assuming non-contending clubs do not submit claims, the Marlins, who have the worst record of any team with a reasonable chance to make the playoffs, would theoretically be able to add as many of those players as they wanted.
Teams will have to immediately assume the contracts of — and create room on their 40-man roster for — every player they successfully claim, and since all of the claims will be processed at the same time, teams will have to be judicious about how many players they attempt to claim.
The Diamondbacks seem likely to submit claims for one or more pitchers. Giolito, Lopez and Moore would seem like potential upgrades to the roster. A case could be made, as well, for a right-handed bat such as Bader given his strong career numbers against left-handed pitching.
A club source said the Diamondbacks are willing to add payroll in the coming days for the right player or players.
Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m., Dodger Stadium
Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (10-5, 2.97) vs. Dodgers LHP Clayton Kershaw (11-4, 2.48).
Kelly fired seven shutout innings of one-hit ball against the Reds on Thursday, exiting only because he began to feel cramping in his right hamstring. It was the second time in the past four starts he has had to exit a start early due to cramps. … Kelly could very well be in the middle of the Cy Young race were it not for him missing a month due to a blood clot in his right leg. He ranks third in the league with a 2.97 ERA and has averaged nearly six innings per start. … He has faced the Dodgers three times this year, posting a 1.17 ERA in 15 1/3 innings. His most recent start was his best. He gave up no runs on six hits and two walks in six innings. … Kershaw returned from the injured list earlier this month and has made three starts, giving up just one run in each. He had his most recent start cut to just two innings due to a rain delay. … He faced the Diamondbacks in each of his first two starts of the year, giving up five runs in 12 innings. He has not faced them since. In 43 career starts against them, he has logged a 2.75 ERA.
Coming up
Wednesday: At Dodger Stadium, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (1-6, 5.91) vs. Dodgers TBA.
Thursday: Off.
Friday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks TBA vs. Orioles LHP Cole Irvin (1-3, 4.78).
Saturday: At Chase Field, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (14-5, 3.11) vs. Orioles RHP Kyle Bradish (9-6, 3.03).
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kershaw shuts down Diamondbacks while Dodgers batter Merrill Kelly
