Diamondbacks drop to .500 as collapse continues with loss to Dodgers
Corbin Carroll chopped a ball down the line in the ninth inning on Tuesday night and for a moment he did not move. As he stood in the batter’s box, he soon realized what was about to happen. By then it was too late.
Carroll’s ground ball — and his momentary lapse in not running — produced an easy double play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a play that ended the Diamondbacks’ 5-4 loss at Chase Field.
Though not quite as stunning as the final play of their previous game, a walkoff loss in Minnesota, it was another gut-punch of an ending for the reeling Diamondbacks, who lost for the seventh consecutive game and for the 18th time in 23 games since the All-Star break.
On July 1, the Diamondbacks were 16 games over .500 and on pace for 96 wins. Their latest loss dropped them all the way back to .500. They are 57-57, two games out of a playoff spot with three teams ahead of them.
With the potential tying run on base, Carroll represented the go-ahead run in the ninth. The Diamondbacks had stormed back over the final two innings, scoring four times to turn what had felt like another lifeless loss into a suddenly competitive game.
Carroll’s grounder down the line was gloved along the baseline by first baseman Freddie Freeman, who spun and fired a strike to second. That was when Carroll finally took off out of the box, but shortstop Miguel Rojas’ return throw beat him to first by 10 feet.
“There’s no excuse for it,” Carroll said. “I’ve got to run hard out of the box. Taking you through my mind-set, I thought the initial bounce was foul and that’s kind of what I saw there.”
Carroll said pitches like the one he hit — breaking balls down and in — often bounce near his foot and roll foul. He said it felt like another such foul ball.
“I’m not, obviously, thrilled about it,” Carroll said. “I’m someone who kind of prides himself — I think we’re a team that prides ourself — on just playing hard and playing the right way and doing the right things. That was a situation where I didn’t do it. It’s kind of one to reflect on and learn off for next time.”
For the first seven innings, the Diamondbacks collected five singles and had all of three at-bats with a runner in scoring position. Though he liked seeing his team wake up, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was bothered by what he saw for most of the game.
“There was a certain energy, a certain focus, inside of our dugout (over the final two innings),” Lovullo said. “I’m looking for that for nine innings. That’s what my expectation is. Maybe we were just a little dry and stagnant, and maybe hung over from worrying and all the little things that go with the streak that we’re on right now. But we’re not good enough to play two of nine. We’ve got to play nine of nine and lock it in.”
Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt threw well for four innings, giving up just one run, but ran into trouble in the fifth, when the Dodgers scored three times to chase him from the game. The key at-bat was turned in by Mookie Betts, who fouled off six pitches in an 11-pitch at-bat before ripping a run-scoring double into the gap in left-center.
“I think we tried to go sinker in, we tried to go slider away, we used the change-up on him,” Pfaadt said. “We used a little bit of everything and he was on it. I decided to give him a pitch to hit and it didn’t go our way.”
Freeman followed with a double of his own, a ball he sneaked softly past third baseman Emmanuel Rivera on an inside-out swing. After a Max Muncy sac fly, the Dodgers had what felt like a commanding 4-0 lead.
The Diamondbacks finally snapped to life in the eighth, when Tommy Pham and Christian Walker delivered run-scoring singles, and they pushed across two more in the ninth on an Alek Thomas triple and a Ketel Marte single before the Carroll double play ended it.
“Do I think he could? Yeah,” Lovullo said, when asked if he thought Carroll would have beat out the double play. “He’s lightning fast. It was a ball on the corner and typically you don’t see really fast runners on those types of balls have double plays turned on them. I would like to think he would have.”
Lovullo was asked why he thought his team looked the way it did in the early part of the game, a time in which they were shut down over six innings by Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias.
“I think we were just satisfied with what was happening,” Lovullo said. “And didn’t play our game. Just kind of rolling with what was happening. That’s not us. We play with intensity and energy and a certain swagger. I haven’t seen that in a while. I saw it in the last two innings.”
Diamondbacks' starter Zach Davies set for rehab start Thursday
After throwing 58 pitches in a simulated game Saturday, right-hander Zach Davies is throwing a bullpen session Tuesday. If all goes well, he is set to begin a rehab assignment in Triple-A Reno with a start Thursday.
“He felt good (on Saturday),” manager Torey Lovullo said. “The comments were, it wasn't perfect, but he got through it and felt good up to the 58-pitch mark so it was very encouraging for us.”
Davies has struggled this season, with a 7.38 ERA in 12 starts. He was placed on the injured list with lower back inflammation on July 19 after allowing nine runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Braves the night before.
At the time, it seemed that the Diamondbacks might not need Davies to return to their rotation. The club, though, did not add a starting pitcher at the trade deadline. That, combined with an injury to Tommy Henry in late July, has once again created a hole for Davies to fill in the rotation.
The fifth rotation spot is currently occupied by Slade Cecconi. Cecconi showed an effective fastball in his major league debut last week, allowing two runs in 4 2/3 innings. Still, the Diamondbacks have not displayed outsized faith in him.
Lovullo pulled him after just 59 pitches in that outing to prevent him from facing the Giants’ order for a third time. And with two off days this week, the club pushed him back in the rotation. He is available out of the bullpen Tuesday and Wednesday against the Dodgers and is a possibility to start against the Padres over the weekend, though it seems more likely that the Diamondbacks would skip his turn until the following series against the Rockies.
Henry, meanwhile, does not appear set for a return any time soon. He was placed on the 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation on July 30 but remains in the “treatment phase,” per Lovullo.
When asked whether he is confident that Henry will return this season, Lovullo responded “yes” without hesitation.
That return, though, remains further off than Davies’.
—Theo Mackie
Gabriel Moreno working towards return from shoulder injury
Catcher Gabriel Moreno has begun his hitting progression and caught bullpen sessions at Salt River Fields as he ramps up in his return from left shoulder inflammation.
The Diamondbacks are targeting a Thursday appearance in the Arizona Complex League for Moreno’s return to live action. If he plays in that game, Moreno will catch five innings. From that point, the Diamondbacks would ramp him back up to a full workload with off days and appearances as a designated hitter mixed in — a typical path for a catcher working back from injury.
Lovullo did not specify how many at-bats he would like Moreno to have before returning, but he did say that a rehab assignment is likely.
“I just want him to feel healthy and feel strong,” Lovullo said. “At this point, there's no target number for anything. We've just gotta get him asymptomatic, which he is now, and get him into a baseball game feeling right and feeling good.”
Moreno is hitting .270/.316/.360 in 222 at-bats and has caught a 17 of 36 runners stealing. That 47% success rate is the best in the National League. Carson Kelly has struggled in his place, hitting .197/.244/.263 in 76 at-bats. Kelly has caught just 5 of 25, although he does grade out as a better pitch framer than Moreno.
Moreno was placed on the 10-day injured list on July 23. Prior to that point, Lovullo had eased off his workload, aiming to fix the shoulder issue without requiring a stint on the injured list.
—Theo Mackie
Evan Longoria, Drey Jameson beginning rehab work
Evan Longoria has begun “dry swings” in his recovery from a lower back strain, according to Lovullo — meaning he has begun swinging but not hitting balls. Longoria was placed on the 10-day injured list on July 29. He is hitting .238/.303/.500 this season in a part-time role.
Drey Jameson, meanwhile, is set to begin a throwing program on Friday. Jameson is attempting a rehab approach to work his way back from a UCL strain, rather than undergoing Tommy John surgery, which would sideline him until 2025.
—Theo Mackie
Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m., Chase Field
Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (0-5, 7.11) vs. Dodgers LHP Julio Urias (8-6, 4.69).
Pfaadt turned in his best start yet last week in San Francisco, giving up just one run in a career-high seven innings, walking one and striking out seven. He tied a career-high with 14 swinging strikes. … It was his third start since his most recent trip to the minors and it was the most convincing argument yet that his change to the other side of the pitching rubber was a meaningful one. … This will be his best test yet against a talented Dodgers team that ranks among the best offenses in baseball. … Urias is coming off a strong start of his own, giving up just three hits and a walk in five scoreless innings against the Athletics. He has had trouble getting in a groove this season and has not been especially sharp since returning from the injured list. He has a 5.23 ERA in six starts since coming back. … He faced the Diamondbacks on Opening Day, giving up two runs in six innings to earn a victory. … He still relies heavily on a fastball/curveball/change-up mix but this year has begun to throw a cutter, as well. He has had good success with the new offering, holding opposing hitters to a .171 average on the pitch.
Coming up
Wednesday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (9-5, 3.21) vs. Dodgers RHP Bobby Miller (6-2, 4.37).
Thursday: Off.
Friday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (6-6, 5.16) vs. Padres LHP Blake Snell (8-8, 2.61).
Saturday: At Chase Field, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (11-5, 3.37) vs. Padres LHP Rich Hill (7-11, 5.09).
What to know about the Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers entered the All-Star break in a virtual tie with the Diamondbacks for first place in the National League West, and in the past three weeks have managed to move 8 1/2 games ahead of them as of Monday, though they had just a four-game lead on the Giants. They own one of the best offenses in baseball, ranking just behind the league-leading Braves (5.68) in runs per game (5.67), but are just eighth in ERA at 4.41. 1B Freddie Freeman has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball recently; he was named the NL Player of the Week last week after hitting .500 with three homers. OF Mookie Betts is also having an MVP-caliber season, with a .285/.386/.579 line with 30 homers, two shy of his career high. The Dodgers are expecting LHP Clayton Kershaw back from the injured list soon, but he will not face the Diamondbacks in this series. They also are hoping to get RHP Walker Buehler back from Tommy John surgery, though he likely will not return until September. RHP Lance Lynn, a deadline acquisition, has logged a 2.77 ERA in 13 innings with his new team. The Dodgers also traded for IF Enrique Hernandez, RHP Joe Kelly and IF Amed Rosario before the deadline.
Pre-game reading
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: D-Backs drop to .500 as collapse continues with loss to Dodgers
