Ugly loss to Mets caps Diamondbacks' first sweep of year
Five times this season, the Diamondbacks had entered the last game of a series needing a win to avoid a sweep. Five times, they had responded accordingly.
It’s part of the recipe that has spurred a stunning first half in which they’ve emerged as one of the best teams in baseball. When a tough stretch arises, the Diamondbacks squash it. Perhaps it’s a fortitude borne out of losing 110 games two years ago. Perhaps it’s a testament to a consistently productive offense. Perhaps it’s both, with a dash of luck mixed in.
Whatever the secret sauce, it eluded the Diamondbacks on Thursday. In a 9-0 loss to the Mets, they were swept, shut out and handed a fourth consecutive loss. All three are new experiences for this team.
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“I'm not feeling great about it,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “I don't like what happened. The Mets came in here and beat us three games. And that to me should never happen.”
The postgame discussion was, once again, dominated by a shoulder injury to Corbin Carroll. But the Diamondbacks’ on-field performance also merits further inspection.
To punctuate their worst series of the year, they played arguably their worst game of the year.
The offense went silent, with a bloop double from Alek Thomas serving as their only hit until the seventh inning. They did not put multiple runners on base in a single frame. The defense was poor, most notably on a pop-up that fell between Carroll and Emmanuel Rivera in foul territory, ultimately costing them three runs. Lovullo said Carroll was affected by a contact lens popping out but still described it as a “miscommunication.”
And then there was the pitching. Ryne Nelson entered amid the most encouraging stretch of his season. Over his past two starts, he pitched 14 1/3 innings, allowing just two runs and striking out 12. For a month, his strikeout rates had ticked up and his walk rates down, providing encouragement that the rookie starter was finding the type of rhythm that could solidify a troublesome back end of the Diamondbacks’ rotation.
One start does not erase a month of progress and Nelson said afterward, “I did feel good, body-wise, going out there and everything.” Still, it was a significant step back.
In three innings, he allowed seven runs on nine hits while striking out just one. Over his last five starts, Nelson had averaged 11.8 whiffs per game and gotten batters to miss on 26.1% of swings. On Thursday, he tied a career-low with just three whiffs on 39 swings (8%).
And while he did not issue a walk, Nelson allowed seven balls to be hit 100 mph or harder. Five of those came against fastballs left over the middle band of the strike zone. The other two were off-speed pitches that Nelson left in the same spot.
“(The Mets) took advantage of some mistakes from Nelly,” Lovullo said. “There were some middle-middle mistakes and they hit like they knew what was coming all night long. It was very awkward. They've got good players. It was one of those nights where it was all working for them, but Nelly made a lot of mistakes in the middle of the zone.”
In contrast, Nelson had been able to locate his fastball to the top of the zone and to each side of the plate over his previous two outings.
The blame for a sweep, though, does not fall solely on one pitcher. Over these three games, the Diamondbacks’ offense managed to go just 16 for 94 (.170). Geraldo Perdomo went 1 for 11. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 1 for 11. Emmanuel Rivera went 1 for 7. Carson Kelly and Gabriel Moreno went a combined 0 for 10.
To varying degrees, all are important parts of the Diamondbacks offense. All went silent — and they’re not alone. In the series, Carroll was the only Diamondback to record three hits.
Afterward, Lovullo said that the feeling around the team is no different than it has been amid previous rough patches. To be fair, the sweep would have been avoided with one more strike Wednesday. They are still 50-38 and atop the NL West.
But in a season full of highs, the Diamondbacks hit a new low.
—Theo Mackie
Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly progressing toward post-break return
Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly threw a 45-pitch session on Thursday in which he simulated three innings of work, manager Torey Lovullo said, another encouraging step as he works his way back from a blood clot in his leg.
“I spoke to him yesterday and he said he feels great,” Lovullo said. “He’s in a really good spot.”
Lovullo said Kelly was scheduled to undergo a follow-up ultrasound exam on Thursday to make sure the clot is no longer an issue.
Kelly is not eligible to return from the 15-day injured list until during the All-Star break. The Diamondbacks open the second half with a road trip that starts in Toronto next Friday before heading to Atlanta and Cincinnati, and Lovullo again suggested he might prefer to see Kelly return in Atlanta rather than Toronto.
“I think there’s got to be one more outing that there’s a little bit more intensity to make sure that he’s ready on the other side of the All-Star break,” Lovullo said.
Lovullo intimated that he wanted Kelly to make a rehab start in the minors before returning. Since the minors are on break next week, as well, he wouldn’t be able to do that until July 14.
As for Kelly’s open rotation spot, the Diamondbacks have right-hander Zac Gallen listed as their starter for Friday, meaning the open spot will need to be filled on Saturday. Lovullo said one option is for the club to go with a bullpen game.
—Nick Piecoro
Diamondbacks infield at center of offensive struggles
Over their past seven games, the Diamondbacks have scored just 20 runs, their worst such stretch of the season. Even with mostly strong starting pitching, they’ve scuffled to a 2-5 record in those games — just their second 2-5 week of the year.
Part of the blame falls on minor injuries to Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte that sapped the lineup of two of its best players for three and two games, respectively.
But the Diamondbacks have also gotten subpar production from their infield over the last week. In the past seven games, their infielders have the following stat lines:
Evan Longoria: 3 for 12 (.250), .650 OPS
Emmanuel Rivera: 3 for 12 (.250), .558
Geraldo Perdomo: 1 for 17 (.059), .297
Nick Ahmed: 2 for 14 (.143), .414
Ketel Marte: 3 for 21 (.143), .360
Christian Walker: 4 for 27 (.148), .703
Combined, those players are just 14 for 103 (.136) in the Diamondbacks’ rough stretch. Their collective OPS is .486. In contrast, the outfielders have a .683 OPS in that time span.
“Maybe we're trying to do a little bit too much,” Lovullo said. “We've just gotta relax and play our game. Get guys on base via the walk, patient approaches and then somebody to come up and slug, put up big crooked numbers. We haven't done a whole lot of that in the past few games.”
Lovullo did not call out any specific players who he is specifically targeting for a turnaround.
“You can see the guys that are grinding right now,” Lovullo said. “It's no mystery. I don't want to bring up the names. But they're working. They're definitely working.”
—Theo Mackie
Thursday's Diamondbacks-Mets pitching matchup
Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (5-4, 4.67) vs. Mets RHP Carlos Carrasco (2-3, 5.94).
Nelson has pitched well in each of his past two outings, most recently at Angel Stadium, where he gave up just one run in a career-high 7 1/3 innings with one walk and six strikeouts. … In nine starts since May 17, he has a 3.42 ERA. … He has been increasing the usage of his change-up in recent starts, throwing it more than 20 percent of the time over his past four starts. … He has never faced the Mets. … Carrasco gave up two runs in five innings against the Giants in his most recent start. He has struggled to pitch consistently well or deep into games for much of the year, but especially in the past month. … He averages 92.4 mph with his fastball. He throws his change-up nearly as much as he throws his fastball. … He has a 1.29 ERA in three career appearances against the Diamondbacks. He faced them once last season, firing five scoreless innings in a start early in the season.
Coming up
Friday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (10-3, 3.15) vs. Pirates LHP Rich Hill (7-8, 4.50).
Saturday: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks TBA vs. Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (9-4, 3.52).
Sunday: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zach Davies (1-4, 6.52) vs. Pirates RHP Luis Ortiz (2-3, 4.86).
Early Diamondbacks-Mets reading
Arizona's stars: Carroll, Gallen, Gurriel headed to Seattle for All-Star Game
Journeyman finds home: Much-traveled McGough big part of Diamondbacks bullpen
Bobby Bonilla Day: The legendary Mets' contract that set a baseball trend
MLB power rankings: Unstoppable Braves wrest top spot from Rays at last
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ugly loss to Mets caps Diamondbacks' first sweep of year
