The Diamondbacks arrived on national television with an offense that has been stuck in neutral, and the numbers around this slide are ugly. Arizona has scored one run in four straight games, a stretch that matches the fifth time in franchise history the hitters have done that. The last time came at the end of July, when the club managed just two runs over four games in Pittsburgh and Detroit.
That slump was part of a longer rough patch, too. Over seven games in that span, the Diamondbacks never scored more than two runs and totaled only seven. During those 246 plate appearances, they hit .179/.241/.256 for a .496 OPS.
If you fold in the nightcap of the doubleheader in San Francisco, Arizona is now up to five straight games with two runs or fewer. The results have been a little less brutal in one narrow sense: the walks have ticked up.
Over the last five games and 171 plate appearances, the Diamondbacks are batting .174/.251/.258 for a .510 OPS. A .229 BABIP in that stretch has also played a part, though the source of some of the damage has been self-inflicted, including the recent flailings of Corbin ‘Infield Pop-up’ Carroll.
Even so, September doesn’t leave room for much sympathy. There are no moral victories in a postseason chase.
That puts a lot on Brandon Pfaadt if Arizona’s bats stay quiet. The right-hander has already turned in four scoreless starts this season, plus another outing where the only run he allowed was unearned.
Among those gems were seven innings of two-hit shutout baseball against the Braves and Dodgers, both division leaders. Arizona will need that kind of version of Pfaadt if the lineup keeps giving him almost nothing.
The Diamondbacks’ lineup for the night featured Lars Nootbaar at DH, Geraldo Perdomo at shortstop, Gabriel Moreno behind the plate, Ketel Marte at second, Corbin Carroll in right, Nolan Arenado at third, Max Kepler in left, Tim Tawa at first, Ryan Waldschmidt in center and Pfaadt on the mound. On the Astros’ side, Jeremy Pena led off at short, followed by Yordan Alvarez at DH, Isaac Paredes at third, Jose Altuve at second, Daulton Varsho in center, Christian Walker at first, Yainer Diaz at catcher, Taylor Trammell in left, Cam Smith in right and Ethan Pecko starting at right-hander.
There’s still a little light at the end of the tunnel for Arizona, at least in the form of the scoreboard elsewhere. If the Yankees cooperate, the Diamondbacks could take back the third wild-card spot from the Padres by the end of the night. And if the offense finally wakes up, the whole picture looks a lot different.
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Diamondbacks Clutch Slump Feels Brutal But One Bigger Fix May Be Coming
The Diamondbacks have spent recent games living with the kind of offensive frustration that makes every missed chance feel bigger than the last. Their inability to cash in with runners in scoring position has been especially glaring, including a series without an RISP hit, and it has put a spotlight on a lineup that has otherwise had enough talent to believe better days are coming.
There is at least some reason for patience, because the teams monthly OPS with RISP has already shown how much this part of the season can swing, with strong stretches in April and August bookending rougher months in between. Arizona also expects some regression to the mean in September, and the bigger fix may come from the other side of the game as the starting rotation waits on the returns of Corbin Burnes and Michael Soroka to help steady a staff that has been too uneven for comfort. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Face Tough September Calls As Playoff Push Tightens
Arizonas September has turned into a test of patience, with the offense going cold at the worst possible time and the postseason race leaving little margin for drift. While the big-league club searches for answers, one of the organizations brighter notes has come from the farm system, where Avery Owusu-Asiedu has been surging again since his promotion to Double-A, homering in four straight games for the second time in a month.
The front office, meanwhile, has had to keep juggling the bigger picture around the edges of the roster. The Diamondbacks already announced their spring training schedule even with the threat of a lockout hanging over that calendar, and they also designated Jorge Barrosa for assignment as they continue sorting out the roster. Corbin Burnes is expected to be activated on Tuesday, a timely boost if Arizona is going to stabilize its run production and make this late push feel anything like a climb instead of a crawl. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Just Delivered The Kind Of Win Fans Can Rally Around
For a Diamondbacks club that has spent plenty of recent nights looking for a clean finish, this one had the kind of shape fans can latch onto. Arizona went into Daikin Park and beat the Astros 4-3 in 10 innings, with Ketel Marte supplying another big swing when he launched his 22nd home run of the season to keep the lineup moving in the right direction.
The closing stretch carried the sort of tension that can linger for a visiting team in Houston, and Arizona got just enough relief work to hold it together. Brandyn Garcia collected his fifth save with a sharp finish to the extra-inning frame, giving the Diamondbacks a win built on timely hitting, a late push, and a bullpen effort that gave them something real to build on. [Read more 🡒]