D-Backs’ bats continue to slumber on the road
WASHINGTON – The Diamondbacks’ reasoning was hard to debate on Thursday afternoon. Their offense had been shut down, once again struggling in a setting other than Chase Field, but this time they had faced one of the planet’s better pitchers, Max Scherzer, who allowed just two hits, struck out 11 and led the Washington Nationals to a 4-2 victory.
“Really, really good pitching,” Diamondbacks center fielder A.J. Pollock said. “I think we wanted to do a little bit better off him, but you do have to tip your cap a little bit.”
But the early-season trend is beginning to look troubling for the Diamondbacks. At home, they are the league’s best-hitting team. On the road, they are the worst. The sample size is small and the numbers could change fast – perhaps as soon as this weekend, when they open a three-game series at hitterfriendly Coors Field – but the season’s first month-plus might also turn out to be a warning sign.
“I don’t have an answer for you,” Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said. “We haven’t done as well on the road. … I think there will be some games where we play well and over the long run that will even itself out.”
Right-hander Braden Shipley struggled to throw strikes in his first audition for the fifth starter’s job, issuing six walks in four-plus innings. He managed to limit the damage to just three runs, but he came away upset with how the day unfolded.
“I’m super frustrated with myself because I don’t think I got beat today; I think I beat myself,” said Shipley, whose manager, Torey Lovullo, did not commit to giving him another start. “As any competitor will tell you, that’s the most frustrating way to lose is when you beat yourself.”
The loss gave the Nationals a series victory, sending the Diamondbacks to
consecutive series defeats for the first time this season. They also dropped two out of three to the Rockies, whom they’ll face again this weekend as this challenging, early-season stretch continues.
Their only run on Wednesday came on a Chris Owings solo homer. On Thursday, Goldschmidt and Jake Lamb each clubbed solo homers. Those shots accounted for both of their runs and half of their hits on the day. They went consecutive days without a hit with a runner in scoring position; they were just 2 for 16 in the series in those situations.
They did score six times in Tuesday night’s win, but that performance stands as one of only two times in 13 road games the offense has scored more than four times. The run-scoring distribution is not pretty in those other 11 games: zero runs (once), one run (four times), two runs (twice), three runs (once), four runs (three times).
It’s no secret that Chase Field, where the Diamondbacks own a .301 average and score 6.5 runs per game, is beloved by hitters. And the team’s first trip included three visits to known pitchers’ parks (San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego).
But while the Diamondbacks have faced Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw on the road, they’ve also faced – and were held in check by – Matt Cain, Jhoulys Chacin and Clayton Richard.
Pollock was asked if leaving Chase Field presents challenging adjustments for hitters. He shook his head. What about the flu-like bug that’s been wreaking havoc on players’ immune systems on both road trips? He shrugged.
Those could be factors, Pollock conceded, but he figured the simplest answer is probably the correct one. He pointed to the calendar.
“It’s just small sample size, I think; we’re a month into the year,” he said. “This is our second road trip. I’m not too concerned about that. I think we’re going to be just fine. We’re in all the games, which is good. We’re not letting games get out of hand. If we keep staying in games, we’ll start winning more on the road.”