D-Backs’ losing streak hits five
Braves complete sweep with a rout
ATLANTA - The Diamondbacks’ visit here ended with another round of firsts. Their first five-game losing streak. Their first double-digit deficit in the National League West. Zack Godley’s first rough start.
After being beaten soundly by the Atlanta Braves 7-1 on Sunday, the Diamondbacks dressed quietly in the visitors’ clubhouse at SunTrust Park. They had been swept for the second time in the past three series. They had fallen 10 1/2 games back of the surging Los Angeles Dodgers. They had lost for the 11th time in the past 14 games.
And they’d been undone by the type of pitcher that has baffled them all year – a left-hander, this time in the form of Jaime Garcia.
“We’re just not clicking on all cylinders right now,” Diamondbacks catcher Jeff Mathis said. “We’ll put it behind us and get back after it on Tuesday.”
From Godley’s perspective, much of it could have been avoided were it not for several early count fastballs he threw to Braves hitters in the early innings.
Ender Inciarte got consecutive fastballs to open the bottom of the first. He shot the second into left for a leadoff single. Brandon Phillips, a thorn in their side all weekend, saw first-pitch fastballs in each of his first two at-bats. He doubled off both.
And the biggest blow came on a first-pitch heater Godley grooved to Matt Kemp with two on in the third, a pitch Kemp drove just beyond the wall in left-center field for a threerun home run.
“I threw pitches that they wanted to swing at and they wanted to hit, instead of pitches that I know I should have thrown,” Godley said. “Their top four hitters are really good at first-pitch fastballs. I threw them
first-pitch fastballs. I just tried to establish something that I shouldn’t have, and they took advantage of that opportunity.”
The Braves led 6-1 after the third, at which point Godley said he finally began to throw more early count offspeed pitches. He gave up just one run over his final three innings.
“Just something I should have done earlier in the game,” he said.
It wasn’t the sort of game the Diamondbacks have been losing lately, the coin-flip type where, with another hit or two, they might have come out on top. This time, they managed nextto-nothing offensively. They had just four hits, none for extra bases. They had only two at-bats with a runner in scoring position.
Facing a left-handed starter for the first time since three Dodgers lefties shut them down over three consecutive days earlier this month, the Diamondbacks were again chewed up by a left-hander. Garcia gave up one run on four hits and three walks in seven innings.
They’re hitting just .223 as a team with a .660 OPS off lefties, numbers that rank near the bottom of the majors. It has been a problem, and it remained one on Sunday.
“We couldn’t figure out Jaime Garcia,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “He made some pitches at the right time.”
On June 28, the Diamondbacks were 1 1/2 games back of the Dodgers in the division. They were four games up on the Colorado Rockies for the first wild card and 10 1/2 up for the second wild card.
Now, the Dodgers own the largest lead of any of baseball’s six divisions. The Diamondbacks are just a game ahead of the Rockies. And the Chicago Cubs are lurking 6 1/2 games back.
“Overall, we have been playing really well as a team,” Godley said, “and we just have to get back on track and have somebody go out and throw up that one really good start and turn us around and start back winning.”