D-Backs tumble to .500 after pitiful 1-8 road trip
OAKLAND – The Diamondbacks’ tailspin continued on Sunday with a 2-1 loss to the Oakland Athletics, an outcome that led to another series loss, completed a 1-8 road trip and extended their misery to 15 losses in their past 17 games.
On May 8, the day before this all began, the Diamondbacks had the best record in the National League. But after Sunday, they’re now a .500 team. At 2626, they’re 1 1/2 games back of the firstplace Colorado Rockies in the NL West.
The others aren’t far behind them. The San Francisco Giants are in third place, 1 1/2 games back, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who once trailed by as many as nine, are just two games worse. The way things have been going, the Diamondbacks could be in fourth place by the end of the week.
The reason for their latest loss was the same as it has been for weeks. They could not get hits. They could not create scoring chances. They could not score runs.
They continue to express confidence that this hitting funk eventually will end. And there is little doubt they’re right. Teams don’t go through sixmonth baseball seasons averaging two runs per game, hitting .174 and reaching base at a 24 percent clip, numbers the Diamondbacks have compiled over these 17 games.
But the more alarming question is, once their offense returns to its predeep-freeze levels, if that actually makes them a good team. After all, it’s not like the Diamondbacks were tearing the cover off the ball in their first 35 games. They were hitting just .228 as a team before this skid began.
On the year, the Diamondbacks are hitting .211, last in the majors. That’s not a tiny sample size; they’re through 52 games, nearly a third of the season.
With 110 games left, they can, of course, drastically change their fortunes. But it’s not often a club goes from being the just about the worst at something – the Diamondbacks are 29th in the majors in runs per game – to aboveaverage or even average. This many games seems like enough time to start worrying, right?
“No, not even close,” said Diamondbacks right-hander Zack Greinke. He added, “I think you guys are way off on that question.”
His rationale is, one, it’s still May, and, two, the Diamondbacks haven’t been buried in the standings.
“We’re going to get out of it,” he said. “It’d be better if it was sooner rather than later. But we’ll get out of it.”
Some of the offense’s issues are centered around injuries. Right fielder Steven Souza hasn’t played much and hasn’t hit well when he has. Third baseman Jake Lamb missed 40 games. Center fielder A.J. Pollock was injured in Game No. 41; his absence has been felt the most since he almost singlehandedly carried an underperforming group through the first five weeks.
To that point, several position players remain untenably unproductive. Namely, slugger Paul Goldschmidt remains a significant concern. He had a hit and drew a walk on Sunday but finished the road trip 10 for 63 (.159) with 23 strikeouts. He is 11 for 88 (.125) in May.
Though his track record suggests he’ll eventually start clicking, he continues to look little like the hitter he has been throughout his career. His success seems tied to the team’s in no small way; the Diamondbacks were built around the supposition that Goldschmidt would anchor them.
On Sunday, the Diamondbacks had just three hits against Athletics righthander Frankie Montas and three relievers. Montas did not allow a hit until the sixth. Of the Athletics’ four pitchers, three featured above-average fastballs, a pitch the Diamondbacks have struggled to hit this season.
“It’s something we’re working on every day,” left fielder David Peralta said. “It doesn’t matter who’s on the mound. The guys today were throwing hard. We missed a couple balls, hit a couple balls hard, some people couldn’t find a hole.
“It’s going to happen. I’m telling you, this is going to end soon.”