D-Backs seeking elusive hot streak
Inconsistency results in series split with Giants
“We have to find a way to really click and find that balance and get going.” Archie Bradley Diamondbacks reliever
The Diamondbacks are at a point in their schedule, reliever Archie Bradley said Sunday, in which every win feels especially good, every loss especially bad. For the better part of six weeks, they’ve been experiencing equal parts of both.
Their 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday afternoon cost them a chance at a four-game series victory. It dropped them to 3-3 on a homestand that began with a two-game split against the Texas Rangers.
And it felt like another instance in which they looked on the verge of perhaps touching off a hot streak yet instead found themselves again stalling out.
“We’re just trying to click,” said Bradley, who served up the goahead homer in the eighth to the Giants’ Evan Longoria. “Whether it be the back end of the pen, the middle of the lineup, whatever it is. We’re just trying to find whatever it is to be consistent, to roll out every day and kind of expect the same level of play.
“The effort is there and everyone’s doing the same thing, but we have to find a way to really click and find that balance and get going.”
There were plenty of reasons for Sunday’s loss, starting with the fact the offense managed just four hits and went only 1 for 6 in scoring-position opportunities. They had just one hit in 3 2/3 innings against Giants relievers.
Lefty Robbie Ray threw well for five innings but gave up the tying run in the top of the sixth, allowing three consecutive hits to start the inning before getting pulled.
Ray was facing the opposing lineup for the third time, a task he’s struggled with throughout the season, but it didn’t seem to be a consideration for manager Torey Lovullo.
“At that point in time, I’m not as focused on the number of times through, I’m just watching things independently,” Lovullo said. “I know hindsight might tell you a
different story, but I felt like he was doing OK.”
Then there was Bradley’s inning. With one out, he left a 97 mph fastball – the fourth consecutive time he’d gone to the plate – over the plate to Longoria, who drove it onto the overhang to the left of center field to put the Giants in front 3-2.
“I was throwing the ball really well to everyone and had really good command,” Bradley said, “but that’s this game, one pitch, and that was the difference today.”
The loss, coupled with the Dodgers’ win over the Astros, dropped the Diamondbacks into a first-place tie in the National League West. As Bradley pointed out, both clubs have fairly comparable schedules remaining, and he believes the difference could come down to either a hot streak or the absence of a cold streak.
He thinks back to last season, when the Diamondbacks ran off 13 in a row to essentially seal a wild-card spot, and he believes this team’s roster is strong enough to pull off a similar streak.
The Diamondbacks have a fairly healthy lineup, with replacements for the injured players and with most everyone contributing. Their bullpen has been upgraded and the rotation is as healthy as it will be.
Bradley said this was a topic in the bullpen in the early innings on Sunday, on how now is the time for the club to get going.
“To pass the time, we try to keep it baseball-related and we try to figure out what we can do to help our team go,” Bradley said. “(Like) not give up homers to Longoria.”