Diamondbacks take down Athletics
OAKLAND — Oakland A’s manager Bob Melvin had hoped Arizona’s struggles at the plate would continue for a few more days, but as Sean Manaea found out, that slump might be over.
Manaea was pummeled by the Diamondbacks for his worst outing of the season, allowing a season-high six runs on eight hits with two walks and just two strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings of work in Friday’s 7-1 loss.
The changeup, Manaea’s goto pitch, was ineffective most of the night as it was often left out over the heart of the plate. It was that same changeup that was responsible for the knockout blow in the fourth when Paul Goldschmidt tagged it into left field past a diving Chad Pinder for a triple that drove in two runs. Melvin emerged from the A’s (26-25) dugout shortly after the hit, pulling Manaea from the game with two outs in the fourth for what was the left-hander’s shortest outing of the season.
Manaea fell to 5-5 on the year and boosted his ERA up to 3.34. After an outstanding April that saw him throw a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox and earn American League Pitcher of the Month honors, his ERA for the month of May is now over 6.
The Diamondbacks had entered Friday night going through a remarkable slump.
After establishing themselves as one of the hottest teams in baseball to begin the season by going 20-8 in April with an offense that was averaging nearly five runs per game, the Diamondbacks (2624) came into Oakland on a seven-game losing streak and losers of 13 of their last 14 games.
Arizona’s 48 runs scored in May entering Friday night were by far the least of any team in the majors to that point, but the Diamondbacks broke out of that offensive slump against the A’s by racking up 12 hits on the night.
Patrick Corbin silenced the A’s bats with an impressive start for the Diamondbacks, allowing just one run on four hits and a walk with seven strikeouts over seven innings of work. Mark Canha made the only real dent in his line, leading off third inning with a solo home run over the wall in left field for his seventh of the season.