Lovullo optimistic after 2nd series loss
D-Backs manager ready to forget team’s 2-5 start
The Diamondbacks had hoped a clean break from last year’s disappointing season would lead to a fresh start — and to the return of a club capable of contending deep into the season.
Instead, seven games into a new season, the Diamondbacks have looked ominously similar to last year’s team. Their rotation is struggling. Their offense is inconsistent. They are making mistakes in the field and on the bases. And they are losing games at an unhealthy clip.
After a 7-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Thursday afternoon, the Diamondbacks dropped their second consecutive series and saw their record fall to 2-5.
One key difference this year is that the Diamondbacks have 155 games remaining, rather than 53.
To an optimist — and, to be fair, to most seasoned baseball observers — this gives the Diamondbacks plenty of time to find their stride. But watching the club stumble through its season-opening road trip through San Diego and Denver providers fodder for alarmists fearing the worst.
“Overall, I feel like we’ve got to do everything
better,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’ve got to hit better. We’ve got to pick up the baseball better. We’ve got to pitch better. We will. That’s what we talk about here. Tomorrow is a new day.”
On the bright side, the Diamondbacks are expecting to get a trio of veterans
back from the injured list in the coming days. Right fielder Kole Calhoun could be back on Friday. Shortstop Nick Ahmed and right-hander Zac Gallen are likely close behind. They could provide a boost.
But the club on Friday also placed its best player, center fielder Ketel Marte, on the injured list with a right hamstring strain after he pulled up in pain during Wednesday night’s game. The extent of the injury is not yet known, but Marte’s absence feels crippling; it is likely his level of production cannot be replaced, regardless of long he is out.
“With Ketel going down, it obviously stings,” catcher Stephen Vogt said. “We still feel like we have the people in the room and we’re going to rally around each other and step up. But, obviously, coming off that big win on Tuesday, (Wednesday) was pretty deflating in a lot of ways.”
A day after getting shut out at Coors Field for just the second time in franchise history, the Diamondbacks flirted with being no-hit on Thursday, with Rockies right-hander Jon Gray not allowing his first hit until the seventh.
Gray mostly cruised through the first six innings, getting early-count outs to keep his pitch count manageable.
Right-hander Antonio Senzatela did the same on Wednesday, exploiting a familiar issue for the Diamondbacks’ line
up: an inability to make opposing pitchers work.
That was an issue last season, and the club again ranks in the bottom half of the majors in most offensive categories, including pitches per plate appearance.
Right-hander Merrill Kelly had his second rough start in as many outings, giving up six runs (five earned) in six innings. He admitted to not having his best stuff — and Vogt praised him for managing to soak up as many innings as he did — and Kelly was hurt multiple times by shaky defense behind him.
However, he also gave up a number of hard-hit balls, including rockets hit by Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon in the first that nearly left the yard and one by Dom Nunez in the sixth that landed in
the bullpen area in right-center field for a three-run homer.
“It was a grinder of a day, for sure,” Kelly said. “I was happy I was able to give us six. With the way those first couple of innings were going, it could have gone south really fast.”
Lovullo wanted no part of a question about whether the start to the year feels like a continuation of last season — “No, it doesn’t feel like that at all,” he said — and he did not seem to give much credence to another inquiry about how to keep players his players from developing a “here we go again” mind-set.
“These guys are warriors,” said.
“These guys are gamers. They’ve got a chip on their shoulder.”
Lovullo