Bullpen moves have D’backs atop NL West
PHOENIX – They are in the forgotten time zone, where the clock never changes, snubbing Daylight Savings Time.
They are a team littered with AllStars, perennial MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt and 2009 American League Cy Young award winner Zack Greinke.
The Diamondbacks, 63-51 entering Tuesday, sit in first place in the National League West, but no one seems to notice. It’s as if they’re simply keeping the perch warm until the Dodgers take it over for good.
The D’backs aren’t a sexy team. There’s no J.D. Martinez coming to the rescue in this year’s pennant stretch. They failed to bring All-Star infielder Manny Machado to the desert. However, it’s their eclectic bullpen that makes them as dangerous as any team in the NL.
“We don’t have any superstars
down there, or big strikeout guys, kind of an odd collection of guys really,” reliever Archie Bradley said, “but we’ve got as much talent as anyone.” Maybe more.
“When you look at our arms, the way we blend together, the way we’re being used, we’re definitely the best there is,” closer Brad Boxberger told USA TODAY.
The proof is in the statistics: The Diamondbacks have the lowest bullpen ERA, 3.06, in the major leagues, and a 1.10 ERA since the July 31 trade deadline.
They don’t light up the radar gun with triple-digit readings.
There’s no one flinging an imaginary arrow or pointing into the sky after saves.
They simply pitch, get their routine ground balls and double plays, go home, and do it again the next day.
Philadelphia got a taste of it Monday night in its 3-2, 14-inning loss. The Diamondbacks bullpen was employed in the eighth, gave up two hits in the ninth, and never gave up another hit the rest of the game with six relievers pitching 62⁄
3 scoreless innings.
“We go into extra innings like that and we feel pretty good. We feel like no one’s going to score off us in extra innings,” catcher Alex Avila said.
And now they feel even better, with the Diamondbacks grabbing three of the
22 relievers who were moved at the July deadline — Brad Ziegler, Jake Diekman and Matt Andriese — giving manager Torey Lovullo eight options.
The beauty is that none of them are alike, ranging from sidearmed Ziegler, to the 95-mph lefty in Diekman to the traditional closer in Boxberger to the bearded and freewheeling Bradley.
“We didn’t go out and make a huge splash at the deadline, getting an A-plus name,” Bradley said, “but we addressed what our team needed and got better. We don’t have the highest velo(city) in the game, but we get it done and can use anyone to do it.”
It’s the type of bullpen Kevin Towers, the former Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres general manager, constructed so brilliantly during his tenure. No one built a bullpen better, and Towers, who died in January, always made sure to have as many different looks as possible out of his bullpen.
’“When I see this ’pen, I think of Kevin,” says Giants manager Bruce Bochy, Towers’ former manager in San Diego. “It’s the kind he always built. They have the depth with so many different looks. There’s the power arms, the sinkerball guys, the ground-ball guy. If they get (a) lead late in the game, they’re as tough as anyone.”
The Diamondbacks are 50-8 when leading after six innings, 53-6 with a seventh-inning lead and 58-3 after eight innings.
Boxberger has 26 saves and is yielding a .020 batting average. Bradley is yielding a .114 batting average to lefties since May 23. Yoshihisa Hirano went 26 games without giving up a run; Andrew Chafin has gone 62. T.J. McFarland leads the league in inducing ground balls, and Ziegler is second. And only Tyler Glasnow, now with the Rays, has more multiple-inning appearances this season.
It’s an assortment of riches that allows Lovullo to mix and match, create and innovate.
“It can be challenging, but knowing who’s down there, just gives you a different feeling late in games,” Lovullo said. “I feel like if we play five innings and get ahead of you, we’re going to preserve that lead.
“It just shortens the game so much.” Time will tell if it’s enough for the Diamondbacks to hold on to their NL West lead with an unforgiving remaining schedule. They have 26 games against contenders these last six weeks, including 20 against the Dodgers, Colorado, Houston and Cubs. Just five of their final 35 games are against teams with losing records.
After five months, with Goldschmidt again having an NL MVP season and Greinke yielding two or fewer runs in eight consecutive starts, the Diamondbacks have proved they can play with anyone. And now they are convinced their bullpen gives them a distinct advantage over the Dodgers, or anyone else in the NL West trying to stand in their way.
“I think we have the best bullpen in baseball, period,” Diamondbacks starter Zack Godley said. “When you have that, you got a chance to win every single night. We’re not going away.“
Perhaps one day, folks outside the Mountain Time Zone will start taking notice and discover the same.