The Dodgers win the game after a game-winning hit by David Peralta, and the Diamondbacks lose their eighth straight contest.
The Diamondbacks offense hit yet another record low today as they were blanked 2-0 at home by the Dodgers, allowing LA to sweep the series. The D-backs’ eighth straight loss put them eight games adrift in the NL West standings and 2.5 games back in the standings for the NL Wild Card.
Merrill Kelly pitched six innings of perfect baseball, surrendering just six hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. He outperformed Dodger batters who were frequently aggressive and swinging early in counts by throwing 15 of 20 first-pitch strikes. Eight out of the first nine batters he faced were hit by first-pitch fastballs, but the second time around, he radically changed things up, throwing breaking and off-speed pitches early in counts.
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But Kelly’s hard work was all for naught. He had to leave the game in the seventh inning after just two pitches against Chris Taylor because of hamstring cramps. After conferring with the team doctors, Kelly and Torey Lovullo agreed that the cramping was unrelated to the blood clot. Kelly claimed that this had occurred to him before and that since he frequently perspires, he may have become dehydrated. Both his bullpen and his offense failed to support him in keeping the game scoreless.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Kyle Nelson allowed two runs. By allowing Freddie Freeman to hit a double that one-hopped the wall and fell into the pool, he loaded the bases. To go to left-handed Max Muncy, Lovullo had Nelson purposefully walk Will Smith, but Nelson also did so. Miguel Castro, a right-handed pitcher, is warming up in the pen. With the bases loaded, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts invited left-handed batter David Peralta to the plate.
The Freight Train, a longtime fan favorite of the Diamondbacks, singled home two runs tonight for the Dodgers on a 2-1 fastball that he sent into right center field. Peralta made a statement to his previous team this week with his play after making a home run-stealing grab last night.
The D-backs, however, once again had a wholly ineffective offense. Against starter Bobby Miller and the Dodgers’ bullpen, they only managed four hits. Five walks were given to them, but they were unable to take advantage of them because they kept having bad at-bats and making mistakes in crucial moments.
In the third inning, Arizona had runners on the corners of first and second with just one out, but Alek Thomas grounded out and Jace Peterson struck out. In the fourth inning, much worse failure and disappointment awaited them. With nobody out and the top of the order approaching, Geraldo Perdomo blasted a ground ball double up the left field line to put the D-backs in scoring position after Jose Herrera walked to start the game.
In the leadoff position, Corbin Carroll stepped up and struck out on a slider that landed in the ground close to his feet. One line drive by Ketel Marte was caught by Freeman for the second out. After that, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit out, allowing the perfect chance to pass by.
The offense found an even lower low, somehow. In the seventh inning, when Thomas singled and Herrera took his second walk of the game, they once again had two men on with no one out. Given that Carroll and Marte would be coming up after Perdomo, Lovullo decided to have Perdomo bunt because he believed there was a better chance of at least one run being scored if the sacrifice was successful.
What occurred next, against all chances, absolutely destroyed any plan as Dodgers reliever Caleb Ferguson made a wonderful diving catch after Perdomo popped up the bunt. Ferguson’s throw across to Thomas, who was caught well off the second base bag, doubled him off. Carroll grounded out to end the final Diamondback threat, ending his 0-4 night. With eight guys still on base, they lost the game 0-6 while having runners in scoring position.
When questioned about the double play following the game, an obviously irate and agitated Lovullo did not try to hide his unhappiness with Thomas’ excessive aggression.
“Make sure the ball is down. Baseball 101. I’ve had to defend some of the actions that, in my opinion, indicate that we are not performing at a high level there. More than anything else, THAT is what disturbs me. So you can see that it’s quite aggressive. stances on the bases, which resulted in a double play.
With the defeat, the D-backs fall to 57-58 and slip below.500 for the first time since April 6th, when they were 3-4. They get a day off on Thursday before hosting the San Diego Padres for a weekend series of three games beginning at 6:40 on Friday.