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Diamondbacks thump Dodgers again behind Pfaadt, bottom of the order
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- Diamondbacks thump Dodgers again behind Pfaadt, bottom of the order
LOS ANGELES — The Diamondbacks came into the season concerned there was a chance they would have a top-heavy offense, one that relied significantly on the first three or four hitters in their lineup.
The surprise, as the All-Star break approaches, is not that it has played out that way, but just how drastically it has done so. For long stretches of this season, the Diamondbacks have been unable to get any production — anything at all — from the bottom half of their lineup.
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That is what has made the past two days at Dodger Stadium so stunning. Just when it seemed safe to conclude that the back of their lineup was a void consumed by a black hole, it has come roaring to life — and in their 9-2 win on Saturday night, July 11, they did so against none other than Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto , one of the better pitchers in baseball.
James McCann blasted a pair of homers, including a key three-run shot; Tim Tawa followed his four-RBI game from the night before by driving in two more runs; and Nolan Arenado added a solo shot as the Diamondbacks, who got 5 1/3 strong innings from right-hander Brandon Pfaadt , won their third consecutive game.
The Diamondbacks will look to complete their first three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium since September 2017. They will send rookie lefty Mitch Bratt to the mound in the series finale on Sunday.
"It feels good as a team to come in here to Dodger Stadium and win the first two and kind of get back on track to where we know we can be and the type of baseball that we know we can play," Pfaadt said. "That's what we've showed the last two games."
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Entering July 11, the Diamondbacks ranked a respectable 12th in the majors with a .790 OPS out of the first three spots in their lineup. But they were 30th — dead last — with a .635 OPS from the other six spots.
It has been hard to square those numbers with what has happened over the past two days. On July 10, Tawa, batting ninth, led the charge with a three-hit night that included a two-run homer.
The following night, it was McCann who connected for his first two home runs of the year while Arenado hit his 12th and Tawa collected three hits, including a pair of doubles. Yamamoto, who entered the day with a 2.49 ERA, was charged with six runs in six innings, giving up five hits and four walks.
"If you look at what we did last year when we got really hot in the second half, it was up and down the lineup, taking some pressure off those guys at the top that the other team is really focused on," McCann said. "Anytime the bottom of the order can take some of that pressure, some of that load, that's a huge thing for this team."
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McCann's first home run was the biggest swing of the night. In the sixth, with two runs already in, the Diamondbacks had a runner on second when the Dodgers opted to walk Arenado to get to McCann, who responded by driving a 1-0 sinker from Yamamoto out to left-center field for a three-run shot.
In two days, the Diamondbacks have twice beaten the Dodgers soundly, outscoring them 18-5. The most surprising part is that they have scored this many runs while getting almost nothing from the top three hitters in the lineup. Ketel Marte , Geraldo Perdomo and Corbin Carroll are a combined 2 for 25 in the series.
"We're not built one way," manager Torey Lovullo said. "We're built 13-strong when it comes to our offense, and on a given night, it's one through nine. They can't do it every night. They spoil us. Sometimes it's our turn to pull them. That's what the boys did today."
For a game that included three homers and a strong outing from the starting pitcher, the most memorable moment likely came on the bases. During the Diamondbacks' five-run sixth inning, Gabriel Moreno didn't just run through a stop sign from third-base coach J.R. House — he nearly ran through House, who had to dance out of the way to avoid contact.
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Rookie center fielder Tommy Troy exited the game in the bottom of the fifth inning after crashing into the wall while tracking down a Teoscar Hernandez fly ball. The team announced during the game that Troy was diagnosed with a right shoulder contusion, but Troy did not sound convinced he had avoided an injury.
"That was a definitely a pretty weird one," he said. "I guess the wall came up on me a little quick. I feel like I wasn't even really running that hard into it, I just hit it at a weird angle and felt like my shoulder kind of went down a little too far. I didn't feel great.
"Just as of now, I don't really know what it is. I'm just going to see how it feels tomorrow and go from there."
There were no plans for Troy to undergo imaging, Lovullo said, adding that rookie Ryan Waldschmidt, who exited the game on July 10 with a thumb contusion, will get the start in center field on July 13.
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Zac Gallen likely headed for injured list with elbow inflammation
Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen will not make his scheduled start on Sunday, July 12, and likely is headed to the injured list due to right elbow inflammation, manager Torey Lovullo said.
Left-hander Mitch Bratt, who is with the team at Dodger Stadium as a member of the taxi squad, is likely to start the series finale.
Lovullo said Gallen mentioned having felt something in his elbow after his outing earlier this week in San Diego . He returned to Phoenix to undergo an MRI, which Lovullo said revealed inflammation.
It is the latest starting pitcher injury to befall the Diamondbacks, who have been inundated with rotation injuries in recent weeks. Right-handers Ryne Nelson (elbow) and Michael Soroka (glute) were lost on consecutive days last month, injuries that came a few weeks after right-hander Corbin Burnes (shoulder) suffered an injury as he was working his way back from elbow surgery.
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"Those are the guys we were projecting were going to carry the heavy workload," Lovullo said. "But we know the landscape and we've got to make adjustments.
"It's nothing that we predicted. It's very unfortunate. It's an unfortunate part of this game that everybody has to deal with."
For now, the rotation consists of right-handers Brandon Pfaadt and Merrill Kelly and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez . Bratt likely will get a run of starts. It is unclear what the team will do after that. It could bring back right-hander Jose Cabrera, who was optioned to Triple-A Reno earlier in the week.
Coming up
Sunday, July 12:At Los Angeles, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Mitch Bratt (0-0, 3.00) vs. Dodgers RHP Emmet Sheehan (4-6, 4.91).
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Monday, July 13-Thursday, July 16:All-Star break.
Friday, July 17:At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks TBA vs. Cardinals TBA.
Saturday, July 18:At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks TBA vs. Cardinals TBA.
(This story has been updated to add information.)
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks thump Dodgers again behind Pfaadt, bottom of the order
