Diamondbacks waste E. Rod's shut-down effort, fall to Braves late
The Diamondbacks came out of the winter with a revamped lineup, one they expected would carve a new identity. Gone was the group that bashed long balls with them best of them. In its place was a unit that would play better defense while leaning heavily on the top of its lineup for production.
Over the first week-plus of games, they have seen both the good and bad of this construction. The defense has won them games. The lack of offense — particularly when their best hitters are quiet — has cost them, something that happened again in a 2-0 loss in which they were two-hit by the Atlanta Braves on Friday night, April 3, at Chase Field.
Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez saw a terrific outing spoiled, and closer Paul Sewald , who began the ninth in a scoreless game, served up homers to Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson , taking the loss.
But it was as much on the offense as anything. The Diamondbacks managed just five baserunners in being shut out for the first time this season. It was the fifth time in eight games they have been held to two or fewer runs.
“The main focus I have right now is how we can get this team going offensively,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “There’s some guys that have been very proven — there’s some guys that we’re waiting to get going. We feel like it’s a matter of time before that happens.”
It has not helped that the Diamondbacks are without left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. or first baseman/DH Pavin Smith , both of whom are on the injured list. But just as challenging has been the fact that, of the club’s anticipated top hitters, only Corbin Carroll has been swinging the bat well in the early going.
Ketel Marte (5 for 30, .167), Geraldo Perdomo (6 for 28, .214) and Gabriel Moreno (5 for 26, .192) each has had only modest success, at best. As a team, the Diamondbacks are hitting .209/.275/.373 for a .648 OPS. They have the fourth-lowest on-base and the eighth-worst batting average in the majors.
“Some early-count swings, some early-count go’s where I feel like we weren’t waiting, setting up, putting pressure on pitchers by waiting for our pitch,” Lovullo said. “That’s what we do. I think a lot of our guys are comfortable hitting 0-1 because you’re checking off the pitch you’re not looking for or a well-executed pitch. I think we’re just going out of the zone a little bit too much.”
To his credit, Marte had one of the two hits and smoked two other balls that went for outs. Nolan Arenado also has hit into some tough luck to start the season, including a 103.3 mph lineout in the second. Alek Thomas also hit a pair of balls hard. Beyond that, there wasn’t much happening at the plate for the Diamondbacks.
Braves right-hander Grant Holmes fired six shutout innings. Relievers Dylan Lee , Robert Suarez and Raisel Iglesias worked the final three, respectively.
“We got two-hit tonight,” Lovullo said. “There’s going to be days like this, I know it. We scored one run the other day and won a baseball game. I just believe in this team offensively. We’re going to figure it out.”
For the second outing in a row, Rodriguez was highly effective. Taking advantage of an aggressive Braves lineup, he cruised through seven innings, needing only 90 pitches.
Following his impressive start against Team USA for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, Rodriguez has not allowed an earned run in consecutive starts to open the season. He has allowed just eight hits and three walks in 12 innings.
“Mixing pitches and hitting edges,” Lovullo said of Rodriguez. “That’s really what it comes down to.”
Said Rodriguez: “I’m trusting my pitches and using everything, not just the fastball. I don’t throw 100 mph. Everything has been (there). I’m using everything I have, throwing them with confidence and trying to locate it.”
The Diamondbacks’ defense was another bright spot, highlighted by impressive catches from Carroll in right field and Thomas in center.
“That’s what’s going to keep us in games,” Lovullo said. “We were in that game because we were playing really good defense behind some solid pitching.”
Sewald had not allowed any of the seven batters he had faced this season to reach base but saw that streak end when Albies launched the second pitch of the ninth, a 90.5 mph fastball, out to right field.
Olson followed by drilling a 2-0 fastball — another pitch at 90.5, down a tick from where Sewald had been in previous outings — out to left-center. Both pitches caught more plate — and weren’t as far up in the zone — as Sewald probably would have liked.
Jordan Lawlar out 6-8 weeks with fractured right wrist
Outfielder Jordan Lawlar has a fractured right wrist, an injury that will sideline him six to eight weeks, a crushing development for an injury-prone player who had just begun to emerge at the major league level.
Lawlar suffered the injury when he was hit by a 94.3 mph fastball from right-hander Osvaldo Bido in the seventh inning of the Thursday night, April 2, 17-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves.
The injury occurred on the same night Lawlar connected for the first home run of his big-league career. He was hitting .333 (6 for 18) with one double and one homer through the season’s first seven games.
“It’s frustrating,” Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said. “I’m sure he’s frustrated more than we are. He looked great. He was doing a really good job in the outfield and was having great at-bats. We’re going to miss him. But we’ll keep the train rolling until he comes back.”
Lawlar will be replaced on the roster by catcher/designated hitter Adrian Del Castillo .
For now, the Diamondbacks likely will turn to a combination of Tim Tawa and Jorge Barrosa to replace Lawlar in left field. But they could get Lourdes Gurriel Jr. back from the injured list within the next few weeks. Gurriel is working his way back from last season's torn ACL, on which he underwent surgery in September.
Lawlar is the second position player to hit the injured list in the season’s first week-plus, joining first baseman/designated hitter Pavin Smith, who is out with an elbow issue.
DBacks waiting on Waldschmidt promotion
Lawlar’s injury creates an opening in left field, but the Diamondbacks are holding off on turning to top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt.
Sources say the Diamondbacks are waiting to pull the trigger on a Waldschmidt promotion for a variety of reasons.
First and foremost, Waldschmidt is off to a modest start in Triple-A Reno, where he was hitting .227/.393/.409 in 22 at-bats entering Friday, April 3. The Diamondbacks, like all teams, want to be sure top prospects are firing on all cylinders before bringing them to the majors.
“He’s going to be a big-leaguer,” Lovullo said. “It’s just a matter of when. He needs more seasoning and he’s getting that now.”
The club also knows it has left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. already within two or three weeks of a return from the right ACL surgery he underwent last September. Bringing up Waldschmidt now would give him a limited opportunity and would require him to be added to an already crowded 40-man roster.
Assuming one or both of Gurriel and Lawlar are back on schedule — Lawlar is expected to miss six to eight weeks — it would then mean Waldschmidt is chewing up a 40-man roster spot while in the minors.
Joe Ross designated; Taylor Rashi selected
The Diamondbacks designated right-hander Joe Ross and replaced him on the roster with right-hander Taylor Rashi.
Ross had a sharp season debut with a clean inning at Dodger Stadium last week, but followed that up with rough outings against the Tigers and Braves, in which he gave up a combined eight earned runs in 2 2/3 innings.
Rashi, who made his major league debut last season and logged a 4.41 ERA in 16 1/3 innings, had made one appearance for Triple-A Reno this season, tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings with three hits and one walk allowed and two strikeouts.
Lovullo said the Diamondbacks were in need of a fresh arm for the bullpen.
"It’s one of those unfortunate parts of baseball where you start to behind with some pitching and you need arms," he said. "Sometimes you have optionable players and sometimes you don’t."
Lovullo said he told Ross he knows he wasn't pitching at his best and asked him to "think long and hard" about remaining in the organization in the event he clears waivers.
Coming up
Saturday, April 4:At Chase Field, 4:15 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Michael Soroka (1-0, 0.00) vs. Braves RHP Bryce Elder (1-0, 0.00).
Sunday, April 5:At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (0-0, 7.50) vs. Braves LHP Martin Perez (0-0, 0.00).
Monday, April 6:Off.
Tuesday, April 7:At New York, 4:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (1-1, 3.60) vs. Mets RHP Freddy Peralta (1-0, 4.35).
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks fall to Braves, E. Rodriguez's big effort spoiled
