LOS ANGELES — The odds were stacked against the Diamondbacks heading into their three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers’ two best starters, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, were scheduled to pitch. The Diamondbacks had three youngsters on the ledger, two of whom had ERAs north of 5.00 entering the series. The Dodgers, of course, are one of the best teams in the league, and even better at home.
Nonetheless, the Diamondbacks managed to take two of three, capped off by a commanding 6-0 shutout victory over Glasnow in the finale on Wednesday.
It was the Diamondbacks’ first series win at Dodger Stadium since 2018, and potentially a big step as the team looks to shake off its early-season struggles.
“We’ve been looking for something like this,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “You’ve got the team that’s racing ahead in the NL West, and we win two of three. Yeah, we should feel good about it, but we can’t take things for granted. We did a lot right. We executed, we were focused and that’s why we won games. So, we’ve got to continue marching on.”
Added first baseman Christian Walker: “These are the series wins that you can take some momentum for sure.”
Here are a few things that stood out along the way in Los Angeles.
1. Diamondbacks’ opener strategy worked
Beating the Dodgers has a lot to do with keeping their top three hitters in check: Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.
Along those lines, the Diamondbacks used an opener on both Monday and Wednesday. The goal was twofold: (1) Ensure that Ohtani and Freeman face lefties in their first at-bats, and (2) keep Betts, Ohtani and Freeman from seeing the bulk innings pitcher three times.
On Monday, left-hander Joe Mantiply needed only seven pitches to get three outs on Betts, Ohtani and Freeman in the bottom of the first inning, paving the way for Slade Cecconi to take over in the second. Cecconi gave up six runs and the D-backs lost that one, but the opener strategy worked as intended.
On Wednesday, the Diamondbacks recalled lefty Brandon Hughes from Triple-A Reno to face the top three Dodgers hitters. He retired two of three before originally scheduled starter, Ryne Nelson, took over. Nelson then tossed five scoreless innings with five strikeouts in a D-backs win. Because of the opener strategy, he only had to face Betts, Ohtani and Freeman twice.
As of now, it is unclear whether the Diamondbacks will continue to implement openers moving forward. Surely, the Dodgers’ situation was unique, given the star power at the top of the lineup and the fact that two of those three hitters are lefties.
Nonetheless, given how well the strategy worked against them — and the fact that the Diamondbacks will still be relying on some of their less experienced starters moving forward as Eduardo Rodriguez and Merrill Kelly work their way back from injury — it seems likely that we have not seen the last of it.
Betts, Ohtani and Freeman combined to go 8-for-33 in the series with a homer, two doubles and two walks. That works out to a middling slash line of .242/.286/.393.
“I thought we controlled them as good as we possibly could have,” Lovullo said. “You can’t totally shut him down. There’s no way. They’re just too good. The matching up that we did with the opener gave us a little positive push in that area.”
2. Ketel Marte’s hit streak continues (but he won’t talk about it)
Ketel Marte extended his hitting streak from 18 to 21 games in Los Angeles, adding an exclamation point on Wednesday with a solo homer that left the bat at a blistering 110.3 mph.
Marte’s 21-game hit streak is the longest active streak in the majors, and tied for the fourth-longest streak in Diamondbacks history.
“He’s locked in,” Lovullo said. “He’s wanting to show people how good of a player he is. There’s no doubt about it. He continues to prove it to us every single day.”
Marte declined to speak with the media after Wednesday’s win because of his hit streak. Indeed, baseball players are a superstitious bunch.
His teammate, infielder Eugenio Suárez, seemed to be on the same page. “Yeah, I believe in that,” Suárez said, “the baseball gods.”
Ironically, Marte’s batting average has gone down during his hit streak, from .309 to .291. He has had exactly one hit in 18 of the 21 games.
“It seems very peculiar,” outfielder Corbin Carroll said. “Like the fact that it has been, you know, one hit so many days. I don’t even know how that’s possible. It seems like everything he hits is just hit right on the nails. I think that’s maybe a sign [that] there’s more to come. But it’s impressive to watch. He just makes the game look so easy.”
3. Christian Walker continues to dominate at Dodger Stadium
Walker has built a reputation for slugging at Dodger Stadium, and this series was no different. He went 3-for-12 with two homers and a double.
Walker is now a career .312/.368/.672 hitter at Dodger Stadium with 14 homers in 136 plate appearances. Extrapolate that home-run pace to a full season, and it works out to nearly 70 bombs.
He is not quite sure how to explain it.
“Maybe I’m just a little bit more turned up or a little bit more locked in because I know these guys,” Walker said. “These guys are good, the energy out there, the music’s loud. But I don’t think there is like a thing, you know? There’s not like a reason, it’s just one of those funny baseball things.”
Walker added that he does prefer the batter’s eye at Dodger Stadium over what he called a “double story wall 450 feet away” at Chase Field.
“What I feel here is a park that, if I barrel it, I get rewarded,” he said. “It’s similar to Colorado in a way where I’m not up there over-swinging or trying to do too much, and the ball ends up coming off just as hard. That 85, 90 percent effort level instead of being up there max effort trying to hit balls to the moon, that little bit of toned-down effort is important.”
4. Brandon Pfaadt continues to emerge
Only one D-backs starter in the series did not have the benefit of an opener facing the top of the Dodgers’ lineup in the first inning. That was Brandon Pfaadt. And he did just fine without it.
On Tuesday night, Pfaadt delivered six innings with three runs allowed (two earned) while walking one and striking out seven. It was his fifth consecutive quality start, and his sixth in his past seven outings.
“[Pfaadt] continues to grow and develop,” Lovullo said. “He continues to believe in the pitching plan that he’s getting. He’s got the pitches to go out and execute, and he can find the right spots and he lands pitches. That’s what we want all of our pitchers to do.
“You throw in the fact that last year was his first real year up at the big league level and the postseason kind of pushed him in the right direction tells me that he’s confident, too. And he’s continuing to get better every single day.”
Since making his major-league debut last May, Pfaadt has added a sinker to his arsenal and his command of his other pitches has improved.
With Kelly and Rodriguez out with injury, Pfaadt has emerged as the Diamondbacks’ second-best starter so far this year, behind only ace Zac Gallen.
Over his past seven starts, Pfaadt has a 3.11 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP while holding opponents to a .565 OPS.
5. Positive signs for Corbin Carroll
While Carroll did not have a stellar series offensively — he went 3-for-15 with six strikeouts — he did have a hit in each game, including a pivotal two-run triple on Wednesday that gave the D-backs the lead. That triple was Carroll’s fourth extra-base hit in his past five games.
Carroll said that he is still unsatisfied with how he has contributed at the plate lately, but that he feels like he is on the right track.
Several weeks ago, Carroll revealed that his swing gotten too flat, leading to vulnerabilities on pitches up in the zone. Carroll gets data reports on his swings every day, and he said Wednesday that the angle of his swing has been trending in a better direction.
Not to be missed in Carroll’s performance on Wednesday was a catch he made in the first inning to rob Betts of an extra-base hit.
It is hard to say what was more impressive: the fact that he made the catch, or the fact that he had a fist full of sunflower seeds in his other hand when he did:
With Alek Thomas on the injured list for much of the year, Carroll has served as the Diamondbacks’ primary center fielder after spending most of his time in the corners last year. Carroll said Wednesday that he is starting to get more comfortable out there.
“I’m pretty happy with how my jumps are becoming a lot better, my routes,” he said. “It’s a big credit to [outfield/baserunning coach Dave McKay].”
According to Statcast, Carroll ranks in the 94th percentile in range this year with four outs above average.
Top photo: Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports
