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DENVER — Losing two of three games to the last-place Colorado Rockies was not what the Diamondbacks had in mind when they arrived in Denver.
This was a golden opportunity to create some breathing room in a contentious wild card race. The Diamondbacks squandered it, and often looked sloppy in the process.
On Monday, they managed only two runs, and an uncharacteristic throwing error by Geraldo Perdomo at shortstop allowed the winning run for the Rockies in the bottom of the ninth. On Tuesday, the offense had another off night, veteran left-hander Jordan Montgomery scuffled and the defense kicked the ball around again.
Wednesday’s game was not a must-win in the mathematical sense. But getting swept by one of the worst teams in baseball with a postseason spot hanging in the balance would have felt like a crushing blow. The Diamondbacks managed to avoid that.
Big days for Corbin Carroll and Randal Grichuk helped them build an early 6-0 lead, and they coasted to a 9-4 victory behind a stellar outing from left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez.
In so doing, the Diamondbacks kept pace with the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres. Following Wednesday’s action, they are tied with the Mets, two games up on the Braves and 2 1/2 games behind the Padres.
With 10 games left on the regular season calendar, how does Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo feel about his team’s current position?
“I feel great,” Lovullo said. “If you were to tell me in spring training we’d be in the position we’re in with 10 games ago, I’d sign up for it every single time. We know what we need to get done inside of our dugout, inside of our clubhouse. I don’t want to rely on anybody else. I want to do it the D-back way. That’s what we do here.”
Here are three takeaways from the club’s series in Denver.
1. Eduardo Rodriguez’s encouraging gem
It’s no secret that Rodriguez’s first season with the Diamondbacks has not gone as he or the club hoped. He missed four months with a shoulder injury, and has still made only eight starts. His ERA is north of 5.00.
But on Wednesday, Rodriguez looked every bit like the pitcher the Diamondbacks hoped they were getting when they signed him to a four-year, $80 million contract over the offseason.
In a season-high 6 1/3 innings of work, Rodriguez allowed only two runs on five hits and struck out 11. It was his highest strikeout total since Sept 14, 2019 when he was with the Boston Red Sox.
Rodriguez called it his best start of the year.
“For sure, 100 percent,” Rodriguez said. “Pitching wise, velocity wise, everything was just right there.”
The Diamondbacks lefty generated a season-high 16 whiffs coupled with 14 called strikes. Only two batted balls against him were 95 mph or higher off the bat. It felt like he was hitting his spots all game.
“He had a really aggressive fastball spotted up,” Lovullo said. “He was getting in on some right-handed hitters. I think that’s really important in this ballpark so they don’t get extension or look down out over all the time. Great game plan, and we won this game today because of Eduardo clearly.”
Granted, this was only one start, and, despite the hitter-friendly environs at Coors Field, the Rockies have one of the worst offenses in the league. But perhaps Rodriguez’s dominance on Wednesday was a signal of better days ahead. Lovullo seemed to believe so.
“I feel like his body and his mind is in a nice routine,” Lovullo said. “He worked really hard and stretched out things as much as he could at Salt River, and now he’s in to a rhythm. I think what you saw today is really who he is.”
If Rodriguez can indeed be a reliable arm moving forward and potentially in the playoffs, it would be a huge development. The Diamondbacks’ starting rotation has struggled for much of the season, but both Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly have looked better of late, with ERAs of 1.69 and 3.18, respectively, over their past three starts.
Of course, getting Ryne Nelson back from injury and Brandon Pfaadt back to form are also important factors. Still, it is not all that hard to envision a scenario where the rotation could go on a nice run from now through the end of the regular season — and possibly beyond.
2. Corbin Carroll goes for 20-20 — and continues to crush lefties
Entering play on July 7, Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll had just two home runs. On Wednesday in Colorado, he hit No. 20 and 21. Coupled with his 29 stolen bases, Carroll notched his second straight 20-20 season.
“It’s great,” Carroll said after Wednesday’s game. “Given the way that this year started out, I think if you’d asked me in the middle of the season if this was possible, [it] definitely wasn’t on my mind. To find myself here at the end of the year, it’s a testament to just stacking the days and continuing to work and having a great group of people around me.”
Carroll joined Paul Goldschmidt (2015-16), Chris Young (2010-11) and Eric Byrnes (2006-07) as the only players in Diamondbacks history with consecutive 20-20 seasons. Should Carroll reach a 20-30 season in the coming days — he is only one stolen base shy — he would become the first player in franchise history to do so in back-to-back seasons.
Said Lovullo: “[Carroll] is a remarkable young man, and I am so proud of the way he just stayed with his overall game plan. He adjusted, and he never lost confidence. He just kept going out there and giving it all. He was full throttle every single day. That means more to me than anything, and I know his teammates and the rest of the coaching staff feel the same way. It’s a tremendous accomplishment.”
While Carroll’s dramatic turnaround is well-documented, it is worth noting that Carroll hasn’t only been crushing right-handed pitchers. Lately, he has looked better than ever against lefties.
That was particularly evident on Wednesday, as Carroll homered in each of his at-bats against Rockies lefty starter Austin Gomber.
When Carroll began to show signs of shaking his extended slump, he still looked lost at times against left-handed pitching. In July, Carroll hit a stellar .254/.342/.603 in 73 plate appearances against righties, but just .130/.222/.261 against south paws (29 PA). Lovullo continued to protect Carroll from left-handers as a result. Now, those days are over.
From Aug. 1 through the start of play on Wednesday, Carroll had a .294/.368/.627 slash against lefties compared to a .269/.354/.574 slash against righties; both excellent, but his numbers against lefties were actually better.
This is a potentially significant development. Even in Carroll’s stellar rookie season, he did the vast majority of his damage against righties, with a middling .721 OPS against south paws. It appears that Carroll has done more than find his old self. This version of him is as good as ever.
“It’s been better,” Carroll said of his strides against lefties. “Still need to keep working and just chipping away at it, but I think things are moving in the right direction. Feel like I’ve put together some competitive at bats. A big thing, I think, is seeing some breaking stuff a little bit better.
“Just maybe recognizing the spin a little better, a little earlier. Early in the year, kind of just didn’t feel like I was doing a good job of that. I think I put myself in maybe a little bit better position and just feeling ready and on time, and some small tweaks have helped.”
Said Lovullo of Carroll’s success against lefties: “It tells me that his body’s in the right place, his hand path is really good. I know that it’s always a work in progress for him, especially left on left … It shows me that he’s balanced and through the baseball more than anything when he has a lot of success.”
3. Diamondbacks can’t rely on offense every night
For much of the season, the Diamondbacks’ league-leading offense has allowed them to win consistently in spite of subpar pitching. For Lovullo, that was never how this was supposed to go.
“I don’t like to be so reliant on one part of the game and one aspect of the game,” he said Monday. “We’re a complete baseball team.”
The Diamondbacks’ three-game series in Colorado was a reminder that even a league-best offense does not always put up big numbers.
Before Wednesday’s nine-run outburst, the Diamondbacks scored just two runs on back-to-back days in one of the best hitting environments in the sport.
“I mean, it’s baseball,” Carroll said of what happened in those first two games. “I think it’s more just a testament to we’ve had a really good offense this year, and so scoring two runs two days in a row kind of feels alarming.”
In order to get where they want to go — both in the regular season and in a potential postseason run — the Diamondbacks will need more from other facets of the team, namely the starting rotation and bullpen.
As discussed earlier, the rotation seems to be headed in a positive direction. The bullpen, meanwhile, has had a brutal September, with a combined 7.53 ERA entering play on Wednesday. That is the worst mark in baseball.
With 10 games left in the season, the Diamondbacks are within striking distance of notching a second straight postseason appearance for just the second time in franchise history. The offense alone cannot carry them there.
Top photo: Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images
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