CHICAGO — With the Diamondbacks up 1-0 over the Chicago Cubs heading to the bottom of the ninth on Sunday, manager Torey Lovullo did something he basically never does in save situations: he brought in someone other than Paul Sewald.
With Sewald, Ryan Thompson and Kevin Ginkel having thrown back-to-back games, Lovullo and his staff deemed them unavailable for Sunday’s game. So, after Brandon Pfaadt threw seven scoreless innings against the Cubs, Lovullo turned to young right-handers Bryce Jarvis for the eighth and Justin Martinez for the ninth.
Jarvis worked around a one-out walk to put up a zero. Martinez, however, allowed the tying run to score in the ninth, blowing his first save opportunity of the year. The game went to a 10th inning, where Diamondbacks long man Humberto Castellanos walked the only batter he faced, forcing in the winning run. The D-backs lost, 2-1.
It was a tough game to lose, and a loss that might have been avoided had Lovullo been less aggressive with his bullpen usage the night prior, when he used Sewald, Thompson and Ginkel in a 3-0 win. Looking back, Lovullo said that he had no regrets.
“A win is a win, and you gotta chase them,” he said of using Thompson, Ginkel and Sewald on Saturday. “Those guys have been proven to be able to go out there and do it. So yeah, I’m not going to second guess that at all.”
Despite the way the series ended, the Diamondbacks still took two of three from the Cubs over the weekend. They have won 12 of their past 18 games. They have not lost a series since June 25-27 against the Minnesota Twins.
With this recent surge, the team has put itself back in the thick of the NL playoff race. Here are five takeaways from the Diamondbacks’ weekend in Chicago.
1. another heartbreaking loss
No loss is easy to swallow, but Sunday’s 10-inning affair with the Cubs was the latest example of a Diamondbacks loss that felt winnable late in the game.
Consider how the Diamondbacks’ previous six losses went down:
- 7/14 vs. TOR: Came back from down 7-0 to tie game in fifth, lost 8-7 on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. go-ahead homer in seventh
- 7/9 vs. ATL: Zac Gallen out-dueled by Chris Sale in 6-2 D-backs loss
- 7/8 vs. ATL: Up 4-2 heading to ninth, Paul Sewald blew save and D-backs lost 5-4 in 11 innings
- 7/5 @ SD: Leading 8-7 heading to bottom of ninth, Paul Sewald blew save and D-backs lost 10-8 on Manny Machado walk-off homer
- 7/2 @ LAD: Ahead 5-4 going to bottom of ninth, Paul Sewald blew save and D-backs lost 6-5 on walk-off RBI single by Teoscar Hernandez
- 6/28 vs. OAK: Up 4-3 in eighth, Ryan Thompson gave up three runs and D-backs lost 9-4
The Diamondbacks either had a lead or were tied in the seventh inning or later in six of their past seven losses, with the only exception being that July 9 game against the Atlanta Braves.
Stated another way, the Diamondbacks have had a lead in the eighth inning or later in 17 of their past 19 games. They have gone 12-7 in that span.
Of course, 12-7 is excellent; that’s a 102-win pace over the course of a full season. However, it feels underwhelming given the number of close games that have slipped away.
2. Diamondbacks holding on to first-half momentum
Entering the All-Star break, the Diamondbacks had won 10 of 15 games and had just taken two out of three from the Toronto Blue Jays. It did not seem like an ideal time for a four-day break. But, as the schedule dictated, that is precisely what happened.
Despite the result of Sunday’s game in Chicago, the Diamondbacks more or less managed to carry their momentum into their first series out of the break.
“I’m proud of these guys,” Lovullo said. “We want to win every game; this is going to be a high-wire act, and we got to win every game … They tried; just couldn’t get it done. But I’m very proud of them.”
Although the Diamondbacks were playing well going into the All-Star break, Lovullo felt that the team needed it, particularly after a pair of hard-fought road series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres to open July.
Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen agreed with the sentiment.
“Mentally, we were in need of a break,” Gallen said. “I think just everyone is. Yeah, obviously you get hot, it kind of comes at not the greatest time. But I think so far, we’ve showed some maturity.
“Last year, we kind of fell into that trap of we were playing really well and then you get to the break, and it’s like, ‘Oh, you know, we’re how many games over .500 at the break.’
“I think this year we kind of saw what that did to us last year, and it seemed like guys made a point to come out and keep pushing forward. The season’s not over yet.”
Time will tell if the Diamondbacks’ momentum holds beyond their first series of the second half, but outscoring the Cubs 9-4 and taking two out of three games was a good start.
3. Does anyone have a broom?
With 100 games in the books, the Diamondbacks still only have one sweep this season. That happened more than two months ago, from May 7-9 on the road against the Cincinnati Reds.
According to MLBSweeps.com, the Diamondbacks are one of just five teams in baseball this year with only one sweep, joining the Chicago White Sox, Miami Marlins, San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays. There are no teams that have zero sweeps.
Pfaadt said that the club entered Sunday’s game expecting a sweep. He added that it’s been frustrating to not be able to get over the hump, given how close the D-backs have gotten in several recent series.
“We gave it a good shot,” Pfaadt said, “and we’re gonna try to do it again; get ahead of [the Kansas City Royals] and try to get it there.”
4. Brandon Pfaadt, Diamondbacks’ best starter?
Cubs All-Star lefty Shota Imanaga was outstanding on Sunday, but Pfaadt was better. Both tossed seven innings, but Pfaadt allowed no runs compared to Imanaga’s one run. Pfaadt had seven strikeouts compared to one walk. The only hit that he allowed was an infield single. By game score, it was the best start of his career.
Pfaadt now has a 0.77 ERA over his past four starts. For the season, he has a 3.77 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 111 strikeouts compared to 27 walks in 120 1/3 innings. Only 10 major league pitchers have thrown more innings than Pfaadt this year; six of them have made one more start than he has.
Given that Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery have all missed time with injury, Pfaadt far and away leads the team in innings. A year after posting a 5.72 ERA in his first 19 major-league games, he has been the Diamondbacks’ most valuable starter.
Lovullo said that he is not surprised.
“The run he got on last year in September and late in the year and then the postseason,” Lovullo said, “I felt like he was poised and ready to be able to do something like this.
“I know I say it every time the same way; it’s like six innings, just book it. He’s gonna pitch you deep into the game, and he knows how to change speeds, maneuver the baseball around the zone, and there’s great mound presence and a lot of composure. He’s going to find himself in a lot of games like this for sure.”
On Sunday, Pfaadt’s changeup worked particularly well. He induced four whiffs on seven swings on the pitch, while also getting four called strikes. Pfaadt said that he has gotten more confident in that pitch as he continues to throw it more.
“It’s always been a good pitch for me when it’s on,” Pfaadt said. “When I don’t use it in the games, it’s hard to throw it in a big spot and trust what it’s going to do. So, I think even if it’s not good early, just keep throwing it and it gets better as the game goes on, and then we can throw it in those big spots.”
5. Diamondbacks’ Need for another reliever
If Sunday’s loss exposed anything about the Diamondbacks’ current roster, it is that the bullpen can be vulnerable when its top three arms — Sewald, Thompson, Ginkel — are unavailable. That was the case on Sunday.
To be fair, Martinez has been effective this year. Even after giving up the tying run on Sunday, he has a 1.67 ERA for the season. However, Martinez has not been used much in higher leverage situations, and he has struggled at times when he has.
It remains to be seen how the Diamondbacks will approach the July 30 trade deadline, but it appears likely that they will pursue a bullpen arm; specifically someone who can pitch in the backend of games.
As Sunday showed, it could be helpful down the stretch to have an additional high-leverage reliever who can get big outs when other guys are down. Perhaps the team will land someone like that in the next week or so.
Top photo: Matt Marton/USA TODAY Sports
