The Diamondbacks have now won 18 of their last 23 games. This incredible run has the Diamondbacks only half a game behind the San Francisco Giants. However, 3 of those losses have come at home in the past week, with 2 against the Nationals during their 4 game series.
The Diamondbacks lost Thursday 6-1 after Zach Duke’s second start of the season. Jordan Zimmerman of the Nationals pitched a gem to keep the Diamondbacks at bay.
Gerardo Parra is tagged out late in the D'Backs 6-1 loss Thursday.
The Diamondbacks struck back the next two games with shutouts in both games. The Diamondbacks were back on track.
The Nationals would dominate in the final game to take a 4-0 lead late in the game against the D’Backs Sunday. The D’Backs only scored 1 run heading into the ninth inning. Trailing 4-1 entering the bottom of the ninth it looked as if all hope was lost.
Then the D’Backs pulled out another monster comeback to tie the game at 4 at the end of the ninth inning.
It wouldn’t be enough as Joe Paterson fell apart in the 11th inning. He walked Jayson Werth to load the bases. After that intentional walk he just couldn’t find that strike zone again and walked home a run to give the Nationals the lead. To make matters worse, Michael Morse belted a grand slam to take the 9-4 lead. In the end the D’Backs didn’t have 2 comebacks in their bag of tricks on Sunday.
The D’Backs have slowed down from their white-hot May. Yes, they have won 18 of their last 23 games but 3 of those 5 losses came last week. Will they continue to remain at the top or fall to the middle of the pack again? The feeling around the clubhouse and around the fan base is that they will continue their winning ways.
Losses will happen but the D’Backs will continue their winning ways for the most part. If the D’Backs can continue to score late and keep games within reach the winning will continue but that will require almost flawless pitching in a very competitive NL West. The key will to keep the Arizona bats alive along with their great pitching. A good pitching performance will mean nothing if the bats cannot give the pitching something to defend.
David Wright is one New York superstar that is being thrown into trade rumors with Arizona.
Staying consistent will be key and many point to the trade deadline as key for the D’Backs to keep winning. There are whispers that the Mets will be willing to unload some of their superstars, which could help the D’Backs. However, messing with the chemistry is one thing the D’Backs cannot afford to do. When you have a team firing on all cylinders like the D’Backs you cannot mess with that chemistry.
The only way to improve Arizona through a trade is to add pitching help or to improve the farm system for future years. The D’Backs could add another starter to help come October but the real help will be in relief to help set up for closer J.J. Putz.
MLB DRAFT: Tonight, the D’Backs selected two right hand pitchers with their #3 and #7 pick. UCLA’s Trevor Bauer was selected #3 and Archie Bradley was selected at the 7 spot.
COMING SOON: Stay tuned later this week for analysis of all the Diamondback’s draft selections and a review of their upcoming series in Pittsburgh against the Pirates.