The Diamondbacks began a string of 25 games against almost only contending teams. If they hope to make it through that stretch with their record comfortably above .500, they will need to start playing better baseball than they did in their series opener.
Arizona was beaten soundly by the Atlanta Braves, 8-2, April 25 at Chase Field. Their pitchers labored and were hit hard. Their defense, at times, faltered. And their offense missed key scoring chances early in the game, then went silent for most of the rest of the night.
It added up to the Diamondbacks’ third loss in as many nights and their fifth in their past seven. They fell to 14-12.
“We aren’t playing good baseball,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “There are certain things that we’re doing that are not up to our standards, and at the end of the day, it’s costing us some runs and ultimately a chance to win some baseball games.”
Right-hander Zac Gallen gave up three runs in five innings. The offense missed key scoring opportunities in the first and third innings against Braves lefty Chris Sale. Third baseman Eugenio Suarez made a throwing error in the fifth, opening the door for the Braves to break open the game.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Lovullo admitted his team looked “super flat” after the fifth.
“I think we had a good energy to us to start the day,” he said. “We had some runners in scoring position, some opportunities. We just didn’t get that hit.”
After two more games against the Braves, the Diamondbacks will fly across the country to face two more National League East contenders, the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, for three games apiece.
They will then return home to play the Mets again, then will see a division opponent for the first time when they face the Los Angeles Dodgers for four games. That will be followed by a series at the San Francisco Giants, a set at home against the Colorado Rockies and then three more at the Dodgers.
The Rockies, who are off to an awful start, are the only team in that stretch not seen as a contender.
“It’s exciting,” Lovullo said before the game. “I love it. We’re going to see where we stand. I’ll stack us up against anybody. We’re a good baseball team.”
Gallen needed 59 pitches to get through the first two innings, surrendering two runs the process. He found his rhythm and retired 10 in a row to get through five innings, but it marked the second consecutive outing in which a shaky first couple of innings dragged down his performance.
Gallen noted that none of the four hits he allowed in the Braves’ three-run second inning was hit especially hard. All of the hits, he said, came on pitches he thought were pretty good.
“A little bit unfortunate,” he said. “I felt like Gabi (catcher Gabriel Moreno) and I had a pretty good plan, a pretty good idea of what they were trying to do, and that we executed it fine. It was unfortunate because I felt pretty good. I felt like I had pretty good stuff. It’s one of those unlucky ones, I guess.”
The Braves hit right-hander Yilber Diaz hard in the eighth, putting four balls in play at 100 mph or harder.
-Nick Piecoro
Ketel Marte moving closer to return from injured list
Topping the list of Diamondbacks injury information prior to their April 25 series opener against the Braves, the exact diagnosis and length of absence for left-handed relief pitcher A.J. Puk (elbow inflammation) still has yet to be made public. And the return of second baseman Ketel Marte appears imminent, perhaps as soon as the team’s upcoming road trip to New York and Philadelphia.
Marte (strained left hamstring) ran bases on April 25 wearing baseball spikes, at near 85 or 90 percent, manager Torey Lovullo said. That positive development has Marte in line to play defense, hit and run lightly out of the batter’s box in a game on April 26 at Salt River Fields.
He’s been on the 10-day injured list since April 5, a day after pulling up while running for a double at Washington.
“What does that mean moving forward? We’re not sure,” Lovullo said. “But the fact that he’s playing second base, he’s in a game, live pitching, more suited towards what’s really going to be happening once he returns here, it is a very good sign.”
Puk went on the 15-day injured list on April 18, and the Diamondbacks are waiting for multiple assessments from leading doctors before they announce Puk’s status.
Lovullo said he is very optimistic that Puk will pitch again this season.
Right-handed reliever Kevin Ginkel (shoulder inflammation) will throw on April 26 in a game in Reno, and right-handed reliever Kendall Graveman (back strain) will throw in the same game that Marte is playing. The plan for him is one inning and 25 pitches.
Left-handed reliever Jalen Beeks, struck by a line drive on April 24 and forced to leave the game against Tampa Bay with a left forearm contusion, was still dealing with the issue the next day. But he was on the field for the pregame workout and was deemed available before the game against Atlanta by Lovullo.
The Diamondbacks also made a roster move on April 25, calling up right-handed pitcher Yilber Diaz from Triple-A Reno after sending right-hander J.P. Feyereisen back to Reno following the April 24 game.
Feyereisen appeared in two games after being called up last week, and allowed two earned runs in two innings. Diaz made five starts in Reno this season before being brought up, and Lovullo said he will provide length out of the bullpen if a starting pitcher gets in early trouble.
Diaz was 1-1 in seven games (four starts) with the Diamondbacks last season.
-José M. Romero
Martinez available to pitch April 25
The thing that has given Lovullo the most heartache this week, he said, was not having late-innings specialist Justin Martinez available to pitch for most of it.
Going into the Diamondbacks’ April 25 game against Atlanta, Martinez had worked one inning since April 17, a scoreless frame on April 23 against the Tampa Bay Rays. He expressed to Lovullo that he wanted to pitch but felt fatigue in his throwing shoulder, and prior to the game on April 25 said he felt ready to get back on the mound.
Martinez indicated he was good to go the previous night, an extra-innings loss to the Rays, but the Diamondbacks elected not to have him work two nights in a row. Thus, Martinez was not available to close out the ninth inning, and the Diamondbacks lost a lead and the game.
“We approach it very carefully, and I’ve been saying it for the past couple of days, people in this community and in this town want me to throw Martinez and (A.J.) Puk and (Jalen) Beeks every single day. It’s just impossible,” Lovullo said.
“They’re short sprinters, they’re not marathon runners. So I’ve got to manage their workload very carefully.”
Puk is on the injured list with an elbow problem, and Lovullo took responsibility for Puk’s injury.
“We all know what happened to A.J.. I didn’t do a good job of that,” Lovullo said. “(Martinez is) going to pitch on the very back end of these games. And had he been available yesterday, he 100 percent would have been in in the ninth inning. But he just wasn’t available. Everything is indicating he’s available (April 25) and we’re going to put him in the most important part of the game to help us win.”
-José M. Romero
Coming up
Saturday, April 26: At Chase Field, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (3-1, 4.73) vs. Braves RHP Grant Holmes (2-1, 3.22).
Sunday, April 27: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (4-1, 2.73) vs. Braves RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (1-1, 2.56).
Monday, April 28: Off.
Tuesday, April 29: At New York, 4:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (1-2, 4.40) vs. Mets LHP David Peterson (1-1, 3.29).
What to know about the Atlanta Braves
The Braves briefly welcomed back RHP Spencer Strider from elbow surgery, but he landed back on the injured list after just one start due to a hamstring strain. They are still awaiting the return of OF Ronald Acuna Jr., who is recovering from knee surgery. Several Braves hitters who started the year slowly have begun to heat up, including 1B Matt Olson, CF Michael Harris II and 3B Austin Riley, all of whom are hitting at least .333 in their past week of games. DH Marcell Ozuna is off to a great start, hitting .318/.500/.530 with four homers through 21 games. RHP Spencer Schwellenbach, whom the Diamondbacks will face on April 27, has turned in strong starts in four of his five outings this year.
