D-Backs’ bats go quiet on California trip
SAN DIEGO – When the Diamondbacks departed for their first road trip, they possessed what through the first week had been baseball’s best offense. They had a major league-best 48 runs scored and were tops in average, on-base and slugging, among other categories. And they had crushed two pitching staffs that last year rated among the best in baseball.
But as they entered the finale of their 10-game trip, the offense had a different feel. The Diamondbacks still led the league in runs at 78, but they had fallen off in most significant categories.
The good news is, the Diamondbacks have continued to play competitively, entering Thursday night’s game against the San Diego Padres with a chance to break even on the trip and return home tied for the most wins in the majors.
But it also could be a continuation of a problem that often has dogged the Diamondbacks – an inability to hit outside of the hitter-friendly Chase Field.
“I just know that the offense ebbs and flows during the course of the year,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “You’re going to have some good and bad moments. These guys are pretty gifted. Our guys are expecting to go out and pound the ball every single night, and every once in a while it doesn’t work out that way.”
On the trip’s first nine games, the Diamondbacks hit .207 with a .279 on-base and a .313 slugging, numbers that were way down from the .313/.369/.504 line they posted in seven games at Chase Field.
Slugger Paul Goldschmidt entered Thursday with just four hits in 29 at-bats on the trip. Brandon Drury was 4 for 30. Jeff Mathis was 1 for 17. Bench players Daniel Descalso (11 at-bats) and Chris Herrmann (12) were both hitless.
With games at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and Petco Park in San Diego, the Diamondbacks were in three parks generally regarded as being unfriendly to hitters.
They had scored 30 runs on the trip, an average of 3.3 per game. But 11 of those runs came in one game on Tuesday night, when the Padres committed four errors and issued nine walks. Outside of that game – the only time on the trip the Diamondbacks had scored more than four runs – the offense is averaging 2.4 runs in the other eight.
But with a starting rotation that had the best ERA in the National League and a bullpen that has done well to protect leads – the Diamondbacks are 8-0 when leading after six innings – the club has managed to stay afloat despite the slump.
“I think that’s one of the qualities of a winning team,” Lovullo said. “You want to create that culture that you’re going to find a way to win. I think these guys really believe that on any given moment, they’re going to turn an inning around, build an inning, and help us win a game.”
When asked about his hitters’ performance on the trip, Lovullo has on a few occasions half-jokingly used a go-to phrase: The storm is coming. That is, if they aren’t hitting now, they will soon enough.
“I believe in them,” Lovullo said. “I think it’s coming.”