D-backs approach record for most consecutive innings without trailing
Sep 5, 2017, 10:52 PM | Updated: Sep 6, 2017, 3:48 pm
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Zack Greinke winds up during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
It’s been 97.0 innings since the Arizona Diamondbacks last trailed a game.
Another four, and Torey Lovullo’s team will tie the MLB record for the most consecutive innings played without trailing an opponent. The D-backs never trailed through a 10-inning game Tuesday and used a Dodgers error to break a 1-1 tie in the 10th on their way to a 3-1 win in Los Angeles.
The victory tied the franchise record of 12 consecutive victories.
Arizona entered Tuesday night’s game having led or been tied with their opponent for 88.0 straight frames.
The 2002 Oakland Athletics hold the record with a streak of 102.0 innings without trailing. The 1942 Yankees (101.0), 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers (97.0) and 1991 New York Mets (95.0) round out the top-five.
On Tuesday, the D-backs opened the scoring in the fourth inning when Daniel Descalso doubled to score J.D. Martinez.
And while Arizona’s offense had gotten off to fast starts in a number of games of late, the pitching staff has also clamped down. Los Angeles catcher Yasmani Grandal hit a home run in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game, 1-1, and it was the first homer allowed by the D-backs’ staff in 51.0 consecutive frames.
Aside from the one miscue, the Diamondbacks rode the starting pitching of Zack Greinke, who went 7.0 innings and allowed the one run and four hits. He walked one and struck out six.
The score remained deadlocked until the top of the 10th, when Dodgers reliever Pedro Baez walked the first two Arizona batters he saw, and Brandon Drury hit into a fielder’s choice. The weak hit to third was fielded by Justin Turner, but the throw home wasn’t caught by catcher Yasmani Grandal, allowing D-backs Chris Herrmann and A.J. Pollock to score.
Editor’s note: Elias Sports Bureau issued a correction that the D-backs’ streak of consecutive innings without trailing after Tuesday’s win at Los Angeles is 97.0 frames, not 98.0. Also, the 1942 Yankees, who hold the longest such streak, went 100.0 innings, not 102.0. The 1947 Dodgers’ streak tied for second-longest with the 2017 D-backs is also 97.0 frames, not 98.0.
