Bats go silent for Diamondbacks in loss to Cubs

PHOENIX — The schedule may have finally caught up with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

It’s been nearly a month since the last time manager Torey Lovullo’s group won a series. A quick, two-game matchup with the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 21 and 22, to be exact. And while everyone could see the caliber of opponents lining up for Arizona in September, there was still hope the D-backs might be able to recapture some of that early season magic and navigate their way through it anyway.

Time may be running out on them.

Patrick Corbin cruised through the first five innings of Monday night’s contest with the Cubs, tossing five shutout innings before making a mistake that Javy Baez launched over the center field wall in the sixth. Problem is, Arizona couldn’t get anything going against Chicago starter Kyle Hendricks. One mistake was enough to trigger a 5-1 loss in front of 27,662 fans at Chase Field.

“I thought offensively we just never got our motors running,” Lovullo explained. “I thought the first several innings was good baseball. Both sides were pitching well, Patrick was doing a great job and then he gave up three runs in that sixth inning. And, obviously, that was a huge difference in the game.”

It turned out to be all the Cubs needed because Hendricks tossed a one-hitter through the first eight frames. A.J. Pollock got to him for a solo home run to lead off the ninth, but the 28-year old righty still finished the evening with only three hits allowed in 8.2 innings of work.

The third hit came courtesy of Paul Goldschmidt with two outs in the ninth. But he was thrown out trying to steal second to end the game.

“They did a good job,” Goldschmidt acknowledged. “They got me right there. Just a mistake that can’t happen. They weren’t holding me on, obviously, so I was just going to go into second. They knew what I was going to do, set me up and the guy was quick to home and Contreras can throw as good as anyone. They got me right there. I mean it was a good play by them and a mistake on my part, 100 percent. That’s about it. I’ll be ready for it next time, hopefully.”

Now the Diamondbacks are in an even tougher spot. The Rockies lost, but the defeat came at the hands of the Dodgers. So LA’s in first now, five games up on Arizona.

With the Brewers and Cardinals winning again, the gap between the D-backs and a Wild Card berth is five games as well. And it’s not like the schedule’s letting up any time soon. They still have two more against the Cubs, who are in a fight with Milwaukee for first in the Central and need every win right now. Then they host Colorado and Los Angeles.

The lone silver lining is that they still have those seven games against the two teams directly in front of them in the division. But they have to turn a pretty big corner. And they have to do it now.

“Something magical could happen here tomorrow and we might get on a great run,” Lovullo reminded everyone. “That’s been my hope the whole year. I’ve seen these guys do it, it’s just been a little inconsistent.”

UP NEXT

These two teams will go at it again Tuesday night at Chase Field. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 6:00 p.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

Arizona will be leaning on reliever Matt Andriese (3-5) for a spot start — his first as a member of the Diamondbacks. He’s struggled in a big way since coming over from Tampa just a few days before the trade deadline in late July, posting a 7.31 ERA and 1.69 WHIP over 12 appearances. And his worst outing was his most recent one when he allowed seven earned runs over just 1.1 innings of work in Colorado on Sept. 10.

This will actually be Andriese’s fifth start of 2018, and the 49th of his Major League career. He made four starts with the Rays earlier in the year but hasn’t pitched more than 3.2 innings in any game this season.

The Cubs will counter with left-hander Mike Montgomery (4-5). He has just one win to his name since June 29, and surrendered two runs over 4.0 innings against the Nationals in his most recent outing, on Sept. 13.

This will be Montgomery’s fourth career appearance against the D-backs. He has a 1.69 ERA over 10.2 innings in the first three.

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