Diamondbacks’ road trip off to a rocky start
May 31, 2013, 9:16 PM | Updated: 9:37 pm
To say the Arizona Diamondbacks’ nine-game road trip has not gotten off to a good start would be an understatement.
In fact, their Wednesday tilt with the Texas Rangers being postponed was the best thing to happen so far.
You can blame the starting pitching for that.
Brandon McCarthy, who had come into Thursday’s game with three straight excellent outings under his belt, surrendered six earned runs in just 2.2 innings of work. The D-backs lost 9-5.
Then, Friday, Wade Miley’s struggles continued as the Cubs put up two runs in the first inning and five more in the third. The lefty’s final line was seven innings pitched with seven earned runs, two walks and seven strikeouts in the 7-2 loss. He allowed three home runs.
Combined, the D-backs allowed 16 runs on 22 hits and four walks over the two games, with 13 of the runs and 16 of the hits coming off starting pitching.
If you’re looking for a silver lining, though, you may find it in Miley’s ability to preserve the bullpen. After being needed for 5.1 innings of work Thursday, the ‘pen was only needed for a single inning Friday. As noted by Diamondbacks radio voice Jeff Munn:
The stats don’t show it, but Wade Miley’s outing was huge. He saved the bullpen. Could pay off the rest of the weekend.
— Jeff Munn (@MunnyBall) May 31, 2013
