Grit Index: Corbin struggles again, D-backs lose series to Giants

Perhaps the Diamondbacks should’ve remained in their throwback uniforms.

A night after beating the Giants in walkoff fashion donning the black, purple and teal, the Diamondbacks returned to their Sedona red tops and once again found themselves on the short end in a game against the defending World Series champions. The final, 8-2, in front of 33,422 at Chase Field.

Starter Patrick Corbin (13-5) struggled in his five innings of work. He allowed five runs on a season-high tying nine hits, including a solo home run to outfielder Hunter Pence. The bulk of the damage, however, was done in the fourth when the Giants sent eight men to the plate, scoring three runs — all with two outs.

Meanwhile, Yusmeiro Petit (2-0), the former Diamondback, picked up his second win in as many starts with San Francisco, allowing solo runs in the first and seventh innings.

The D-backs not only lost the game, but lost the series (and have now lost nine of their last 12 against the Giants) plus an opportunity to gain ground in the National League Wild Card standings. They remain six back with now 27 games to play. And for those still keeping track of the race in the NL West, the Diamondbacks are a season-high 11.5 games behind the Dodgers.

The Good:

Martin Prado, who had a league-high 43 hits in August, opened September going 2-for-4 with an RBI. He’s hit safely in 17 of his last 18 games (.383; 31-for-81) with three home runs and 23 RBI.

Willie Bloomquist with two more hits and is now batting .571 (8-for-14) since coming off the disabled list.

The Bad:

Corbin has lost back-to-back starts for the second time in five weeks; and over his last seven outings is 1-4 with a 4.86 ERA (25 ER in 46.1 IP). In his first 20 starts, Corbin went 12-1 with a 2.31 ERA (35 ER in 136.1 IP).

Heath Bell has been scored upon in four of his last six appearances for an ERA of 17.36 (9 ER in 4.2 IP).

Stat of the Game:

10: The number of times the Diamondbacks went down swinging (or looking) against Petit. The 10 strikeouts established a new career-high for the right-hander, who recorded his first six outs via the strikeout.

Noted:

The Diamondbacks expanded their roster by two, adding relievers David Hernandez and Tony Sipp. The two were recalled from Triple-A Reno as part of September call-ups.

The Diamondbacks announced they acquired minor league right-handed pitcher Matt Langwell from the Cleveland Indians to complete the August 30 trade for outfielder Jason Kubel. Langwell appeared in five games with the Indians this season, going 1-0 with a 5.06 ERA (3 ER in 5.1 IP) and six strikeouts.

He Said It:

“I feel fine,” Corbin answered when asked if the long season was causing him to fatigue. “I know it’s baseball. It’s tough. It can be as good as it can get and as bad just as fast. The last two games, I just haven’t been as sharp. I just need to worry about locating and I’ll try to work on that in my bullpen.”

Up Next:

Coming off his first win in more than a month, right-hander Brandon McCarthy takes the mound as the Diamondbacks open a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays Monday. McCarthy (3-8, 5.03) ended a five-game losing streak, allowing an unearned run in seven innings in a 6-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on August 26. He’ll be opposed by right-hander Esmil Rogers (3-7, 5.03), who will be making his 16th start and 40th appearance overall. The Labor Day game is scheduled for a 1:10 first pitch with coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 620.

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