Sedona Red Recap: Swept by Phillies, D-backs issues reflected by Daniel Hudson’s woes

PHOENIX — For all the problems the Diamondbacks encountered in a 9-8 loss Wednesday against the Phillies, one stood out as most inexplicable.

Eighth-inning reliever Daniel Hudson sported a 1.55 ERA on June 21 after a game against the Blue Jays and even tallied his first save of 2016. Since then, all the success that made him valuable — whether he remains in Arizona or becomes a trade chip — has left as quickly as the D-backs’ success from their recent 10-game road trip.

Following that game against Toronto, Hudson has allowed eight earned runs in 1.2+ innings and has failed to strike out a batter.

“I don’t know how it kind of flipped the way it did for me, personally,” Hudson said. “I’ve been put into some big situations and I haven’t performed well recently.

“The only thing I can point to really is I’m not really making very good two-strike pitches,” he added. “I’m leaving some balls up and getting some base hits. I’m at a loss for words for kind of how it flipped for me from one extreme to the other.”

In the Diamondbacks’ fifth loss in a row Wednesday, Hudson entered in the eighth and earned the first out with Arizona sitting pretty at a 7-4 advantage. But Philadelphia reached base three consecutive times, the last of which scored two runs to make it a 7-6 Arizona lead.

Hudson was pulled, having been tagged with 0.1 frames, 4 runs (2 earned) and another head-scratching evaluation.

“Everybody’s stubbed their toe. He’s had a few tough ones,” Arizona manager Chip Hale said. “Right now, it’s not working out. There were a few cheap ones today, obviously.”

There were more than a few stubbed toes Wednesday as the Phillies completed their three-game sweep.

Jake Lamb’s dropped grounder with Hudson’s replacement, Andrew Chafin, on the mound didn’t help matters and led to two unearned runs.

D-backs starter Archie Bradley walked Odubel Herrera to lead off the game before Peter Bourjos smacked a homer over the left field fence, spotting Philly a 2-0 lead before Arizona earned three groundball outs to get out of the first inning.

Then there was the bullpen — and it wasn’t all on Hudson.

Jake Barrett followed Hudson’s struggles by going 0.2 innings and walking two.

Then, after Arizona recovered from allowing four runs in the eighth with a Jean Segura RBI that scored Nick Ahmed to tie it 8-8, Brad Ziegler finished up a clean ninth before Silvino Bracho’s troubling season (now 8 earned runs in 9 innings pitched) continued. A sac-fly by the Phillies Tyler Goeddel gave his team the 9-8 win.

“It’s a team effort,” Bradley said fighting through six uneasy frames, allowing three earned runs. “We’re all feeling it, we’re all going through it. Felt really good coming home from that road trip, the way we were playing. We’re still grinding. We’re just trying to put it together, trying to figure how to gut it out.”

THE GOOD

Phil Gosselin hit a one-out double in the bottom of the first before Goldschmidt hit a grounder and was called out with a tag while heading to first. But after a long review was officially called three hours and 51 seconds — as a joke or accidentally — by the press box announcer, Lamb drilled a three-run home run to center as Arizona took a 3-2 lead.

The D-backs led 3-2 in the third whenBrandon Drury led off with a single and found third on a ground-rule double by Michael Bourn. Segura hit a sac-fly to give Arizona a 4-2 lead.

With two outs in the top of the fourth, the Phillies waved Freddy Galvis through third and toward home on a Cesar Hernandez double to center. ourn fielded the ball and, with a relay throw through Segura, found catcher Chris Herrmann waiting for Galvis at home plate for a tag-out.

Arizona regained a lead when Ahmed led off with a pinch-hit single. Bourn advanced him to second with a single before an RBI single to right field by Gosselin put Arizona back ahead, 5-4.

Ahmed singled on an infield chopper, stole second and took third on a wild pitch with his second at-bat of the game in the bottom of the eighth. Segura’s slow grounder to third, off a 3-2 count with two outs, was thrown into the first-base backstop, tying the game 8-8 with Ahmed crossing home.

THE BAD

Philadelphia pitcher Zach Eflin, in his fourth start this year, recorded his first major-league hit, a double to lead off the fifth inning. Cody Asche’s grounder that snuck on the fair side of first base scored him, cutting the Phillies’ deficit to 4-3.

With a full count, Asche struck again in the seventh inning, hitting a two-out, 3-2 pitch past Paul Goldschmidt to score Jimmy Paredes from third base and tie the game, 4-4.

Jake Barrett hardly fared better than Hudson walking a batter to load the bases before a one-out, sac-fly to center by Asche put Philadelphia ahead, 8-7 (the run was also unearned). Barrett followed that with a walk of Ryan Howard, again loading the bases before the frame finally came to an end.

HE SAID IT

“Guys are awesome. No matter what’s been going on, guys are working hard, coming in and playing hard every day. That’d be the last thing I’m worried about with this group.” — Paul Goldschmidt on if the team’s confidence is lacking

STAT OF THE GAME

1: The Phillies completed their first series sweep since an April 29-May 1 matchup against the Indians.

NOTED

• Jake Lamb’s nine home runs in the month of June is the second-most for a single season in D-backs history, trailing Luis Gonzalez’s 12 bombs in June 2001.

UP NEXT

Arizona takes Thursday off, a much-needed respite for the pitching staff that might have gotten worn down after Zack Greinke’s oblique injury Tuesday and Robbie Ray’s blister a day prior.

At 6:40 p.m. Friday, the Diamondbacks begin a three-game home series against the San Francisco Giants, who, after the D-backs’ loss, are 14 games ahead of Arizona atop the NL West.

Shelby Miller (2-7, 6.79 ERA) takes the mound in his third start back from the disabled list. After a strong return, he put together a disappointing six innings of seven earned runs and two homers in an 11-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies.

San Francisco rolls Johnny Cueto out on the mound, boasting an 11-1 record and 2.42 ERA.

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