Sedona Red Recap: Shelby Miller, D-backs hit hard by Padres

To borrow a phrase from Ron Burgundy in Anchorman, “That escalated quickly!”

Handed a 4-0 lead, Diamondbacks starter Shelby Miller (you already see where this is going, don’t you?) gave it all back, and then some as Arizona lost yet another home game.

They lost yet another series, as well.

The San Diego Padres rallied for five runs in the fourth inning, then plated a single run in the fifth, three runs in the seventh and four runs in the ninth.

Add it all up, and the Padres scored 13 unanswered to beat the D-backs 13-6 — Jake Lamb’s two-run shot in the ninth cut the deficit — and take the rubber game of the three-game series in front of an announced crowd of 17,091 at Chase Field on Wednesday.

Miller (2-9) was charged with six runs.

His outing, though, had such a promising start.

Miller opened with three scoreless innings, facing one batter over the minimum. Then the second time through the order, he struggled.

Five of the first six Padres batters hit safely in the fourth inning, highlighted by Ryan Schimpf’s two-run home run. Derek Norris, Yangervis Solarte and Melvin Upton Jr. also had RBI in the five-run frame.

Schimpf added a solo homer in the ninth.

Solarte homered in the ninth, too, hitting a three-run shot on top of his run-scoring double in the fifth. He finished with a career-high five RBI.

Matt Kemp drove in two.

Miller, who pitched five innings, has lost seven of his last nine starts and fell to 0-7 in eight starts at home.

Offensively for the Diamondbacks, Brandon Drury and Jake Lamb each hit two-run home runs, while Chris Herrmann and Yasmany Tomas had RBI singles.

The D-backs went 2-7 on their final homestand before the All-Star break and are 15-32 overall at Chase Field.

THE GOOD

Bothered by a hamstring injury the past few days, Herrmann looked just fine in his first-inning at-bat. With two on and two out, he sent a 2-2 cutter—after being behind in the count 0-2—up the middle for a base-hit to plate Paul Goldschmidt for the D-backs first run. Herrmann has now reached base safely in seven of his last eight plate appearances with runners in scoring position and two outs, this time making the Padres pay for intentionally walking Lamb with first base open following Goldschmidt’s double.

No team has hit more triples than the D-backs, who entered play with a majors-best 33. Make that 34. Herrmann recorded a three-bagger in the third inning, extending the club record for such extra-base hits for the first half of the year (the previous record was 29 in 2004). It was his fourth, tied for third-most on the team. Five pitches later, Herrmann scored on Tomas’ two-out RBI single to make it a 2-0 lead. It was Tomas’ his first hit of the series, eighth of the homestand and second RBI on the D-backs’ current stay at Chase Field.

Two pitches after Tomas’ hit, Drury crushed a 79-mph curveball halfway up the seats in left field for a two-run home run, which put the D-backs in front 4-0. Drury, who doubled two innings later, finished 2-for-4 and is now hitting .333 (11-for-33) with five doubles and eight runs scored in his last 10 starts. Coming into the game, Drury ranked in the top-5 among National League rookies in batting average, hits, extra-base hits, doubles and total bases. He is also sixth in home runs and RBI.

THE BAD

Through the first three innings, Miller threw a first-pitch strike to each of the 10 batters he faced. Then the fourth inning happened, and Miller went 1-0 to five of the first six batters. Five of the first six batters reached base and five of the first six batters scored with Schimpf, who entered play batting .196, delivering the biggest blow, a two-run home run that put the Padres in front, 5-4. Schimpf launched a 2-0 fastball clocked at 92-mph into the right-field seats for just his third homer of the season.

To add injury to insult for the D-backs in the fourth inning, Jean Segura was lifted for a pinch-hitter and replaced in the ballgame by Phil Gosselin at second base. Segura was removed after getting hit just above the left elbow in the inning prior. He suffered a bruised left triceps, according to the D-backs. X-rays were negative. Segura, who flew out to center field in the first inning, saw his nine-game hitting streak snapped, a stretch where he batted .410 (16-for-39), raising his overall average to .318.

This Miller outing was brought to you by the No. 7, as in the number that begins his three-digit ERA. In 10 starts before his stint on the disabled list, Miller’s ERA was 7.09 (36 ER in 45.2 IP). In the four starts since then, his ERA is 7.22 (19 ER in 23.2 IP). His overall ERA is 7.14. Miller’s performance against the Padres marked the third straight start and sixth in 14 starts this season in which he’s allowed five or more runs, certainly not what the D-backs expected when they acquired him from Atlanta.

STAT OF THE GAME

7-for-11: The Padres’ performance hitting with runners in scoring position after going a combined 7-for-20 in the first two games of the series.

HE SAID IT

“It was almost like they got something on him, huh?” manager Chip Hale said of Miller. “How many pitches? It was five runs in 12 pitches. I mean it was quick, very quick. They did a good job of getting on those early pitches. It was a tough one to watch. He was so good for three innings. It was, is this guy going to throw a nine-inning shutout tonight and then, boom. It happened quick.”

NOTED

– Miller, whose first eight pitches were strikes, threw a first-pitch strike to 17-of-23 batters.

– Herrmann is a majors-best .529 (9-for-17) with runners in scoring position and two outs.

– Goldschmidt was presented his National League All-Star jersey prior to the game.

– Wearing their home red alternate uniforms with red gradient “D” cap, the D-backs are 4-12.

– With a first-pitch temperature of 106 degrees, the roof closed and panels were both closed.

UP NEXT

A day off.

After six straight days of playing, the D-backs will enjoy a breather before a three-game series in San Francisco, their final action prior to the All-Star break.

For the opener against the Giants on Friday, first pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. MST with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Patrick Corbin and Jeff Samardzija meet for the second time in less than a week.

Five days ago, the D-backs beat the Giants, 6-5, though neither Corbin nor Samardzija factored in the decision.

Corbin (4-6) pitched 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on a pair of home runs with two walks and five strikeouts. It marked the second straight start in which he failed to complete six innings.

Over his career, Corbin is 4-4 with a 3.47 ERA in 13 starts against the Giants.

Meanwhile, Samardzija (8-5) will be facing the D-backs for a third time this season and looking for his second win. Back on May 13, he limited the D-backs to one run in eight innings.

Recently, Samardzija, in his first year with the Giants, has struggled on the mound, failing to record a victory in three straight starts with an ERA reaching 8.82 (16 ER in 16.1 IP).

The D-backs have won five of the 11 meetings against the Giants this season, including all four at AT&T Park in mid-April.

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