Sedona Red Recap: D-backs find Phillies lack of faith disturbing

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks were one with the Force and the Force was one with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Star Wars/Paul Goldschmidt Bobblehead Night as they beat up on the Philadelphia Phillies 9-2.

While Robbie Ray didn’t quite look like a Wookie pulling the ears off of a Gundark, he had another stellar start in a D-backs win, his eighth of the season and the 47th of the year for the team.

Ray is now 6-0 with a 1.30 ERA and 60 strikeouts in his last seven starts since May 20th.

Ray labored at times in this one, walking four and only striking out five. But he still gave the team six strong innings in a quality start, allowing the bullpen to handle the rest. He left the game with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh.

On the other side, the D-backs’ offense definitely wasn’t making the Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs to start the game, but a RBI sac groundout by Brandon Drury in the second inning was enough to give them the lead early.

Meanwhile, Ray continued to baffle the Phillies until opposing pitcher Ben Lively took Robbie deep for a two-run shot in the 4th inning. That would be the only offense he would allow.

Ray went 6.1 innings, permitting only the two earned runs by way of six hits. Ray threw 66 of his 109 pitches for strikes.

Phillies’ starting pitcher Lively was chased in the sixth inning after a Jake Lamb solo home run kicked off a three-run frame for the D-backs. Lively lasted 5.1 innings, giving up seven hits and five runs, four of which were earned. He didn’t walk or strike out any batters.

The D-backs chipped away at the Phillies, scoring a run in the fourth on another sac ground out by Drury and then via a David Peralta RBI single in the fifth inning.

Then after the Lamb HR in the sixth, Chris Herrmann had the first of his three RBI on the night as a single from his bat scored Owings. Hermann added a 2-RBI double in the seventh, and Nick Ahmed also got in on the action with a RBI double of his own.

The Phillies will attempt to do or do not tomorrow. There is no try.

THE GOOD

– Herrmann was Jedi-like tonight. He went 2-4 with three RBI, which is an impressive output considering he’s batting .183 on the season.

– Drury ended the night with two RBI despite not having a single hit. Because baseball is weird.

– The D-backs scored a run or more in five of their eight innings tonight, which is an encouraging sign after being shut out last night.

– A heads-up play by Lamb in the seventh inning with the bases juiced where he came home to Herrmann saved a run from scoring and looked pretty neat.

– Rey Fuentes ended the game on a spectacular catch at the wall that had double written all over it.

THE BAD

– Ray’s only mistake of the day was a two-run home run given up to the opposing pitcher Lively. Ray had only allowed a single hit in the game up to that point.

– Goldschmidt only performs well in his Bobblehead Nights where the team loses. In wins, Goldy is 1-8 with zero RBI. In the loss, Goldschmidt is 3-5 with two home runs and two RBI.

– A baseball almost took me out in the seventh.

STAT OF THE GAME

.722 – The D-backs are now 26-10 since May 15th. Their winning percentage of .722 is second in MLB behind the Dodgers.

HE SAID IT

“I thought Robbie did a great job of setting the tone, six-and-a-third, and seemed to be in control pretty much the entire game but got a little nicked up in that seventh inning, and I thought the big moment for us came when Archie came into the ballgame, slowed it down with the bases loaded, and got us out of that jam without any of those inherited runners scoring,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said.

NOTED

-The D-backs starting pitchers are 10-2 with a 3.18 ERA (32 ER in 90.1 IP) in the last 16 games.

– The bullpen has a 1.08 ERA in their last 12 games.

– The team is now 3-1 on Paul Goldschmidt Bobblehead nights. Goldy is 4-13 with two HR and two RBI in three of those four games. He did not play on his Sept. 13, 2014, Bobblehead Night.

– First pitch was at 7:10 p.m. with an outdoor temperature of 112 degrees and an indoor temp of 82.

UP NEXT
The D-backs look to take game three of the series against the Phillies on Sunday when they send Randall Delgado (1-1, 3.48 ERA) up against Jeremy Hellickson (5-5, 4.61 ERA) for Philadelphia. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 40 minutes earlier on 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station.

Delgado has a 3.15 ERA with a 0-1 record in his five starts this season. In nine career games against Philadelphia, Delgado is 0-1 with a 3.29 ERA, six walks, and 22 strikeouts.

In Monday’s matinee and finale of this four-game series, Zack Greinke (8-4, 3.14 ERA) takes the mound against RHP Nick Pivetta (1-3, 4.46 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 40 minutes earlier on ESPN 620 AM.

Greinke currently ranks second in the National League in WAR at 2.5, third in WHIP at 1.05, and fifth in strikeouts at 111. He is 7-3 in his last 12 starts with a 2.90 ERA.

Follow @Cap_Kaveman