Diamondbacks try shaking up lineup to get stars going, loss sets up key rubber match vs. Nationals

The Arizona Diamondbacks shuffled the top four spots of their starting lineup on Saturday, trying to find the right combination to get the most out of their star players.

Arizona (55-50) moved Corbin Carroll to the lead-off spot and Ketel Marte to the clean-up spot, but the results were not there in Saturday’s 5-3 road loss to the Washington Nationals.

Gabriel Moreno extended his on-base streak to 22 games and drove in two of Arizona’s three runs, but the trio of Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo and Marte went 0-for-10.

Arizona entered Saturday having scored the most runs in baseball since June 9 (15 games), but the most effective hitters in the lineup have been outside the top three. Moreno, Nolan Arenado, Ildemaro Vargas and Tyler Locklear have been among the team’s standouts. Marte, Perdomo and Carroll hit .203 or worse in that stretch.

The Diamondbacks moved Marte out of the lead-off spot and into the clean-up spot for the first time in his career. Marte has hit .229 when leading off a game this year. He entered Saturday with two career plate appearances batting fourth, both as a pinch hitter.

He did not come up to bat with any runners on base during Saturday’s game, however.

The top four in order went Carroll, Perdomo, Moreno and Marte.

“We need to figure out that part of the puzzle. I’m trying to manage that too, thinking about juggling those three again,” manager Torey Lovullo said before the D-backs went on the road. “I don’t know what else any of us could do other than continue to believe in them, continue to give them the right work, have the right conversations, just keep pushing every single day. It’s gonna pop.”

OPS+ uses ballpark factors to compare players on an even scale with 100 the league average. Last year, Marte produced a 146 OPS+, Perdomo a 137 and Carroll a 141. This year, in order, those numbers are 109, 96 and 127.

It is going to be difficult for the offense to maintain its high level if those three continue to underperform expectations. Getting contributions from up-and-down the lineup is great, but when certain heaters cool off, the D-backs will need to rely on their stars to carry their weight.

“We know that our top three are three superstars,” assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke on Wednesday. “Whether they’re not playing the way they they feel like they should be playing right now, they will be they’ll turn. When they turn, we feel like that’s when we’ll have the level of consistency that we expect.”

With the loss, the Diamondbacks snapped a four-game winning streak, while the Nationals evened the series.

Nationals All-Star pitcher Foster Griffin tossed 6.2 innings with three earned runs, retiring 10 straight hitters at one point.

Moreno’s two-run single in the third inning was Arizona’s last hit until the seventh, but Moreno was thrown out at second base to end the frame, one of various key mistakes from Arizona on Saturday.

D-backs starter Mitch Bratt struggled to keep Nationals hitters off the bases, allowing seven hits and five walks. He surrendered five earned runs in five innings, including a two-run double and solo home run from shortstop CJ Abrams.

Key rubber match for Diamondbacks

Sunday’s rubber match for the Diamondbacks is important for multiple reasons.

The Diamondbacks continue to fight for National League Wild Card positioning, entering Saturday with a two-game lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates for the third spot. They trailed the Philadelphia Phillies by one game for the second spot.

Additionally, the tiebreaker between Arizona and Washington is on the line.

The Nationals (53-52) can claim the season series 4-2 with a win and therefore earn the head-to-head tiebreaker. If the D-backs win, the season series would end in a 3-3 draw, and the next tiebreaker is record within each team’s division. That would give Arizona (21-11 in the NL West) a major leg up over Washington (10-17).

Series finale probable starters

LHP Kohl Drake (0-0, 1.80) vs. RHP Miles Mikolas (3-7, 5.60)

First pitch is at 10:35 a.m. MST on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.

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