By the numbers: The D-backs’ stark offensive differences home vs. away

It’s no secret that the Arizona Diamondbacks have struggled at home this season.

They are 20-23 at home and manager Torey Lovullo is frustrated with how the team has played at Chase Field.

“This is our home turf, our spot, and I don’t like getting pushed around or bullied around by other teams walking in here,” Lovullo said after Thursday’s home loss against the Milwaukee Brewers.

What makes the D-backs’ struggles at home so mystifying is how well they’ve played away from Chase Field.

They have put up significantly better offensive numbers on the road and have an away record of 29-25 because of it.

Here are the key numbers on the D-backs differences home versus away this year:

2

That’s where the D-backs rank among MLB in batting average on the road. They are hitting .271 and have a team OPS of .813. The only team in front of them is the Minnesota Twins, whose batting average is .279.

21

The D-backs rank 21st at home in batting average in MLB. They are hitting the ball at a .244 clip and have an OPS of .719. The D-backs are tied with the Baltimore Orioles, who have the worst record in baseball, in batting average and the Orioles rank higher in OPS at .724.

+59

That’s the team’s run differential on the road with a total of 310 runs scored. Despite an away team ERA of 4.37, the D-backs have the best away run differential in baseball by one run this season just in front of the Twins.

+9

Arizona’s total runs scored at home is 191, good for only a +9 run differential. They have had solid pitching as a team at Chase Field with an ERA of 4.00. Their exceptional defense also makes a difference in keeping runs scored by opponents low at an average of 4.24 a game. But the offense struggling is what has the run differential so low. The D-backs have only 355 total hits at home and that ranks them second-to-last in the NL only in front of division rival San Francisco Giants.

5.74

Arizona averages 5.74 runs per game on the road, which is the fourth-highest in MLB.

4.44

That is the average runs per game at home for the D-backs, over a whole run less than away from home. That ranks them fourth-worst in the National League, only in front of the Giants, San Diego Padres and Miami Marlins.

46

The number of home runs hit at home, which ranks 14th in the NL. That is half as many home runs that they have mashed compared to on the road (93).

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Despite the offensive differences between home and away, the D-backs are in the thick of the NL Wild Card race.

But the team recognizes it has to improve at home and hit as it does on the road.

“No matter where we are, whether it’s home or road, we’ve got a room full of good hitters and they need to be good hitters at all times,” Lovullo said.

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