A look at the Diamondbacks and Dodgers since June 11 brawl
Jul 8, 2013, 9:02 PM | Updated: 9:32 pm
Now that they’re riding a five-game winning streak and their rotation has buried that 24-game winless streak, the perception has weakened.
But for the four weeks since the now infamous Diamondbacks-Dodgers brawl, many perceived major momentum changes for both teams — a negative one for those donning Sedona red and a positive one for the boys in blue.
In fact, until the Diamondbacks turned things around over the last five games, their post-brawl record sat at 6-12. Meanwhile, the Dodgers broke used the melee to break out of their early season funk, clambering from the bottom of the division to second place in the National League West with the help of a 14-9 record since the episode and 12-4 in their last 16 games.
“(The brawl) had a reverse effect for both us and the Dodgers,” former Diamondbacks great Luis Gonzalez said last week on Arizona Sports 620’s Doug and Wolf show. “I mean, the Dodgers were going the other way, but they had the fight and now they’ve regrouped and they seem to be playing well.
“And for us, we’ve kind of sputtered a little.”
It’s likely that, more than the fight itself, both teams have most benefited from the return of key players. With the already-emerging Yasiel Puig fueling their lineup, the Dodgers have returned Hanley Ramirez, Matt Kemp and Carl Crawford to their everyday lineup since the brawl. They also acquired former Marlins’ right-hander Ricky Nolasco, who will make his first start for the Dodgers on Tuesday.
The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, have regained Aaron Hill and Eric Chavez while benefitting from quality starting pitching from both Randall Delgado and Tyler Skaggs, who weren’t on the 25-man roster back on June 11.
Series preview:
- Monday, 6:40 PM at Chase Field: D-backs’ RHP Randall Delgado (1-2; 3.67 ERA) vs. Dodgers’ RHP Zack Greinke (6-2; 4.30 ERA)
- Tuesday, 6:40 PM at Chase Field: D-backs’ RHP Ian Kennedy (3-4; 5.16) vs. Dodgers’ RHP Ricky Nolasco (5-8; 3.85)
- Wednesday, 6:40 PM at Chase Field: D-backs’ LHP Tyler Skaggs (2-1; 3.65) vs. Dodgers’ Hyun-Jin Ryu (7-3; 2;82)
