Sedona Red Recap: D-backs’ offense goes flat in loss to Braves

Through the first three games of their series against Atlanta, the Arizona Diamondbacks piled up 23 runs. Through six innings on Thursday, they couldn’t even muster a hit.

Braves starting pitcher Matt Wisler tossed eight strong innings, while shortstop and the D-backs’ 2015 No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson stood tall in the field and scored one run as the Braves ousted the D-backs 3-1 in front of 18,698 fans at Chase Field.

Wisler, a 23-year-old righty, was dealing for the Braves and ultimately picked up his fifth victory of the year.

Paul Goldschmidt stepped up to end the no-hit bid in the seventh, then came around to score on a grounder off the bat of Chris Owings. That proved to be Arizona’s only run of the game.

With the defeat, the D-backs have now alternated wins and losses over each of their last six games. They end this series against Atlanta with a split and are now 53-75 overall.

THE GOOD

– D-backs starter Robbie Ray delivered another decent performance, scattering two runs over 5.0 innings. In his last four starts, he’s now allowed just four runs over 24.0 innings.

– The Arizona bullpen was solid in this one as well as Silvino Bracho, Jake Barrett and Daniel Hudson combined to give up one unearned run over the course of 4.0 innings.

-Yasmany Tomas, who had a stiff back this week, was able to play a few of the late innings, making a nice catch on an Adonis Garcia liner to right in the ninth inning.

THE BAD

– Arizona managed just two total hits in this one, all against a pitcher that had surrendered 23 runs over 20.1 innings in his last four starts.

– Freddie Freeman took a pretty nasty spill into the Braves’ dugout area in the second. Mitch Haniger popped one into foul territory that eventually carried just out of the field of play. Freeman tracked it all the way but ended up flipping over the rail and landing upside down, essentially doing a handstand in the process. He was able to shake it off after a couple minutes and stayed in the game.

FREDDIE FREEMAN IS DEAD! THEY KILLED HIM! @barstooltweets @BarstoolBigCat @TheClemReport pic.twitter.com/BfkS7gGzq1

— Mark Zucco (@markzucc0) August 26, 2016

– Swanson made multiple impressive plays in the field, including a leaping grab on a Tuffy Gosewisch liner in the fourth. It was not exactly what Diamondback fans wanted to see.

STAT OF THE GAME

2: The total number of hits for Arizona, which is 16 less than they put up in the game Wednesday. Goldschmidt had the first, and Jean Segura added a second single later in the contest.

HE SAID IT

“He looks great. Obviously, we knew he was going to be a good player — we drafted him No. 1. He’s a quality kid, he’s a quality player, so he’s got a nice future in the major leagues.” – Chip Hale when asked about Swanson’s performance in this series.

NOTED

– A.J. Pollock, who has missed the entire season so far, is expected to rejoin the club on Friday.

– The Diamondbacks recalled Bracho from Triple-A Reno and Vicente Campos from Double-A Mobile earlier today. They also optioned Dominic Leone and Steve Hathaway to Reno.

UP NEXT

The Diamondbacks open a weekend series with the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night at Chase Field. Braden Shipley takes the mound for Arizona, while Cincinnati counters with Brandon Finnegan. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning at 6 p.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

Shipley (2-3) is making his seventh career start and is coming off two tough games. After allowing two runs over his previous three starts, he’s surrendered 13 in his last two outings. That includes a seven-run, seven-hit performance over 5.0 innings against the Padres on Aug. 21.

This will be the first time he has ever faced the Reds.

Finnegan (8-9) took a loss against the D-backs earlier this season, allowing seven runs in 5.0 innings back on July 24. He picked up a win in his most recent outing, tossing seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers on Aug. 20.

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