3 road trip takeaways as D-backs take happy flight home

SEATTLE -- The D-backs' three-city, 10-game, 11-day, 5,027-mile road trip finally came to an end Sunday and while they didn’t end up with as many wins as they had hoped, they did end it on a positive note with a 3-2 win over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.

With the win, Arizona avoided a sweep in the three-game series and finished the road trip with a 4-6 record.

“Obviously all wins are great but to finish a road trip, a long road trip, get a happy flight home, try to hit the homestand with some momentum [is great],” first baseman Christian Walker said.

Here’s a look at what the last 11 days have been like for the D-backs:

A lot of injuries

Since leaving Phoenix on April 17, the D-backs have placed four pitchers -- starters Merrill Kelly and Ryne Nelson along with relievers Kyle Nelson and Miguel Castro -- on the injured list.

It was a continuation of the injuries the D-backs have suffered since the final weeks of Spring Training as they currently have 10 players on the IL.

“We had a lot of tough news that we've been dealing with since we started this road trip 11 days ago,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “And we've just taken it in stride. Yes, of course, there were some things we didn't do well, we could have won some baseball games, but the bottom line was we fought to win our last game of the series and we're heading home and we're looking forward to that.”

Walker said there is a fine line between giving themselves some grace because they’re not playing with all their weapons and their expectations to win games no matter what.

“Regardless, I think we have the depth,” Walker said. “I think it's a mindset, too. If we come to the field thinking ‘Well, what do you expect?’ I think that’s a tough spot to be. I think understanding that we are banged up -- not denying it or ignoring it -- there’s key parts to this team that aren’t here right now. And I think maybe looking at it like motivation and ‘If we can get rolling now, just wait till those guys come back.’”

It’s been a struggle for the offense

The offense scored 17 runs against the Giants on April 19 and 14 runs against the Cardinals on April 23, which is tremendous.

In the other eight games, though, they scored a total of 17 runs.

“We can play better than we’re playing right now,” general manager Mike Hazen said on Saturday. “We can be more consistent. Our offensive approach can be more consistent. The 17-runs, no-runs thing is not a way to live your life in the game. You need to be more consistent day in and day out from an offensive standpoint.”

Sunday, the D-backs did just enough to win the game. After falling behind 2-1, they tied the game in the seventh on back-to-back doubles by Joc Pederson and Eugenio Suarez.

Then one inning later, they played small ball with Kevin Newman drawing a leadoff walk, Jake McCarthy sacrificing him to second and one out later, Ketel Marte delivered a go-ahead RBI double.

“It feels like we were kind of getting beat for seven innings there and then we still won,” McCarthy said. “So I think over the course of the season, if you can do that on the days where you're not feeling great, that’s huge.”

The starters have been good

The D-backs got good performances from all the starting pitchers during the road trip, which kept them in every game at the beginning with some uneven outings from relievers. If Arizona can continue to get that out of their rotation, especially with three starters currently on the injured list, it will make for a good summer.

Sunday, it was Brandon Pfaadt’s turn and the right-hander was outstanding, allowing just two runs over six innings while striking out a career-best 11 and not walking a batter.

“The starters have been awesome,” Walker said. “Definitely deserve credit as far as guys who are filling in and stepping into big shoes. Yeah, there's a lot of things to be proud of.”