3 takeaways: Peacock, miscue, ejection
Matt Peacock pitched well, the D-backs got a home run from Eduardo Escobar and seemed to be in good shape heading into the final few innings against the Dodgers on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.
Then came the seventh inning, and it all unraveled as the D-backs committed a key error, allowing the Dodgers to rally for three runs, then hold on for a 4-2 win.
The loss was the 13th in the last 16 games for the D-backs, who have been decimated by injuries.
Here are three things to know about this game:
1. Peacock was impressive
The rookie right-hander took the mound at Dodger Stadium and looked completely unintimidated by his surroundings as he held the Dodgers to just one run on four hits over 5 1/3 innings while the D-backs built a 2-1 lead.
"He did everything we wanted him to do," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said of Peacock. "He was attacking the zone. I could just feel his presence, it was an aggressive mindset. I felt like he was in control of his entire outing. You maneuver and turn it over to the bullpen and you try to match up the best you can."
Peacock relied on his two-seam fastball, throwing it 59 times, while using his slider (16) and changeup (10) far less.
Wednesday was Peacock's second Major League start. With Zac Gallen and Luke Weaver out with injuries, it would not be surprising if Peacock stays in the rotation even when Taylor Widener returns in the next week.
2. Rojas took his eye off the ball at the last moment
Josh Rojas has played all over the diamond for the D-backs this year and, after a tough start at the plate, he was one of the team's best hitters during their stretch of success.
In the seventh, with the Dodgers trailing 2-1 and the bases loaded with one out, pinch-hitter Will Smith hit a fly ball to right field. The ball ticked off the top of Rojas's glove and rolled away as two runs scored and the Dodgers took the lead.
"I pretty much just took my eyes off it, trying to look where I was going to throw it before I caught it," Rojas said. "I got a really good jump on it. I saw it the whole way. Right before it was about to hit my glove, I was looking up to see where I was going to throw it. I was going to try to throw the guy out tagging from third. I looked up too soon and it hit off the tip of my glove."
3. Confusion led to Lovullo's ejection
In the fifth, with one out and a runner at third, Peacock hit a chopper in front of the plate. Clayton Kershaw fielded it and his throw to first hit Peacock, who was out of the baseline, in the leg.
Home plate umpire Will Little ruled interference on the play, meaning Peacock was out and Nick Ahmed, who had come home, had to go back to third.
Lovullo did not realize that the ball had hit Peacock and thought that it was just a poor throw to first. Had it been a poor throw, it wouldn't have mattered whether Peacock was in the baseline or not. Lovullo was eventually ejected.
"It was a very confusing time there," Lovullo said. "I don’t think either the home plate umpire or myself identified that the ball struck the runner. If he told me that it struck the runner, I would have just turned around and walked away from him. As I got a chance to look at it a couple minutes ago postgame, he got the call right. We were in a whole different dimension. We were in a totally different dimension. Bottom line is they want to get the plays right, and he did. I’ll wear that one."