D-backs' recent struggles carry over in series defeat vs. O's

September 4th, 2023
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      PHOENIX -- The D-backs were on a roll having won 12 of 15 games before they headed into Dodger Stadium last week. A three-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers seemed like a minor blip especially when they beat the American-East leading Orioles in the opener of their weekend series.

      But two losses later, including Sunday’s 8-5 defeat, the D-backs have suddenly lost five out of six and need to recapture their winning ways quickly with the NL Wild Card race tightening.

      The D-backs are tied with the Reds, Marlins and Giants for the final postseason slot with 25 games remaining.

      • Games remaining: vs. COL (3), at CHC (4), at NYM (4), vs. CHC (3), vs. SF (2), at NYY (3), at CWS (3), vs. HOU (3)

      • Standings update: The D-backs are now tied with the Giants, Reds and Marlins for the final NL Wild Card spot. Cincinnati and Miami hold the tiebreaker advantage over Arizona as does San Francisco, but the D-backs can change that if they win the final two games against the Giants on Sept. 19-20. 

      “We’ve got to tune things up and go out and win baseball games because that's the bottom line,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “We got to win baseball games. There's no other way about it and we got to find a way to get it done.”

      Arizona had its ace, , on the mound Sunday, but the Orioles scored two runs in the first and another two in the second to jump out to an early lead.

      “First two innings obviously didn’t go ideally like I wanted them to,” Gallen said. “After that, just tried to make pitches. Didn't feel great going into the game and just tried to execute them. Felt like the stuff was OK, but just maybe pitch selection in certain spots, should’ve gone with something different.”

      After the D-backs tied the game at four in the fifth, the Orioles answered back with four runs in the sixth to put the game away.

      The Dodgers and Orioles are two of the better teams in baseball, but the D-backs get a bit of a reprieve of sorts over the next three days with the Rockies coming to town. Colorado has a 50-86 record, worst in the NL.

      The D-backs, though, can’t take anything for granted with the Wild Card race so tight, and the Rockies gave them a tough battle last month in Denver where Arizona captured two of three.

      Right now, the D-backs can’t worry about the records of the teams they’re playing or how the other Wild Card contenders are playing either. As first baseman Christian Walker pointed out, they have to focus the same way, every day regardless.

      “You can feel the trends,” said Walker, who hit his 30th homer of the season in the ninth inning Sunday. “Like, you know if we're not stringing together wins, chances are we're slipping behind and you're aware of what's going on around the league. But I feel like I want all my focus going into what's happening here. We're definitely aware of it and you pay attention to the standings, but it's not another team's job to get us in [the playoffs]. It’s going to come down to us winning games.”

      Lovullo was asked if there was any one thing he could point to that has been a common denominator in the five recent losses.

      “I think we're giving away some at-bats with early count contact with men in scoring position,” Lovullo said. “Now I might be overly critical, but I just know that we've had the right guys up in the right situation in the right spots and there have been some quick first- or second-pitch outs. I think you’ve got to get some count leverage and work deep into counts. I think that's what all successful teams do with runners in scoring position.”

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      Senior Reporter Steve Gilbert has covered the D-backs for MLB.com since 2001.