Los Angeles @ Arizona preview
Chase Field
Last Meeting ( Apr 15, 2010 ) Arizona 5, LA Dodgers 6
What would be more difficult to accomplish – convincing Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig to restart the season or for the Arizona Diamondbacks to designate their entire bullpen for assignment and bring in seven fresh arms?
Neither option is going to happen so the Diamondbacks are stuck with what they have until general manager Josh Byrnes starts the Phoenix to Triple-A Reno shuttle.
The bullpen has surrendered 14 earned runs in its last seven innings with Esmerling Vazquez doing the latest damage – four earned runs in one-third of an inning on Sunday to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 6-1 defeat – to drive a further wedge between confidence and incompetence for the unit.
“I felt like he was the best option for us to keep it at 2-1 as hot as he has been,” Arizona manager A.J. Hinch said after the loss. “To have it backfire is frustrating. I think (the struggles have) officially hit everyone down there in the bullpen.”
The bullpen hasn’t been the Diamondbacks’ lone reason they sit at the bottom of the NL West standings as they start a three-game series at Chase Field against the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers, but it’s been pretty darn close.
The starting pitching has been solid, the offense has ranked among the most powerful all season and the defense has been shored up after being one of the worst in the league last season.
It has been a little surprising that the team hasn’t reacted with a flurry of moves instead of sticking with the veterans with the expectation that Bobby Howry and Aaron Heilman will return to their normal selves.
If it doesn’t happen relatively soon, especially with the San Diego Padres continuing to pace not only the NL West but the league as a whole for the best record, the Diamondbacks are going to have to go on one heck of winning streak to move past every team in their division to get on top.
Third baseman Mark Reynolds already said that is getting difficult to remain confident in the relief corps. Of course, he said it before the offense scored a total of six runs while getting swept by the Milwaukee Brewers at home over the weekend.
It took all of the momentum away from the team that had a winning record (6-5) on the longest road trip of the season. Now, the Dodgers, who are just percentage points ahead of the Diamondbacks in the standings, come to Chase Field.
It is up to Arizona right-hander Rodrigo Lopez (1-1, 4.14 ERA) to possibly restore some order with a well-pitched game while the offense takes it shot at Los Angeles' Chad Billingsley (2-2, 5.06 ERA).
The Dodgers, who had the best record in baseball for much of last season on their way to the NL West title, have won three of four to overtake the Diamondbacks and get out of the cellar.
The problems dogging the Dodgers are similar to Arizona in that the pitchers haven’t kept up their end of the bargain most days. The offense, led by rising superstar Andre Either, has been productive, but the pitching has the 13th worst ERA in the league at 4.88.