Diamondbacks Falter Against Padres

Jun 25, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Yasmany Tomas (24) reacts after striking out swinging to end the game in the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. The Rockies defeated the Diamondbacks 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Diamondbacks will travel back to Phoenix for a seven game home stand after dropping two of three games in San Diego to the Padres. The D-Backs lost some ground in the N.L. West standings. Arizona is now six games back of the first place Dodgers and five games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates for the second spot in the Wild Card standings.

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Game One:

The series opener was a rematch on the mound for Robbie Ray and Tyson Ross. Ray was looking for some revenge after Ross and the Padres got the better of him in the last meeting.

The Padres were able to strike right away in the first inning off of a double by Yonder Alonso that scored Derek Norris. Arizona was able to respond in the 3rd inning when Paul Goldschmidt delivered a two out single to center field that scored Chris Owings and A.J. Pollock to give the D-Backs a 2-1 lead.

The Diamondbacks would give the run right back in the bottom of the third inning when Welington Castillo committed a throwing error that allowed Cory Spangenberg to score. Spangenberg would score again in the fifth off a Matt Kemp sacrifice fly to give San Diego the 3-2 lead.

In the eighth inning, Kemp would cross home plate to increase the lead to two runs off a Justin Upton infield single.

Robbie Ray had a solid performance only giving up two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts but the Arizona lineup was unable to generate enough offense to get a win.

Ross threw just a solid as Ray did. Ross did issue five walks but only allowed two runs on two hits while recording seven strikeouts. Spangenberg had a good night at the plate for the Padres, going 3 for 3 and scoring two runs.

Craig Kimbrel was able to close it out for San Diego with his 19th save of the season.

Final score: Padres 4, D-Backs 2

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Game Two:

Another rematch occurred on the mound between Jeremy Hellickson and Andrew Cashner in the second game of this series. Hellickson won the last battle against Cashner but this game would have a much different narrative from the last time.

San Diego got off to another hot start by scoring two runs in the first inning. Yonder Alonso singled to score Kemp for the first run. Derek Norris grounded out to score Alonso for the second run.

Arizona stepped up in the third inning once again when David Peralta and Yasmany Tomas hit back-to-back RBI doubles to tie the score at 2. Justin Upton answered by roping a two run homer to right field in the fifth inning to regain the lead for the Padres.

San Diego would tack on three more runs in the sixth inning on an RBI bunt single by Cashner and two more RBI singles by Kemp and Yangervis Solarte.

Hellickson would like to forget this outing as soon as he can. Despite striking out eight batters, he allowed seven runs on 10 hits in 5 and 1/3 innings. On the other side, Cashner gave up two runs on eight hits while earning six K’s.

Tomas and Peralta both went 2-4 at the dish with an RBI. Solarte went 3-5 with an RBI for San Diego.

Final score: Padres 7, D-Backs 2

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Game Three:

Arizona came into the series finale trying to avoid getting swept. Chase Anderson got the call to the bump for the D-Backs while Odrisamer Despaigne took the mound for the Padres. There were plenty of souvenirs for the fans in this game. Every single run scored would be provided from a home run.

For the third consecutive game, San Diego scored in the first inning. This time it was a Matt Kemp solo shot that got the offense started. Arizona catcher, Welington Castillo, would raise the stakes by hitting a three run blast in the second inning to give the D-Backs a 3-1 lead.

David Peralta would join the party by hitting a solo home run (his sixth of the season) in the top of the third inning to make the score, 4-1. Derek Norris blasted a two run homer in the bottom of the fourth to cut the D-Backs lead down to one run with the score sitting at 4-3.

Jake Lamb would provide a crucial two run homer in the sixth inning for Arizona to make the score 6-3. That home run was only the second of the season for Lamb.

Norris would hit another home run to make the score 6-4 in the sixth inning but Arizona’s pitching would shut down the Padres for the remainder of the game.

Anderson’s stat line doesn’t look great in the box score (three home runs and only one strikeout in seven innings pitched) but his offense was able to provide enough support for him to get his fourth win of the season.

Norris went 2 for 4 with 2 HR’s and 3 RBI’s for the Padres while Lamb was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI’s for the Diamondbacks.

Final score: D-Backs 6, Padres 4

The Diamondbacks have 12 games left until the All Star Break (7 home, 5 road). Their next opponent will be the L.A. Dodgers for three games. The series can provide an opportunity for the D-Backs to close the gap between them and the division leaders. The starting pitching will definitely need to perform better in order for Arizona to take a game or two from Los Angeles.

Following the L.A. series, Arizona will host the Rockies for a four game set over Independence Day weekend. The D-Backs got knocked around in their previous series with Colorado so Arizona should be looking to return the favor when the Rockies visit Chase Stadium.