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Pitching Struggles, Bats go quiet: Diamondbacks Swept by Rockies

By Matthew Mcclure

May 1, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Shelby Miller (26) leaves the game during the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
May 1, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Shelby Miller (26) leaves the game during the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Diamondbacks came into this series sitting pretty at an even .500 record, 12-12. They were seeking vengeance on the Rockies as they had taken the opening series from them earlier in April. But to their dismay they would lose all three games of the weekend set and fall to 4th place in the NL West at 12-15.

There were high hopes for the Diamondbacks throughout the entire weekend series as they came in only .5 a game behind the Dodgers and the Giants. Both of those teams would go on to lose 2 of the 3 games of their series, but the Diamondbacks failed to move up in the ranks as they were swept giving the NL West lead to the Rockies.

Despite Zack Greinke’s best outing of the season at his now home Chase Field, the Diamondbacks had trouble throughout the series providing run support for their pitchers. They managed to only put up 5 runs in the entire series and all those runs came in two games as they were shutout the first night.

Robbie Ray had his second poor start in a row going only 4 innings on Friday night after going 3 innings in his last start against the Pirates. He has given up 10 runs in his last two starts after only giving up 4 runs in his first three. The Diamondbacks starting pitching struggles didn’t end there.

Shelby Miller’s season has been a house of horrors with one bad start followed by another just around the corner. After a blockbuster trade in the off season in which many fans thought this Diamondbacks staff could be one of the best in baseball, people are beginning to second guess their beliefs. Miller had yet another short stint only staying on the hill for a measly 3.2 innings while giving up 3 runs and 4 walks. This was his third start of the season which he has gone shorter than 4 innings and he has only managed to make it to the sixth once. His season ERA is now sitting at 8.49 while he fell to 0-3 after the loss Sunday afternoon.

Zack Greinke proved that he could still dominate and turn his slow season start around, as he notched 7 innings striking out eight batters while on giving up two runs against the team that made the start of his season a nightmare. But the bat of Trevor Story still could not be held in check as he got the best of Greinke and the Diamondbacks closer, Brad Ziegler, hitting key RBI’s to help his Rockies clinch the series by the second game with a 5-2 victory.

But the hot bat of young Diamondbacks third baseman Brandon Drury could not be tamed as he was the only consistent hitter of the series. He slapped two homeruns bringing his season total up to 5 (tied for second on the team) and tallied 4 hits to raise his average to .315. Over his last seven games he has had an average of .346 and has hit 4 of his 5 homeruns, showing that his bat needs to be in this Diamondbacks lineup.

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Next up the Diamondbacks travel to Miami to take on the Marlins who just lost their star second baseman Dee Gordon, 80 games due to the use of PED’s.

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