Diamondbacks’ Eugenio Suárez doesn’t think about trade deadline
Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez is one of the hottest names on the block as the trade deadline approaches on July 31.
DETROIT — Corbin Carroll led off the game with a triple, Ketel Marte singled him home, and for a little while, it looked like the Diamondbacks were on track for a much-needed win.
But it all fell apart in the bottom of the fifth inning, when starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt gave up three home runs and five runs in all as part of a six-run inning for the Detroit Tigers, who shredded Diamondbacks pitching in a 12-2 win on Tuesday, July 29.
The loss was the fourth in a row for the reeling Diamondbacks (51-57), who have dropped seven of their last eight games and have scored just four runs over the last five games.
Even worse, Arizona ended its day 7 ½ games out of the third NL wild card spot, and in danger of falling behind a fourth team in the wild card standings, the Miami Marlins.
After scoring two runs in the first two innings on three hits, the Diamondbacks came up with only two more hits the rest of the way.
“We just faded,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said.
Then he was asked how it happened.
“I don’t know that answer, but I’m going to try and figure it out,” Lovullo said. “That’s all I do. I spend time trying to figure things out. But I know that group’s very hungry. They want to win baseball games. I think they get frustrated, and they start to lose a little bit of focus through that frustration. We’ve all been in there. “
It was the most lopsided loss for the Diamondbacks since falling 13-1 at Cincinnati on June 7. Pfaadt (10-7) gave up seven runs, and three relievers were also scored on, including catcher José Herrera, who came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning.
Third baseman Eugenio Suarez did not play after bruising his index finger when he was hit by a pitch in the previous game.
The two runs for the Diamondbacks were the most they’ve scored in a game in six days. They knocked All-Star pitcher Casey Mize out of the game before the second inning was over. Hits and walks were Mize’s undoing.
But the Tigers turned a two-run deficit into an 8-2 lead after five innings.
In the fifth, Pfaadt gave up a solo home run to All-Star Gleyber Torres. Then Kerry Carpenter singled, and another All-Star, Riley Greene, followed with a two-run home run to right field.
With two outs, Pfaadt had a chance to avoid further damage. But another Detroit All-Star, Zack McKinstry, hit a two-run homer, ending Pfaadt’s night.
“After the second homer, kind of let the game get away from us, and from there the rest is history,” Pfaadt said. “They started cheating to the cutter a little bit more. … Kind of left a few pitches middle in and paid the price for it.”
Pfaadt finished with seven earned runs given up on 11 hits in 4⅔ innings. Left-hander Brandyn Garcia finished the fifth inning in relief, but gave up a run on two hits before he got the final out of a six-run frame.
It’s the most runs Pfaadt has allowed since he was charged with eight on May 31 against Washington.
The Diamondbacks also hurt themselves. They had runners on second and third with no outs in the first inning and couldn’t add on to the one run they scored. And Ketel Marte was picked off trying to steal third base with one out in the top of the fifth.
“We beat ourselves a little bit,” Lovullo said. “We work really hard at playing a smart baseball game. … (Marte) left a tad bit too early. So do I fault him? No, I don’t. We’re trying to change up our style and our sequencing. I just don’t want to sit around and get slugged at.”
Pfaadt said the team is still fighting to win and that the vibe in the clubhouse is not lost. Lovullo is choosing not to berate or be critical of his team amid the losing skid.
“I just need to support them and embrace the small victories,” Lovullo said.
“They’re down. They’re really down and they’re frustrated,” he added when asked about taking the pulse of the clubhouse. “This isn’t the time for anybody to pile on them and jump off the top rope and piledrive them. I think we’ve just got to be patient and understand this is part of the game.”
The Diamondbacks on July 29 received good news on Suarez, who was hit in the right index finger by a fastball late in the previous night’s game.
After his X-ray revealed nothing broken, Suarez underwent a CT scan and an MRI that did not reveal a more serious injury, even though he was shaking hands gingerly, wore no splint or anything protective over his finger before the July 29 game against the Tigers.
“We got the news we were looking for,” manager Torey Lovullo said.
Two hours before first pitch, Lovullo wasn’t ready to say Suarez would be available to pinch hit. Suarez had to test his right hand’s ability to grip and swing a bat before that determination was made.
Blaze Alexander got the start at third base in the July 29 second game of the three-game series at Detroit, which won the series opener July 28, 5-1.
Lovullo would like Suarez to wear protective gear over his hands when hitting, but Suarez has been resistant to this.
“It’s a very raw area for sure. And then when you’ve got the hands and the bones directly on the bat, there’s very little give,” Lovullo said. “We’ve luckily dodged a bullet with Geno several times and others we haven’t.”
The injury came as Suarez has been the focus of ongoing trade speculation, with many baseball observers pegging him as one of the most valuable trade options available before the July 31 trade deadline.
Torey’s back in town
Forty-one of Lovullo’s 303 career major league games as a player took place in Detroit, as the Tigers were his original team. He made his major league debut on Sept. 10, 1988, against the Yankees in New York.
Lovullo’s managerial career has been influenced by his manager in Detroit, the legendary Sparky Anderson.
“I’ll never forget what I learned from an incredible manager by the name of Sparky Anderson,” Lovullo said. “The lessons, the life lessons, the things that he brought to the table for me every single day are things that I do now. He was a little bit ahead of his time. He cared about what the player thought. He was firm, he was fair, he was consistent and I kind of live in that same space as well.”
Coming up
July 30: At Detroit, 10:10 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (6-2, 3.29) vs. Tigers RHP Chris Paddack (3-9, 4.95).
July 31: Off.
Aug. 1: At Athletics, 7:05 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (9-6, 3.22)* vs. Athletics LHP Jacob Lopez (3-6, 4.29).
Aug. 2: At Athletics, 7:05 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (7-12, 5.60)* vs. Athletics RHP J.T. Ginn (2-2, 3.89)
(*subject to change).