D-backs' roll interrupted by Dodgers' Maeda
LOS ANGELES -- The D-backs felt good about themselves and their chances heading into Saturday night’s game with the Dodgers. They had pulled a come-from-behind win in extra innings the night before that included Archie Bradley jawing with the Los Angeles dugout after securing the save.
On top of that, Dodgers starter Kenta Maeda had been struggling while D-backs starter Alex Young was on a roll.
“I felt really good about today’s game when I got here,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “I felt like there was tremendous energy.”
But instead of their fourth straight win, the D-backs suffered a 4-0 loss, which caused them to fall to 2 1/2 games back in the National League Wild Card standings. The Nationals and Brewers are tied for the top Wild Card spot and the D-backs have three other teams -- the Cardinals, Mets and Phillies -- ahead of them.
“You can’t really explain it sometimes,” Lovullo said. “You throw out 10, 12 hits the night before and you have four singles, but we’ve got to turn the page.”
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Lovullo is a big believer in what he often refers to as “push moments” -- games or performances that will help a player or team get on a roll. His players, though, mostly have a different viewpoint.
“Once the game from the previous day is done, it’s over with,” veteran catcher Alex Avila said. “I’ve always been a big believer in how, when people always talk about momentum, you gain momentum on your next day’s starting pitcher.”
In that case, the momentum belonged to the Dodgers, thanks to Maeda.
Maeda, who had allowed 11 runs over his last two starts, retired the first nine batters he faced and finished having allowed just three hits over seven innings with six strikeouts.
“Maeda was pretty dang good tonight, keeping guys off balance,” infielder Jake Lamb said. “He was locating his pitches well, and you’ve got to tip your hat.”
That’s the sort of thing that opposing teams have been doing when it comes to Young, who has been outstanding for the D-backs since coming up from Triple-A Reno.
On Saturday, though, Young didn’t appear to be as sharp as usual, lasting just 3 1/3 innings while giving up four runs.
“Just missing, nibbling,” Lovullo said. “You know those quick, easy outs weren’t there for him today. The Dodgers are a team that grind it out and make you get the ball on the plate, so you’ve got to give them some credit. I think Alex was just a click off, just a little bit off the edges.”
The good news for the D-backs is that if their players are correct, then the disappointment will not carry over into Sunday afternoon’s series finale.
“I don’t personally believe in it,” Lamb said of momentum. “Not in baseball. Don’t get me wrong, it was awesome to win [Friday]. Whatever happened at the end of the game is what it is. It was a huge comeback. But you saw they came out, scored first and we weren’t able to put a whole lot of runs on the board. Obviously, we were fired up today showing up to the yard. We had a game plan and everything, but it didn’t go that way. Just like they did, we’re going to come back tomorrow and expect to win.”