ST. LOUIS -- With so many factors they can’t control stacking up against them over the last week, the last thing the Diamondbacks need is to wind up on the wrong side of batted-ball luck, piling up hits without pulling out the right sequencing.
That is more or less what has befallen them over the last two days, however, as Arizona went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position en route to a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals in the series opener at Busch Stadium.
“We had some moments to do some things and break this game open offensively, hit some balls hard at the right time, and just couldn’t get anything to drop,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “This game came down to situational hitting, in my opinion.”
Sunday’s series finale against the Twins followed much the same pattern, as Arizona turned over the lineup by the end of the second inning and secured a two-run double from Ketel Marte. That hit was the D-backs' only one of the game with a runner in scoring position, making them 1-for-16 in those situations over the last two days, with 14 runners left stranded.
Those two runs would be the last two they would score until the sixth inning Monday, when Nolan Arenado’s grounder to short drove in Corbin Carroll.
That grounder paired with a second-inning single to comprise Arenado’s offensive output in his return to St. Louis after five years as a Cardinal. He received an extended standing ovation from the crowd prior to his first at-bat, removing his batting helmet and pounding his chest in appreciation of the fans while clearly fighting back more visible emotions.
“We’ve got to be better,” Arenado said of the offensive output. “Me, I’ve got to be better. Us, the guys who have been here, who have been around a long time, we’ve just got to be a little bit better, and that’s all it comes down to.”
Tommy Troy blasted a Statcast-projected 444-foot homer to dead center against Cardinals reliever Ryne Stanek in the seventh to record the Diamondbacks' other tally.
Merrill Kelly, asked to tote the load with the Diamondbacks scrambling to recover their staff from last week’s bad injury luck, turned in a quality start. Despite recording just two strikeouts while allowing three walks, Kelly held the Cardinals to three runs thanks in large part to an early escape. After two base hits and a walk to lead off the bottom of the first, he got Jordan Walker to line out to Geraldo Perdomo at short before inducing an inning-ending double play from Lars Nootbaar.
“Other than the three walks, probably one of the better games of the year, in my opinion,” Kelly said. “If I cut the walks down, if I eliminate those, I think we end up on the other side of this game.”
Perhaps the best offensive opportunity for Arizona came in the top of the fifth. After Tim Tawa doubled to move Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to third base, the order turned over to Marte at the top with one out. Marte drilled a 104.3 mph exit velocity grounder right back to Cardinals starter Andre Pallante, who speared it and trapped Gurriel between third and home.
Gurriel extended the rundown for long enough to allow Marte to reach second, but both runners would stay stranded following Perdomo’s groundout to second.
“We’ve practiced that type of baserunning play where we got it back to exactly where we wanted, second and third with two out,” Lovullo said. “I wanted to force the [opposing] team to play fast. I felt like throwing the ball home, we could trade that off.”
Instead, Perdomo’s grounder became the last at-bat of the night for the Diamondbacks with runners on both second and third.
No Arizona hitter struck out after Troy was caught looking for the first out of that fifth inning. That there were so many opportunities -- so many balls in play -- is evidence of a hitting process that is pointed in the right direction, but also one that’s not generating enough punch at the right times. The best way to avoid leaving runners on base is to hit with power, and the Diamondbacks are currently fighting for a stretch where those swings aren’t coming when they’re needed most.
There remains solid confidence in the clubhouse that those swings will return eventually. Eventually, though, is rarely a satisfying timeframe.
“I’ve always hated that excuse that it’s a long season, that we’ll be fine,” Arenado said. “I believe we’ll be fine, but at the same time, there’s only so many games that can go by. It’s going to put you in a hole. We’ve just got to play a little bit better.”