Gritty dozen! D-backs keep streaking

Arizona has won 12 straight and hasn't trailed in 97 innings

September 6th, 2017

LOS ANGELES -- The D-backs kept alive a pair of streaks Tuesday night when they beat the Dodgers, 3-1, in 10 innings at Dodger Stadium.
They've won 12 straight games and have not trailed in their last 97 innings.
Zack Greinke, who allowed just one run over seven innings Tuesday, marvels at the latter streak.
"That's a lot more amazing to me than the winning streak," Greinke said. "I didn't even know that was possible. That thing is pretty amazing."

The D-backs' streak of 97 innings either tied or in the lead is tied with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 for second-longest in Major League history. Only the 1942 Yankees (100 innings) have gone longer without trailing.
"It sends the message that we're ready to play early in the game. We're executing our game plan. The pitchers are doing their jobs," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "It validates that it's a team effort, and we're proud of that."
The D-backs don't even hold the longest current streak in the Majors. That belongs to the Indians, who won their 13th in a row Tuesday.

That doesn't mean that the D-backs aren't enjoying their run.
"These players are doing everything that they can possibly do on a nightly basis to make sure that they're putting themselves in position to win the game," Lovullo said. "We're very proud of that record. I don't want to overlook that. I don't want to downplay that, but our focus is sometimes in a different place. Like I said, 12 in a row is a very, very special thing. We're going to enjoy that. We want to come out and do our job tomorrow and turn the page as soon as possible."
A.J. Pollock said he wasn't aware of the 97-inning streak and he didn't even know exactly how many games the D-backs had won in a row.
"It's a lot of fun," Pollock said. "I think when you're playing good baseball, you don't really know what the streak is that's going on. You're just playing good baseball, you're showing up, the day has a good rhythm to it. Just a lot of fun to play. You definitely sit back and enjoy it, because there have been some seasons where it hasn't gone our way and we haven't been playing meaningful games."

While the Dodgers still hold a commanding 11 1/2-game lead in the National League West over the D-backs, Arizona has a solid grasp of the top NL Wild Card spot with a 6 1/2-game advantage over the Rockies.
And after struggling against the Dodgers earlier this year, the D-backs have now won five straight against their rivals and they've secured their first season-series win vs. Los Angeles since 2013.
"It's nice, but it seems like it's timed up that we're playing good while they're going through a rough patch," Greinke said. "So it just timed up good. I wouldn't say it means too much."