Poor 10th Inning Execution Dooms D-backs in Loss to Phillies

The Diamondbacks had a great opportunity for another comeback win against the Philadelphia Phillies. Despite their offense getting shut down for the first seven innings they were able to tie the game late. However they were unable to finish the comeback, as poor execution of offensive and defensive fundamentals resulted in a 4-3 loss to the Phillies at Chase Field.

"This one jumps up at you and surprises you. It just goes to show that you can't take anything for granted" said D-backs manager Torey Lovullo. "You got to work hard, bear down on basic fundamentals. I watch as we do things at a very high level this season, we practiced it over and over again in Spring Training. That's just the beauty of this game, every once in a while it jumps up at you and beats you because you let your guard down."

The obvious example of letting their guard down came in the top of the tenth. After retiring Kyle Schwarber on the first pitch of the inning on a foul pop up behind the plate, Scott McGough induced another pop up in shallow right field. It looked like Geraldo Perdomo had a beat on the ball, but a lack of communication between him and right fielder Jake McCarthy resulted in a collision that allowed the ball to drop and the go-ahead runner to advance from second to third. Lovullo chalked that up as "two very eager, young baseball players going after the same ball, trying to make a play". Nick Castellanos would deliver a sacrifice fly to deep center to plate the eventual winning run.

This is tough pic.twitter.com/6dmGvTTZDv
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 15, 2023

"No I heard him, but I was calling it too," said McCarthy after the game. "He didn't hear me and it's just two guys trying to go after the ball in a situation where the ball needs to be caught. I just got to be louder, I take responsibility for it."

Despite the poor defensive play putting them behind a run, Arizona had a chance to make up for it at the plate. With Emmanuel Rivera opening the inning at second as the Ghost Runner, the D-backs were unable to advance him any further. A walk by Christian Walker putting the potential winning run on base, but it didn't matter as a strikeout and a groundout closed out the game

Extra innings have not been kind to the D-backs this season, as the team is 0-for-15 at the plate and only twice have ever advanced the runner to third. The loss dropped them to 0-3 in extra innings. Their last hit in extra innings came on September 28th of last season, when Christian Walker ripped a two-run single in a win over the Houston Astros. It was also the D-backs' last extra innings win, having lost their last five extra inning games.

The offense got off to a slow start, as they were unable to solve Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez, who held Arizona scoreless for seven innings despite a runner reaching base in each inning. Suárez struck out seven and induced nine ground ball outs, including a pair of inning-ending double plays. Suárez threw 105 pitches on the night, with 37 two-seamers (35%) and 14 four-seamers (13%).

"He was throwing more four-seam fastball than two-seam fastballs" said Lovullo. "Listening to some of the chatter in the dugout, I had conversation with different guys, I was listening to hitting coaches talking. We were anticipating the two-seam fastball, it was a 4 and a 2, he just worked in around the plate at the right time to right-handed hitters."

Despite a lack of run support, Merrill Kelly did his best to keep his team in the game, allowing three runs on three hits, four walks, and seven strikeouts over six innings. He needed 102 pitches to get through six, but he was able to record his ninth quality start of the season and his seventh in his last nine starts. Over those last nine starts Kelly is 5-0 with a 2.86 ERA.

"Merrill today I thought was gutting out his outing. I made the decision, I was going to run it up to 110 pitches if needed" said Lovullo. "He did a great job, it was a quality start. He didn't have his best stuff, I think he started to manipulate the baseball and spin it a little bit later than we've seen him get a feel for that pitch. It's just a typical Merrill outing, he's very consistent, he gets you in a situation to win a baseball game."

The D-backs were able to tie things up in the bottom of the eighth. Facing Seranthony Domínguez, McCarthy greeted him with a double into the right field corner. Perdomo drew a walk that put the potential tying run at the plate with no outs. After Domínguez retired the next two hitters, he got two strikes on Christian Walker. However, the D-backs first baseman battled back to even up the count, then launched a three-run home run deep into the left field bleachers to tie the game. It was Walker's 13th homer of the season.

With one swing, Christian Walker has completely flipped this ballgame. pic.twitter.com/wMKC0OSrVQ
— Michael McDermott (@MichaelMcD8393) June 15, 2023

The D-backs would have a couple chances to push the go-ahead run across in regulation. A single by Evan Longoria and a walk to Ketel Marte in the eighth would put the go-ahead run in scoring position, but Ahmed grounded out. In the ninth, Perdomo hit a two-out double to set up Emmanuel Rivera. Rivera would strike out against a Craig Kimbrel fastball to send the game into extra innings.

The D-backs will need to quickly shake off this frustrating loss, as they play a matinee game to close out this series. Arizona will be hoping to salvage a series split, with rookie right-hander Ryne Nelson (3-3, 4.95 ERA) will take the mound against Aaron Nola (5-5, 4.60 ERA). First pitch at Chase Field will be at 12:40 PM MST.