Bats Can't Pick Up Henry in D-backs 5-2 Loss to Mariners

Not long ago it seemed like whenever the Diamondbacks needed to pick each other up they were able to do so. They ham and egged their way through the first three months of the season, figuring out ways to win ballgames even when one facet of the game wasn't working. If the starting pitcher faltered, the offense picked him up by putting up big numbers. If the offense was getting shut down early, the starter went out and pitched a gem until the hitters could get to the opposing bullpen late. That element has been missing for the past month, and the inability to pick each other up was evident again in tonight's 5-2 loss the Mariners.

The Mariners jumped on Tommy Henry with four runs in the first inning. The inning was built by a lead off double from J.P. Crawford on the first pitch of the game. Julio Rodriguez singled him to third and moved up to second base on a stolen base that looked like Ketel Marte might have been able to tag him out had he held on to the ball. After a strikeout and an intentional walk, the next two batters, Cal Raleigh and Tom Murphy each delivered two-run doubles and it looked like the rout was on.

Except Henry was able to lock it down from there. He got the last two outs of the inning to end the scoring against him as he proceeded to retire the next nine straight batters. He only gave up a pair of harmless singles the rest of the way, retiring 15 of the last 17 batters faced overall, completing six innings of work. Henry's final line was 6 IP, 6H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6K. Asked if he was proud to have bounced back with fives scoreless innings, the articulate and sincere Henry was not inclined to use that word.

"I don't know if proud is the right word", Henry said. "I think it's just in the job description. I think I'd trade maybe one or two of those zeroes for a zero in the first inning to help us get out on the right foot. But after the first inning the only thing we can control is the future, so trying to throw as many zeroes as possible for the rest of the game, help out the bullpen, not hanging them out to dry, all come into play and trying to make the most of it. So that was a positive."

Despite giving his teammates a chance to get back in the game they were not able to pick him up as Mariner's starter Logan Gilbert kept the offense off the board through the first six innings. The D-backs had at least one hit in every inning but could not deliver the big hit to get their starting pitcher off the hook.

They finally broke through with two runs in the 7th. Jose Herrera singled and Geraldo Perdomo doubled him over to third. With Marte at the plate, reliever Matt Brash uncorked a wild pitch and Herrera dashed home. The Mariners catcher Raleigh made a throwing error trying to catch Herrera and the ball got by Brash. A heads up Perdomo bolted for home and slid in under the tag attempt, giving the D-backs their second run.

That was all they would get however. Marte walked , getting on base for the fourth time in the game, following three earlier singles. Corbin Carroll singled on a sinking liner to center and the D-backs had first and second with still only one out, but Christian Walker popped out and Dominic Canzone flew out to deep right, just missing a game tying homer. Canzone earlier had a double and single in the game and his at bats have looked very good as he's making the adjustments to the major leagues. Torey Lovullo is impressed with how he's looked.

"He's timed up and balanced and he's hitting all sorts of pitches", said Lovullo...."he comes up to home plate and I posture a little bit. I think he's putting up quality at bats. That's what we need from him".

That was all the offense could muster for today. They were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was 0-for-4 as his two month slump continued. In 48 games, 187 at bats since May 23rd he's batting just .182 with seven homers and 29 RBI.

Henry took the loss and is 5-4. Gilbert got the win, going to 9-5. Paul Sewald closed out the 9th for his 21st save.

Christian Walker was also 0-for-5 tonight and has run hot and cold the last month. He's struggled all season with runners in scoring position and was 0-2 tonight in that situation. For the year he is 20 for 104, .189 with RISP. The situational hitting is an area the entire team has struggled with since April however. After batting .300 with RISP that month, they are batting just .228 with RISP since.

With the loss the D-backs record falls to 55-49, and they are now one full game back in the wild card standings. It's not too late to turn their season around, but if they get swept this weekend, it may certainly give pause to GM Mike Hazen's plans to be an aggressive buyer prior to Tuesday's trade deadline.