D-backs Can't Break Through Against Spencer Strider in 5-2 Loss

Spencer Strider held the Diamondbacks in check for six innings, allowing just two runs and the Braves potent lineup was able to get to Ryne Nelson for three runs and Drey Jameson for two, resulting in a 5-2 Braves victory.

The Diamondbacks had a golden opportunity to get back in a game down 5-2 in the bottom of the 7th inning, They had the bases loaded with one out, one run already in, and the top of the order coming up in Pavin Smith and Ketel Marte.

With the count 1-2 Jesse Chavez threw a cutter at least two inches off the plate, but home plate umpire Todd Tichenor called it a strike to ring up Smith. Then Ketel Marte was ahead in the count 2-0, but Tichenor called a changeup that was also off the plate for strike one. A visibly frustrated Marte gestured, and was not able to recover. He ended up striking out looking at a cutter in the lower part of the zone but definitely in the zone.

Strider threw 19 of 23 first pitch strikes. Somehow he walked four batters and struck out a season low seven, but it felt like he was in control the entire night. The D-backs mustered just three hits off him. Emmanuel Rivera doubled to lead off the second, but went no further. Evan Longoria hit a solo homer in the fifth inning his 8th of the year. Rivera led off the 7th with a base hit, and that was Strider's last batter.

Chavez allowed Rivera to score by giving up a single, and a walk to load the bases. He then hit Geraldo Perdomo in the lower leg with a pitch, driving in a run. That was all for the rally though. After that opportunity was squandered with the two strikeouts looking, the deflation in the crowd of 36,529 was palpable.

The Braves bullpen threw two scoreless innings after that to close it out. Torey Lovullo said his lineup just could not quite get in sync against Strider, and credited him for throwing the ball well.

Meanwhile Ryne Nelson had a disappointing outing. It started out promising, retiring the side in order in the first inning on just 11 pitches. He seemed pumped up with the big crowd, topping out at 98 MPH with his fastball. Nelson thought maybe that was the case. "That was one of the things I was trying to work on, getting up a little bit more. The atmosphere probably helped a little bit. That's something I want to do, get myself a little more amped up and get myself going earlier"

He ran into a Braves lineup that seemed to be able to lay off pitches Nelson wanted them to swing at. He pitched a scoreless second, but needed 20 pitches to work around a double and a walk. The Braves opened the scoring in the third when Ronald Acuna Jr. doubled and stole third with nobody covering the bag. Lovullo said that just at that moment Josh Rojas was taking instruction and looked away from the field and towards the infield coach in the dugout. Acuna saw that and took off for third, getting in easily. Austin Riley hit a sacrifice fly to drive him home.

Eddie Rosario tripled to leadoff the 4th and and after a walk to Ozzie Albies, Rosario scored on a Marcel Ozuna single. Finally in the fifth inning a walk and two singles resulted in the third run off Nelson. By that point, Nelson's velocity was down several MPH. His final line was 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4BB, and 0 Strikeouts. His record falls to 2-3, and Striders goes to 6-2 on the year.

Despite the negative results Nelson said his body felt good and arm felt good. A few pitches either way might have changed the outcome. "A lot of my pitches felt good, they just weren't swinging at some of them in big spots." Asked why he felt he was not able to put anyone away, he said "I think they had some good takes and they worked some good at bats, those are some pretty good hitters, they ground out some at bats"

Lovullo echoed that sentiment on the lack of strikeouts. "This is a good team he pitched against today. I think they locked on to it. It's not alarming for me. I know he's going to probably pile up some strikeouts" It should be noted however that Nelson's K/9 of 5.40 ranks 67th out of 68 qualified starters in MLB.

Drey Jameson relieved Nelson and threw 3.1 innings, giving up five hits, and two runs, walking a batter and striking out one. The big hit off him was a monster 464 foot solo home run from Acuna over the bleachers in left center field onto the concourse.

Other than the Longoria homer, the only highlight for the D-backs was a great diving, sprawling catch by Corbin Carroll on a sinking liner in left center field.

Corbin Carroll 1000% deserves to be an All-Star: https://t.co/4SLoL8HfgQ pic.twitter.com/DR8pJQ7rfo
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) June 4, 2023

The rubber match of the three game series is Sunday at 1:10 P.M. The Dbacks will send ace Zac Gallen to the mound to try to secure the series victory. The Braves counter with Mike Soroka, making just his second start of the year.