D-backs Suffer Rough Loss to Guardians on Father's Day

In front of a large Father's Day crowd of 42,031, the Diamondbacks suffered another brutal defeat. With a chance to sweep Cleveland, they came out flat to start the game and never recovered in a 12-3 blowout.

Zach Davies turned in his worst start of the season, allowing nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits, one walk, and two strikeouts. It's the second straight start that Davies has failed to complete the fourth inning. D-backs manager Torey Lovullo described both starts as uncharacteristic for his veteran pitcher.

"I don't think Zach got into a really good rhythm," said Lovullo. "There was some yanked and missed fastballs. He never got anything moving in the right direction."

Once again for Davies, the first batter of the game set the tone for how his day was going to end up. This time it was a fielding error by Nick Ahmed, who booted a ground ball off of Steven Kwan when the ball took an awkward hop on him. The Guardians would take advantage with extra base hits from Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor to take a 2-0 lead. Davies never recovered from that point, as Cleveland scored in three of the four innings he started.

Arizona hitters were unable to get the hit to put themselves back in the game, despite having numerous chances to score on Tanner Bibee. From the second through fifth innings the D-backs were able to get a runner in scoring position, but went 1-for-12 in those situations on the day.

Christian Walker was the lone bright spot in the D-backs lineup, driving in three runs on a solo home run and a two-run double. On the homestand, he hit .423 (11-for-26) with four doubles, three home runs, and 10 RBI.

Rarely can you say Walker hit a fence scraper, but he managed to get it over to the deepest part of the park. pic.twitter.com/ugfYeRqvYx
— Michael McDermott (@MichaelMcD8393) June 18, 2023

"Walker had a great day today" said Lovullo. "He semi got us back in the game with that solo home run. It was a two-run double. It was nice we were putting points on the board."

Following the double, Walker was removed for a pinch runner. With second baseman Ketel Marte getting an off day for the game, it was an opportunity for Lovullo to get some rest for two of his best hitters with a tough road trip coming up.

Josh Rojas gave the team a bit of levity in the ninth inning, mimicking goofy pitch windups and punched out Bo Naylor for his first MLB strikeout as a pitcher. It was Rojas' second pitching appearance on the homestand.

Josh Rojas did his best Johnny Cueto impression for his first career strikeout. 😆

(Cut4 x @CoronaUSA) pic.twitter.com/mAI2iOysDV
— Cut4 (@Cut4) June 18, 2023

The D-backs will quickly trash this game from their memory, as they travel to Milwaukee tonight to play a three-game series against the Brewers. Merrill Kelly will get the ball for Arizona while Corbin Burnes goes for Milwaukee. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM CT/5:10 PM MST.