Diamondbacks 10, White Sox 0: Another of Those “Pyrrhic” Thingies

Arizona won in Chicago. BUT AT WHAT COST!!!!

Record: 40-38. Pace: 83-79. Change on 2024: +2.

If it seems like a while since I’ve done one of these… That’s because it is. Between off-days and the Scotland jaunt (thanks to Makakilo for standing in during my absence), my previous recap was all the way back on May 26. That was so long ago… [HOW LONG WAS IT?] That Aramis Garcia has been added to the 40-man roster, designated for assignment, cleared waivers, re-added to the 40-man roster and designated for assignment again since the last time I picked up my recapper’s quill. After that game, the D-backs were 27-27, and have basically hovered around there since. Tonight’s win in Chicago moved them two above .500, tied for their best mark in that time.

It wasn’t particularly close either, the scoreline being an accurate reflection of the difference in performance between the two teams on the night. The Arizona offense did not seem to realize they had come back down from Coors Field, with Pavin Smith going deep twice, and Ketel Marte getting in on the fun with his fourteenth home-run of the season. Meanwhile. Eduardo Rodriguez looked masterful. It may only have been the White Sox – the Pirates are the only team with a lower OPS+ than their mark of 80. But ERod continued his strong streak of starts since coming back off the injured list, with six shutout innings, on five hits, two walks and ten strikeouts.

Despite this, not all was well in Snakeville. Because, by the middle of the fourth inning, the available Diamondbacks bench was James McCann. That was it. We were already short one Corbin Carroll, still apparently waiting for the results of his MRI [He must have got it on the NHS…] The first to depart was Eugenio Suarez, who was hit in the first inning (above), immediately after Josh Naylor’s two-run double had given Arizona an early lead. He was hit of the back of his right hand by a 96 mph fastball. Suarez initially stayed in the game, but was lifted before the bottom of the first inning. The good news? X-rays were negative, and Suarez was smiling when he talked to Torey Lovullo later in the game.

However, we’ve seen this film before. After he suffered his hand injury which eventually put him on the Injured List, catcher Gabriel Moreno also got X-rayed. Lovullo said, “Everything’s negative, but just taking him out of the game was precautionary.” Moreno even played in several games before eventually being diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his right index finger. As a trained medical Googler, I feel I can state: hand bones are funny like that. Smiles or not, I would still be inclined to get an MRI, in order to be sure. Just perhaps not from the same place used for Carroll, which is apparently sending the results by medical carrier pigeon.

In the second inning, Smith cranked his seventh home-run to right-field, also scoring Jose Herrera and Geraldo Perdomo. But, again, this was immediately followed with another problem: a very awkward swing from first baseman Josh Naylor, which left him grimacing in obvious discomfort. He stayed in the game through the middle of the fourth, which also saw Marte and Smith go back-to-back, for a 7-0 Arizona lead. But Naylor’s at-bat to end the inning was clearly a problem, and he was lifted from the game too, being replaced by Tim Tawa at first. The team said he left due to “right shoulder discomfort” and is considered day-to-day. As with Suarez, I’m going with nothing more predictive than “We’ll see.”

The team was, fortunately, able to make their way through the remaining five and a half innings without any further Final Destination moments. Good thing too, or McCann might have ended up making his Arizona debut as an outfielder. The offense continued to click, notching 13 hits. There were two apiece for Perdomo, Smith, Ildemaro Vargas (who came in to replace Suarez) and Herrera, while Marte had his fourth start in a two with 3+ hits. He was a ninth-inning pinch-hit appearance on Sunday from becoming the third D-backs with four consecutive 3+ hit-games. He did it previously in 2019, and Paul Goldschmidt was the first such, in 2018

Meanwhile, Rodriguez was pitching a master-class. Admittedly, he was taking advantage of a high strike-zone from home-plate umpire Ron Kulpa. This succeeded in peeving the White Sox to such an extent, their DH got himself tossed from the game. But he rarely looked in trouble, and even when Chicago could get a runner in scoring position, such as a lead-off double in the second, Rodriguez simply fanned the next three batters. He has now allowed five earned runs over 22 innings since coming back, an ERA only just over two this month. It’s certainly the best stretch of outings since he became a Diamondback, and it is great to see him pitching like this.

After he left, Disco DeStefani came in, and mopped up the remaining three innings. By doing so, he qualified for a save, and became the 10th D-back to record one this year, joining Jalen Beeks, Kevin Ginkel, Drey Jameson, Bryce Jarvis, Justin Martínez, Shelby Miller, Ryne Nelson, A.J. Puk and Ryan Thompson. We’re not even at the half-way point in the season. It was also just the second time since the end of 2017, that Arizona had a double-digit shutout win. The previous time was the 17-0 mauling of the Nationals on July 30th last year. But there was some further bad news post-game. I guess the results of the MRI finally got here.

Despite all the injury woes, a lively enough Gameday Thread – a pounding of the opposition like this likely cures most ills. 240 comments all told, with Comment of the Game going to this late entry from Trappkory.

It’ll be back at the same ballpark tomorrow, and if the result ends up being the same, I wouldn’t object. It’s another 4:40 pm first pitch (AZ time), with Ryne Nelson on the mound. And probably another roster move to report, I suspect…