It has been a dismal spell for the D-backs’ offense, who have not scored more than one in a game since Wednesday. Over the last four games, they have scored two runs, batted .163 and have struck out more than five times for every walk (38:7 K:BB). Perhaps surprisingly, it’s not the longest such streak in team history. Definitely surprisingly, the longer streak was in the 2001 season, with the team on their way to winning the World Series. It happened in July, around the All-Star break: it began with a 5-1 loss in Houston. The D-backs were then swept going into the break at BOB by the Athletics (0-3, 1-5 and 1-2), and came back after it with a 1-4 loss in Anaheim. Over five games and 164 PA they had an OPS of just .409.
Even in 2023, they’d a run where they scored 3 runs over 4 games, with a .455 OPS right in line with the recent one. It was immediately before the playoffs. where they reached the World Series. So these spells happen. I certainly doubt the narrative the team isn’t trying, or has given up because their bestie got traded. This is baseball: trades are normal. It’s not as if Grichuk (176 games) or Naylor (93) have been franchise anchors. Sure, players are human, and nobody likes uncertainty. But the struggle has not been just Eugenio Suarez, who don’t know where they’ll be next weekend. It has also affected players like Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll, who – and I’m hardly going out on a limb here – will be staying with the D-backs.
Jack had an interesting article at SI, summed up by the headline. Diamondbacks’ Offense is Still Better Than You Think. What we’ve seen over the past week is a small sample size, and subject to the vagaries of small sample sizes. It’s certainly galling, but as Jack points out, “The seven-game slump has dropped the runs per game to 4.90, which still ranks fourth, albeit much closer now to the fifth-place Red Sox at 4.85. Their OPS has dropped to .763, but still ranks fourth in MLB.” He also points out that, while Naylor was above team average for OPS, Grichuk was not. Their removal might not move the needle far – though it depends on their replacements. We’ll see. But a bold prediction. The D-backs will score more than one today.