When it stops, nobody knows.
Arizona Diamondbacks 2, San Francisco Giants 5
[D’backs.com] Kelly’s offense can’t halt D-backs’ road woes – No team has lost as many as 20 straight road games since the 1963 New York Mets, who went on to tie the 1943 Philadelphia A’s for the Major League record at 22. The 1916 Philadelphia A’s also dropped 20 straight on the road, a mark the D-backs matched Monday. “We’re grinding right now,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “I don’t know where it’s at, what’s been happening, or the reasons, but we’re working hard to figure that out. I know one thing, we didn’t come up here to San Francisco to get our [butt] kicked four games in a row. I know I didn’t. I know the coaches didn’t and I know for darn sure the players didn’t. So we’ll get after it tomorrow.”
[Arizona Sports] Diamondbacks served 20th road loss in row by San Francisco Giants – Carson Kelly hit a solo homer and RBI double for Arizona. San Francisco loaded the bases in the first with two out against Matt Peacock (2-4). After a mound visit, he induced Mike Tauchman’s inning-ending grounder. Peacock was done after five innings for his third straight losing start. Arizona hasn’t won on the road since a 7-0 victory at Atlanta on April 25. This is the club’s second double-digit losing streak this season after a 13-game skid from May 17-29. San Francisco has won six straight against Arizona, going 11-2 in the NL West matchup since the beginning of the shortened 2020 season and 7-1 at home during that stretch.
[AZ Central] Arizona Diamondbacks fall to San Francisco Giants, lose 20th straight game on the road – The outcome amounted to a single loss, one in which they did not play particularly poorly — at least relative to the low bar they have set in recent weeks — but given that it has come amidst such a stretch, catcher Carson Kelly was asked if it were hard to view it in that context — that is, as a loss that, in a normal season, would be easy for a team to put in the rearview mirror. Kelly said that letting losses pile up would be the worst thing the team could do. “If you start thinking that way, we’re going to be in an even worse spot,” he said. “Obviously, we haven’t played up to what we know we can. The only way you’re going to get out of this is you got to keep going. If you continue to look at the past and sulk on that, it’s just going to continue to get worse and worse. We’re doing a pretty good job of staying present every single day. We’re moving on to that next one.”
Around the League
[ESPN] MLB players caught with any foreign substance to face 10-day suspension, sources say – Major League Baseball is expected to announce Tuesday that it will suspend players caught with any foreign substance for 10 days with pay to help curtail the widespread use of grip enhancers by pitchers around the league, sources familiar with the plans told ESPN. The league is expected to distribute a memo to teams — which have been briefed on the broad strokes of the policy change — that outlines its plans to penalize all players caught by umpires with any foreign substance on their person, from the widely used sunscreen-and-rosin combination to Spider Tack, an industrial glue that has become a favorite among pitchers who want to generate more spin on the ball.
[Los Angeles Times] MLB crackdown on foreign substances could revive Bubba Harkins’ case, his attorney says – The attorney for a former Angels employee who was fired for providing a blend of sticky substances to pitchers to aid their grip of the baseball believes the sport’s renewed emphasis and impending crackdown on the use of foreign substances could boost his client’s case against the team and Major League Baseball. “Only a jury would know for sure, but it certainly makes clear what the history is, that the use of pine tar and related substances is now pretty openly discussed,” Daniel L. Rasmussen, the attorney representing Brian “Bubba” Harkins, said Monday. “That’s the new wrinkle that I think will help us.” Harkins, 55, spent nearly four decades with the Angels and was the visiting clubhouse manager when he was fired on March 3, 2020.
[MLB Trade Rumors] Royals Place Andrew Benintendi On 10-Day Injured List – The Royals have placed outfielder Andrew Benintendi on the 10-day injured list due to a right rib injury, manager Mike Matheny told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anne Rogers). Outfielder Edward Olivares is being called up to take Benintendi’s 26-man roster spot. The specific injury occurred during a throw Benintendi made during yesterday’s 6-3 Royals loss to the Athletics, though Matheny said Benintendi has “felt something for a bit” beforehand. This could potentially indicate a longer stay than just 10 days on the IL for the outfielder, especially since a broken rib led to an early shutdown of Benintendi’s 2020 season with the Red Sox.