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Arizona Diamondbacks News
[AZ Central] Diamondbacks crushed by Dodgers in record-setting loss – A night after stopping a nine-game losing streak at Dodger Stadium, the Diamondbacks started a new one on Saturday — and then some. In getting demolished, 22-1, by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Diamondbacks tied or established a slew of franchise records, all of them embarrassing. The 22 runs were the most allowed in a game in club history, eclipsing by one the previous high (21, set Oct. 2, 2015, vs. Astros). The 21-run differential marked the most lopsided loss ever, three more than the old record (18, set Sept. 2, 2002, vs. Dodgers). And the eight homers allowed tied a club record set once before — also at Dodger Stadium (on March 28, 2019).
[The Athletic] Despite worst loss in franchise history, Torey Lovullo says Diamondbacks are ‘on the rise’ – “Ummm … nah,” Lovullo said when posed the question. “That ought to tell you the type of season we’ve had.” Lovullo then went on to tell the type of season they’ve had. “We lose 20-plus games (in a row) on the road,” he said. It was 24, a modern-day major-league record. “You’re fighting a 16- or 17-game losing streak, whatever that number was,” he continued. It was 17 games, the longest in franchise history. By contrast, the July edition of Diamondbacks was coming off three wins in its last four games. “We’re on the rise,” Lovullo said. “We’re in a different spot. We’re well beyond our worst days here.”
[Arizona Sports] D-backs fall to LA on the road, Dodgers tie franchise record with 8 home runs – Justin Turner and Mookie Betts hit grand slams, Albert Pujols and AJ Pollock each homered twice and the Los Angeles Dodgers matched a franchise record by connecting eight times in all, routing the Arizona Diamondbacks 22-1 on Saturday night. Cody Bellinger and Zach McKinstry also homered as the Dodgers matched a Los Angeles mark for runs, last scoring 22 in 2001 at Colorado. This was their highest-scoring game ever at Dodger Stadium.
[D’backs.com] D-backs will seek ‘best fit’ at No. 6 in Draft – “The talent is there, it’s just not that consensus person that somebody says, ‘OK, they’re definitely taking this guy and if that guy goes first, this guy’s going second,’” D-backs scouting director Deric Ladnier said. “Especially in our position, we’re just waiting to see what happens, and ultimately, there’s a lot of posturing going on because there’s no slam dunk [No. 1 overall pick]. “So I think there’ll be a lot of posturing, but I like the talent up top. I really do. I think there’s good talent there, and where we’re picking, we’re going to get a really good player.”
Around the League
[Deadline] Hotel Maid Thwarts Potential Major League Baseball All-Star Game Massacre – Police have confiscated more than a dozen weapons and 1,000 rounds of ammunition from a hotel near Coors Field in Denver, Colorado, the site of Tuesday’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game, thanks to a tip from an alert hotel maid. The confiscation may have averted a potential mass shooting on the order of the Las Vegas massacre at a country music festival in 2017. A total of 61 people died in that incident when a gunman opened fire with high-powered weapons from a nearby hotel room. In Denver, a housekeeper at the hotel called police after finding the weapons cache, according to ABC7 Denver. The Maven Hotel, the scene of the incident, is located just two blocks from the stadium where the game is to be held on Tuesday. It has a balcony overlooking the downtown area.
[CBS Sports] Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. out for the season with torn ACL suffered while attempting leaping catch – The Atlanta Braves have lost their best player to a season-ending injury. Ronald Acuña Jr. exited Saturday afternoon’s game against the Miami Marlins with a right knee injury after attempting a leaping catch in right field. He jumped for the ball, landed awkwardly, then went down to the warning track in obvious pain. Later Saturday night, the Braves announced Acuña suffered a complete ACL tear in his right knee. Tests revealed the extent of the injury and he will undergo season-ending surgery.
[MLB Trade Rumors] MLB Reportedly Hoping To Return To Nine-Inning Doubleheaders In 2022 – As part of the MLB – MLBPA agreements on health and safety protocols, doubleheaders have consisted of a pair of seven-inning games over the past two years. “Barring heavy resistance” from the Players Association, the league is planning to return to the traditional nine-inning affairs for twin bills starting in 2022, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. It’s not clear how hard the MLBPA would need to push back against the return of nine-inning doubleheaders for the league to agree to keep the seven-inning format in place, nor is it even apparent there’s much interest on the players’ side in doing so. The seven-inning doubleheader format has been in place the last two seasons as a COVID-19 mitigation measure. With viral spread among teams contributing to the cancellation of games in bulk (especially last season, before the availability of vaccines), a few teams had to play a series of doubleheaders in relatively rapid succession. Fear of overworking players — particularly on the pitching staff — led the parties to knock two frames off games during doubleheaders. The hope and expectation is certainly that COVID-19 mitigation efforts won’t need to be as prevalent next year.