The roster churn continues in Phoenix, but the wins just aren't coming ad Arizona plummets in the standings. Poor hitting performances and even worse pitching is slowly sinking the Diamondbacks as they risk becoming one of the worst teams in baseball. A brutal 2-8 stretch leaves the Diamondbacks 21st (17-23) and closer to the #1 pick in the draft than the playoffs.
The only highlight of the stretch was Henderson Alvarez tossing a complete game shutout that was backed up by Aaron Hill, Chris Owings, and Paul Goldschmidt slamming HRs to win the game. Paul Goldschmidt continues to be gold, hitting .321 with 7HR, and Dayan Viciedo has surprised everyone with a hitting streak. Viciedo now boasts 18R 2HR 13RB and a healthy .297BA after looking like he might be riding the pine. Another surprise is Chris Owings supplanting JJ Hardy as the starting SS as Hardy is off to a horrible start (.265, no HR and only 9RBI) and barely playing. This team has gone from hopeful to hopeless is only 10 games.
Kennedy continues to pitch well, but the wins aren't coming.
Nothing new on the mound in Phoenix; the pitching is bad. RP are racking up more wins than starters, with the floundering Jim Johnson tied for 1st (3) with Gio Gonzalez. Ian Kennedy has been excellent lately, highlighted by a 12K performance that brings his total to 56 and a team best. Mid-level AAA prospect Chase Anderson was called up to start last weekend and he performed admirably, allowing a single run and striking out 6, but he may not stick in the rotation. Hopefully he will do better than Michael Bolsinger, who did well at first but was sent down after getting hammered for 4 runs or more in three of his five starts. RA Dickey cannot take the mound soon enough, and that is faint praise at his current pace.
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