Arizona Diamondbacks fall to Rays again, drop first series since June

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For most of the past six weeks, the Arizona Diamondbacks could do no wrong. Their hitters were mashing. Their defense was on point. Their pitching was good enough — and often better.

But these past two days here on the Gulf Coast have felt different. And not for the better for the Diamondbacks. Their mistakes are being amplified. Their offense has been muted. And some of the little things that have helped define their recent success are no longer going their way.

The Diamondbacks’ 6-1 loss on Saturday afternoon meant the Tampa Bay Rays had managed to hand them their first series loss since late June, snapping a string of 13 in a row. Their offense was quiet, collecting just five hits. Their starter, Zac Gallen, was not at his best.

And it felt like the Diamondbacks just did not have the same mojo going for them that they had been enjoying for so long. It wasn’t so much that softly hit balls were falling for the Rays and hard-hit balls weren’t for the Diamondbacks, though there was some of that.

It was much weirder stuff.

In the second inning, the Rays’ Brandon Lowe hit a high fly ball to right. Right fielder Randal Grichuk drifted back, appearing to have a play on it. But the ball never came down, ostensibly getting lodged somewhere in one of the catwalks near the roof. It was scored a double.

Gallen did not think it was getting out. Lowe told reporters the same thing. Grichuk seemed to think he would have caught it, too, but he wasn’t quite as confident.

“Kind of one of those 50/50 balls, caught on the track at the wall or had a chance (to get out),” he said. “I kind of had a bead on it. I don’t know how much more it would have carried. I thought I was going to make a play until I didn’t.”

Said Lowe: “I kind of watched it the whole way. I was willing it to kind of get over the ring (catwalk) there and keep going. But as soon as it hit up there, I was watching it. I was like, 'Oh God, please stay up there.' I know it’s a live ball, so, I mean, if that comes down, it's probably getting caught. Didn't have to worry about it. It stayed up there.”

Two innings later, a would-be double-play ball appeared to graze the pant leg of an umpire. It was called a dead ball and the Rays’ Yandy Diaz was awarded an infield single.

Fortunately for the Diamondbacks, neither of those plays wound up costing them runs; they escaped both jams. They were not as fortunate in the plays that preceded them.

The Rays scored a pair of runs in the first, getting a run-scoring triple from Josh Lowe, who later scored on the back end of a double steal when catcher Jose Herrera’s throw to second arrived on a short hop.

In the second, the Rays’ aggressiveness paid off again, as another double steal – this time with runners taking second and third – led to more runs as Yandy Diaz followed with a two-run single to right.

Just like that, the Rays had a 4-0 lead on Gallen.

“I feel like I’ve just been grinding, really,” Gallen said. “It’s always back to the drawing board. One of these days it’s going to click.”

The Diamondbacks had some chances to make it a game. They mounted a threat in the fifth but scored only once, leaving the bases loaded. They had the bases loaded again in the eighth but failed to score.

A night earlier, the Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll blasted a two-out, two-strike, two-run homer to tie the game in the ninth. It felt like the Diamondbacks were about to claim another victory in what had been a wildly successful run. It did not happen. Their loss on Saturday, however, was different. They never found their way. And it left them with their first series loss since dropping two of three to the Minnesota Twins on June 25-27.

The loss on Friday night came down to defensive miscues. On Saturday, the stolen bases were a key for the Rays. For Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, the outcomes were not what he wanted, but he took solace in the fact that they lost on mistakes he sees as easily correctable.

“I’m not saying everything is perfect,” he said. “And I don’t want to sound like I’m totally tone-deaf here. But we’ve lost games because of some identifiable things, and we’ll tighten that up and start playing better baseball.

“We’re going to be OK. I know everyone wants to talk about us losing a series. I’m not concerned about that. I’m concerned about us playing our best baseball game today. We didn’t do that.”

Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte returns to lineup as designated hitter

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Diamondbacks are welcoming Ketel Marte back to their lineup and inserting him as the designated hitter for Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

This will be Marte’s first start since Monday when he played just one inning before leaving with more discomfort in his left ankle, which he injured on Saturday night. He did not play on Sunday, either.

Marte is the club’s top hitter and a leading candidate for the MVP award in the National League. He has a .298/.369/.561 line with 30 homers and 81 RBIs.

Sunday’s Diamondbacks-Rays pitching matchup

Diamondbacks at Rays, 10:40 a.m., Cox, Ch. 34

Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (3-0, 2.43) vs. Rays TBA.

At Tropicana Field: Kelly gave up two runs in five innings against the Phillies on Sunday in what was his first start since April. He missed nearly four months due to a right shoulder injury. He gave up two runs in the first inning but nothing after that. … Kelly has made five starts this season and has yet to allow more than two runs in any of them, going at least five innings each time. … Kelly, originally drafted by the Rays in the eighth round of 2010, faced his old club once, in 2019, giving up seven runs in four innings. … The Rays had been planning to start RHP Taj Bradley in this game but they are pushing him back a day and instead are expected to go with a bullpen game, with LHP Tyler Alexander likely to handle multiple innings. … Alexander has thrown well in his past four outings, all in relief, logging a 1.26 ERA in 14 1/3 innings. … The Rays could start RHP Drew Rasmussen ahead of Alexander.

Coming up

Monday: At Miami, 3:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (7-6, 3.98) vs. Marlins TBA.

Tuesday: At Miami, 3:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (1-0, 5.06) vs. Marlins RHP Edward Cabrera (2-4, 5.76).

Wednesday: At Miami, 3:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Jordan Montgomery (8-6, 6.25) vs. Marlins RHP Roddery Munoz (2-7, 5.88).

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Diamondbacks fall to Rays again, drop first series since June