Cooling Down in the Desert
Arizona Diamondbacks Manager Torey Lovullo. Photo by Norm Hall (Getty Images)
The downward spiral that the Arizona Diamondbacks entered in the second half of the season is showing no signs of letting up. Before the All-Star break, this promising young team dominated the NL West and ended the first half just 0.5 GB. Now, the D-Backs find themselves third in the division and closer to the fourth-place San Diego Padres (16 GB) than the second-place San Francisco Giants (9 GB).
In their last ten games, the Diamondbacks are 2-10. They are 7-21 in the second half of the season which has brought their overall record below .500 at 59-60. The Diamondbacks made some moves at the deadline, including grabbing RHP Paul Sewald from the Seattle Mariners and 3B Jace Peterson from the Oakland A’s, but the team’s spark still seems to be dwindling.
Yikes Dbacks pic.twitter.com/yakKYSMohg
— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) August 15, 2023
Rookie outfielder Corbin Carroll appears to be cooling down from his red-hot, rookie-of-the-year favorite season. His batting average dropped from .291 in June to .250 in July, and he is currently batting a .163 so far in August. Going into the All-Star break, Carroll had a remarkable 17 home runs as a first-year player but has only hit three so far in the second half.
Arizona Diamondbacks 2B Ketel Marte. Photo via Sports Illustrated
Arizona’s second baseman, Ketel Marte, is also slowing down at a worrisome rate. Arguably the D-Backs’ most productive hitter on the year, Marte is also having a slump of an August so far at the plate. He began the summer batting .315 in June with 22 RBIs and an OPS of 1.040. In the past two weeks, Marte is 7-49 batting .143.
Arizona Diamondbacks SP Zac Gallen. Photo by Isaiah J. Downing (USA TODAY Sports)
The Diamondbacks are heading down a worse path than how they originally started this season. They have the fire and the talent, but the team’s stars cannot win games on their own. Although SP Zac Gallen leads the NL Cy Young rankings (via MLB.com), the team ranks 25th overall in pitching with a 4.65 ERA.
First baseman Christian Walker is having his best month of the season at the plate, batting .349 with three home runs to bring his season total to 25. However, the lineup ranks 23rd in hitting in the second half and 25th in August with a .217 average.
Christian Walker extends the D-backs lead with his 25th home run of the year! pic.twitter.com/YgMHa3F3kT
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 15, 2023
The clock is ticking as the NL West heads through the dog days of August. The Dodgers have been debatably the hottest team in the majors over the last couple of weeks. They are 9-1 over their last ten and are trying their best to leave San Francisco and Arizona fighting for an NL Wild Card spot.
If the Diamondbacks want to save their season and return to being a dangerous team in the NL, they must find the rhythm they had back in June and apply it to their slightly modified roster.
