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If the Arizona Diamondbacks have any hope of surviving the upcoming postseason, they’re got to be firing on all cylinders.
That includes displaying the sort of stellar pitching that got them to the playoffs in the first place, and not the poor performance put on by Daniel Hudson on Monday night during the D-Backs’ 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field.
Matt Kemp lit up Hudson for a three-run homer in the first inning of last night’s game, giving L.A. a lead that they didn’t relinquish. Although the Arizona starter settled things down for six innings of scoreless work, he allowed an RBI single by Justin Sellers in the seventh.
Hudson suffered his third straight loss on the mound and wasted a golden opportunity for his team to gain ground on the Milwaukee Brewers, who also lost last night, in their late-season quest to play a weaker opponent in the upcoming National League Division Series.
The D-Backs lineup were silent last night and only produced a paltry pair of runs during the game, both of which came from errors by a parade of Dodger relievers in the eighth. Nathan Eovaldi loaded up the bases to start the inning, A. J. Ellis allowed Arizona’s Ryan Roberts to score on a passed ball, and Mike MacDougal eventually walked in a run.
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Unfortunately, manager Kirk Gibson decided to keep Justin Upton out of the game due to the conking he received over the weekend from Tim Lincecum’s fastball. While it was a precautionary measure to ensure that J-Up will be 100 percent for the NLDS, the Diamondbacks could’ve used his bat to turn the tide on Monday.
They’ll have two more opportunities to gain ground on the Milwaukee Brewers, including tonight’s rematch with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second game of the final series of the season. Rookie Jarrod Parker (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will endure a trial by fire as he makes his debut against the Dodgers’ Hiroki Kuroda (13-16, 3.17 ERA). First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. TV: Fox Sports Arizona. Radio: KTAR 620-AM. For tickets and more info, see www.dbacks.com.
