“We had a terrible homestand, we scored 13 runs in our last six games…Everyone’s searching, and the more you search the tougher it gets at times…Guys are frustrated.”

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson (23) looks out over the railing against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Image: Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE

This about sums up the thoughts of all fans after the Diamondbacks finished their 10 game homestand with a deflating 2-8 record. But are these the quotes of fans around the park? Nope, these are the words from manager Kirk Gibson who is surely disappointed, discouraged, and maybe even a little panicky. The uninspiring play of the young Dbacks club all but mathematically eliminated them from playoff contention. They now sit 9.5 games back in the division and 7.5 back from the final wild card spot with thirty-one games remaining.

Record Notes: The Dbacks suffered their second consecutive sweep with their loss Wednesday to the Reds- the first time this season they’ve been swept in back to back series. They have now suffered losing streaks of at least five games on four occasions this season. Their current six game skid matches their season high losing streak from June 30- July 5^th. It is the first time since 2004 that the Dbacks finished a ten game homestand 2-8.

*Their overall record has slipped to 64-67 and they now sport a losing record at Chase Field at 33-34.

*With their 3-2 loss on Monday the club dropped their record to 10-20 in one run games. Only the Blue Jays have fared worse in such games at 9-20. This is an area where the Dbacks were very fortunate to be on the winning end last season and even if the Dbacks were just .500 in these games it would put them over the .500 mark and within striking distance of a playoff spot.

GOOD: If you were to look at the three left handed rookies’ final line you would say they fared pretty well against the high octane Reds offense as each of them gave up three or fewer earned runs and two of the three lasted into the seventh. And they did really; they put their team in a position to win each game assuming the offense could plate more than two runs a game- which they couldn’t. However, each starter had his own hiccup at some point that tarnished an otherwise great start.

*On Monday Tyler Skaggs rushed a throw to first on a ‘come-backer’ that Goldschmidt misplayed allowing a two out run and he would surrender the go ahead and eventual game winning homerun to the pitcher Bronson Arroyo in the sixth.

*On Tuesday Wade Miley ran into trouble in the first and second accumulating 54 pitches while surrendering all three of his earned runs. The second inning included a 15 pitch walk to Scott Rolen and a bases loaded wild pitch that scored a run. But Miley battled and shut down the Reds the rest of the way completing seven innings of work.

*Wednesday’s game sent Patrick Corbin to the hill who put up goose-eggs through six innings. After retiring Joey Votto to start the seventh things unraveled as the rookie gave up two homeruns and the lead in the blink of an eye. It was Corbin’s 8^th and 9^th homeruns allowed in just 75.1 innings pitched.

*Brad Ziegler continued his stretch of quality appearances with 1 1/3 innings pitched without allowing a run against the Reds. He’s now held his opponents scoreless in eleven of his last twelve appearances allowing just two earned runs in 10 1/3 innings.

BAD: RISP. Admittedly, this team isn’t really getting many opportunities to drive in runs with runners in scoring position, but they sure aren’t taking advantage of these chances when they arise. The team finished just 2 for 12 against the Reds and is now 4 for their last 27 during their six game losing streak.

*Bullpen. The bullpen didn’t offer much relief in this series as they surrendered five runs in 7 2/3 innings including two homeruns given up by Matt Albers on Wednesday as the Reds tacked on three runs in the eighth.

UGLY: Team offense. As stated above, the offense has mustered up just thirteen runs in their last six games.

Here are a few of the lines from this series and recent games:

Young: 1-8 2 K’s in leadoff spot
Hill: 1-11 2 Runs
Kubel 1-9; 4 for his last 33(.121) 3 RBI
Goldie: 1-8;  3 for his last 26 (.115) 1 RBI
Montero: 2-12 1 RBI; 2 for his last 19(.105) 0 runs, 1 RBI
Johnson: 0-5 3 K’s; 4 for his 25 (.160) 0 Runs, 2 RBI

These six hitters combined to go 6 for 53 (.113). Not exactly the production you’d hope to be getting from the ‘core’ of your lineup as you attempt to make the playoffs.

*Defense. The team recorded an error in each of their three games including the crucial error with two outs at first that allowed a run to score.

NOTES: As rosters expand to 40 players from 25 on September 1st, the Dbacks hope to activate relievers Josh Collmenter and Takashi Saito and infielder Willie Bloomquist from the DL. If Fast Willie can come back to the lineup and be as productive as he was prior to the back issues, it could be a big boost for the team.

*Jake Elmore recorded his first career RBI during the Reds series on his second career double. The rookie also

The Dbacks head out on the road tonight for a four game set against the Dodgers with Clayton Kershaw starting against Ian Kennedy.

*This series will kick off a stretch of twenty-four consecutive games against N.L. West teams starting tonight, including ten straight on the road. This includes six against the Dodgers and six against the Giants. Hey, stranger things have happened, right?

Now bring on the Dodgers!!

Follow me on Twitter at @ndougherty313 and our team at @venomstrikes.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Mike Zagurski (49) pitches during the game against the Washington Nationals in the ninth inning at Chase Field. Image: Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE

Transactions: The Dbacks were forced to make a few moves over the weekend that saw Josh Collmenter head to the disabled list with ulcers and a recall of right hander Brad Bergeson from Triple-A Reno. They also had to place Willie Bloomquist on the DL with a back issue that has hampered him for a couple weeks now. To fill his roster spot they promoted infielder Jake Elmore to make his major league debut for the club. The other move was a matter of choice as they [finally] designated Mike Zagurski for assignment while recalling right hander Bryan Shaw.

Record Notes: The team is playing .500 ball lately and still sits one game above .500 on the season at 58-57 but lost a game to the first place Giants and now trail them by five games. They have won three series, lost three series, and split three [four game] series in the second half of the season.

*With their 9-1 loss on Friday night, the team fell to 1-39 in games in which they scored two or fewer runs.

*With their 6-5 loss on Saturday night the team dropped to a major league worst 8-17 in one run games on the year and have lost five straight one run affairs.

GOOD: Patrick Corbin put together another impressive start on Sunday working seven innings while allowing just four hits and two earned runs. He didn’t walk a batter, collected seven strikeouts and at one point retired sixteen straight Nationals hitters. The 23 year old rookie has been excellent in August posting an ERA of 1.89 and a 2-0 record in nineteen innings of work.

*Bryan Shaw returned to the Diamondbacks bullpen Saturday night after being demoted on July 20^th and he didn’t disappoint striking out the side in the seventh inning. J.J. Putz came in during the ninth on Sunday and retired the final two hitters to record his 13^th consecutive save and 22^nd overall.

*Aaron Hill’s bat livened over the weekend as he collected a pair of doubles and his first homerun in 20 games. He also drove in his first run in the month of August.

BAD: Trevor Cahill was mediocre yet again on Friday as he surrendered two homeruns and four earned runs over six innings of work. Cahill has failed to win consecutive starts in nine consecutive appearances now dating back to June 3^rd. He has given up at least three runs in seven of those nine starts.

*Paul Goldschmidt began the series 0 for 9 on Friday and Saturday before finally breaking through with a clutch performance on Sunday as he went 2 for 4 with three RBI’s and a stolen base. Goldie is mired in a 3 for 20 mini-slump right now but hopefully Sunday’s effort will get the first baseman rolling again. His eleventh stolen base on the year leads all National League first baseman and is tied for the most in MLB at his position.

UGLY: Takashi Saito suffered another abbreviated outing on Sunday lasting just 1/3 of an inning while giving up three hits and a pair of runs before being pulled. In his last three outings the right hander has working just 1 1/3 innings while allowing six hits and four earned runs including a homerun. His ERA has skyrocketed over 6.00 (6.14) and his struggles are coming at an inconvenient time as the team is making a “push” for a playoff spot.

*Mike Zagurski was again hit hard on Friday night allowing four earned runs on four hits- three doubles- as pitching coach Charles Nagy and Gibby let the left hander grind his way through one of the worst innings he’s thrown all season- he allowed four earned runs in 2/3 inning on June 20^th. With the game virtually out of reach everyone was forced to watch the 29 year old painfully battle hitter after hitter and without a reliever warming up. The outing sent Zagurski’s ERA over 6.00 on the year (6.18) and prompted his demotion to Triple-A Reno the following day. The Dbacks now have zero left handed relievers in their bullpen with Zagurski’s demotion and the Craig Breslow trade at the deadline.

*Chris Johnson came back to reality during his first series at the friendly confines of Chase Field. He collected just one hit in eleven at bats and misplayed a couple balls being credited with his 16^th & 17^th errors on the year. Since he blasted a pair of homeruns against the Pirates last Tuesday, the third baseman is just 4 for 20 (.200) with six strikeouts. He did still knock in two runs over the weekend pushing his RBI total as a Diamondback to 18 in just 13 games. While the offensive downfall isn’t concerning considering how well he has been, the defensive mishaps are something the defense [and pitching staff] cannot afford. He has already committed four errors in his time as a Diamondback.

*Team Defense. What a horrible display of fielding once again this weekend as the club tacked on another three error game Saturday night on their way to committing five errors over the three games. It was their second consecutive series with five errors and they now have eleven errors in just their last eight games. Still, even with their recent struggles on the field the defense sports the tenth best fielding percentage in all of baseball at .984- the MLB leading Mariners have a .990 percentage.

NOTES: *Arizona State alumni Jake Elmore made his major league debut on Saturday night as a pinch hitter coming to the plate with runners on first and second and one out. It was a quality at bat as he saw four pitches before flying out to right field for the second out.

*The Dbacks have seen some difficult opponents in their last five series with the Mets, Dodgers, Phillies, Pirates and Nationals finishing 9-8 during that span. All but the Phillies are either the division leader or contending for at least a playoff spot with under 50 games to go. In the Phillies series the team was dealt the hand of Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee in the final two matchups, two of the toughest starters in baseball when they are hitting their spots. As the team travels to St. Louis to start a three game set Tuesday night, they will be faced with yet another tough opponent that has fared very well against the Dbacks as of late.

*Ian Kennedy will take the hill tomorrow evening to try to rectify his poor outing against the Pirates and take game one that will kick off their nine game road trip. In Kennedy’s first start against the Cardinals earlier this summer he was hit hard in the first two innings allowing six earned runs on two homeruns but was able to shut down their offense after the second to throw seven complete innings.

Now bring on the Cardinals!!

Follow me on Twitter at @ndougherty313 and our team at @venomstrikes.

 Sidenote: This awesomeness kicks off Wednesday in Long Beach, CA: http://vimeo.com/40057950

Jul 18, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Ian Kennedy (31) pitches during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Image: Frank Victores-US PRESSWIRE

Here they come.

Maybe most fans around the country haven’t picked up on it yet. But you can bet the other teams in the National League have taken notice. And if they haven’t, they may not realize it before it is too late.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are in the middle of a long winning stretch of games.

The cynics and critics will say the current four game winning streak is a product of the competition, first the woeful Astros and now the sliding Rockies. The next team to visit will be the imploding Mets.  So what, I say. Good teams are supposed to beat up on lesser teams. And beat up seems to be the term with these D-Backs. In their last five wins, Arizona’s smallest margin of victory was last night’s three run difference against Colorado. Even in their one loss sandwiched between those triumphs was a 6-0 lead they inexplicably let get away.

 Let us also remember what the D-Backs did in 2011.  They went 45-25 to close out the season.  Granted, there is no Daniel Hudson around this time but bullpen reinforcements have arrived in the form of Brad Bergesen and Takashi Saito.  Ian Kennedy is now 20-6 with an ERA around 2.75 in 36 career games after the All Star Break (thanks to Scott Bordow at azcentral.com for that nugget).  Of course, there is now Jason Kubel on board to provide the other big bat in the lineup that was absent last season.  As the trade deadline comes and goes, expect Justin Upton to be more relaxed and carry the offense for two weeks at some point. 

Yes, D-Back fans there are plenty of reasons to be pumped.  After all of the drama that has gone on the first three and a half months of 2012, the team is right in the playoff hunt.  Get ready for some exciting, winning baseball over the next two months.

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