Arizona Diamondbacks – Reds hammer Godley

Zack Godley, right-hander for the Arizona Diamondbacks, suffered his worst loss of the season

This one began nasty for righty Zack Godley, the starter for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and then went progressively ugly.

From the start, Godley was tagged for two, two-run home runs in the first inning. By the time he left after two laboriously innings, Godley surrendered nine runs. That included four extra-base hits and three home runs.

In the end, he never gave his team a chance to stay competitive. The final misery had the visiting Cincinnati Reds recording an embarrassing 13-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks before 34,395 in Chase Field.

The final 13-run loss was the second greatest margin of defeat this season by the Arizona Diamondbacks. They dropped a 16-2 decision to the Red Sox on Aug. 14.

In his previous two starts, Godley surrendered 16 earned runs. Overall, Godley does not seem affected by this result. In his 16 appearances and nine starts this season, Godley sports an elevated 6.71 ERA.

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“This is not about failure,” Godley said. “It’s a learning experience. I thought I made some good pitches, but they were aggressive They put some good swings and every pitch I threw, they hit. I didn’t let our defense get in the game.”

This one reached the critical stage early. Godley surrendered a pair of two-run bombs to Joey Votto and Scott Schebler in the opening frame, and a three-run homer to Schebler in the second. By the time Godley had time to wipe dirt from this spikes, the Reds were on top of him in a hurry. The nine runs allowed were a career worst for Godley.

“This is something you forgot and get ready for your next start,” Godley said. “Next time, I have to make better pitches.”

For manager Chip Hale, Godley’s inconsistency must be maddening. Here’s a pitcher which draws praise one moment and ire the next. Through recent weeks, Hale pointed to Godley and Braden Shipley as the most consistent starters, but his view of Godley seems to be changing.

“His pitches were high (against the Reds), and unable to get hitters out,” Hale said. “He has to do better. He was not good, and like I said, he has to do better.”

From the start, the Reds came out with their bats on fire. For the game, Cincinnati tied a season-high of 13 runs and also equaled a season mark with five home runs. Their 16 hits was two short of their season high. That was established against the Dodgers on August 20.

On deck

The weekend series, and home stand, ends with a Sunday matinee against Cincinnati. The Arizona Diamondbacks will start right-hander Archie Bradley (4-8, 5.06 ERA) against righty Homer Bailey (2-2, 5.73).

Next: Pollock returns before end of season

Then, it’s off for an eight-game road trip. This features two in San Francisco, three with the Rockies in Denver, and three with the Dodgers in Los Angeles. The Diamondbacks return to Chase Field for a mid-September, 10-game home stand against the Giants, Rockies and Dodgers.