Banda struggles early as Diamondbacks fall 9-4 to Astros

The Arizona Diamondbacks cannot maintain a win streak, as they fall 9-4 to the Houston Astros in the last game at Chase Field.

Anthony Banda was not as impressive in his start on Tuesday as he has been in previous starts. The young left-handed pitcher gave up eight runs in four innings to send the Diamondbacks into a hole they could not climb out of.

Banda struggled a bit with getting pitches in the zone, but when they were, they up and in the zone and often sent off a bat for an extra-base hit.

This started in the second inning for Banda, who gave up two singles, three doubles and a triple which paired with a wild pitch to account for the Astros five runs.

More from Venom Strikes

• Happy Thanksgiving Diamondbacks Fans! We have lots to be thankful for!
• The perfect holiday gifts for the Arizona Diamondbacks fan
• Diamondbacks make some BIG 40-man roster Moves
• About time! Diamondbacks to now provide housing for Minor League players
• What is the Rule 5 Draft? How does it impact Diamondbacks?

Whether manager Torey Lovullo hoped Banda would settle down, or had hope in his offense, or just didn’t want to burn through his bullpen, he left the starter in.

It cost the Diamondbacks a few more runs as the Astros tacked on two more in third inning and one in the fourth. It was 8-0 Diamondbacks, when the offense made its first appearance.

Ketel Marte got things started in the bottom of the fourth inning for the Diamondbacks. Then, A.J. Pollock and Jake Lamb hit back-to-back doubles. Lamb’s double would drive in two runs, while Goldschmidt would also get on base with a soft ground ball.

J.D. Martinez struck out, but Chris Iannetta singled to load the bases. Brandon Drury walked to bring in a run.

So, with the bases loaded and two outs, the Diamondbacks sent Chris Herrmann to the plate. Herrmann, who struck out, is in quite the slump, going 2-for-28 in the last 28 days, not including his 0-for-3 performance today.

Both teams would eventually tack on a run each, bringing the final score to 9-4.

While the Diamondbacks failed to convert runners in scoring position to actual runs once again, their single highlight was Silvino Bracho.

Bracho pitched two shutout innings in relief of Anthony Banda, saving the Diamondbacks bullpen from overworking themselves in a game that took a turn for the worst early.

The team will look to Taijuan Walker (3.46 ERA) to the mound to face Charlie Morton (3.83 ERA). The Diamondbacks should hope their offense returns, or they might have more than one problem in Houston.