Arizona Diamondbacks: Lovullo; ‘we’re wandering, drifting’

After dropping four of six games on this home stand, the Arizona Diamondbacks are reeling.

Before a recent game in Chase Field, third baseman Jake Lamb of the Arizona Diamondbacks told Call to the Pen that his team needs play consistent baseball. Not the most unusual observation, but the kind of remark which tends to be redundant at worst and superfluous at best.

In the end, the team which does play on a consistent basis with strong, even efforts from each player tends to survive in the postseason. In the case of the Diamondbacks, a completed string of six games this week against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, two opponents they may meet in postseason play, offer a window into their survival mode.

After dropping a 7-2 decision to the Chicago Cubs before 41,760 in Chase Field Sunday, the Diamondbacks remained tied with the Colorado Rockies in the NL wild-card race. While they have two games remaining on this home stand against the AL West division-leading Houston Astros, the contests against the Dodgers and Cubs show a certain vulnerability as well as a giant leap into the unknown of an intense pennant race.

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While the NL West crown is pretty much conceded to the Dodgers, the Diamondbacks now find themselves in the middle of a contentious wild card race. Going forward, they now must contend with the Cubs, Cardinals, Pirates and Brewers in has become an unexpectedly crowded chase.

With teams closing in from different angles, manager Torey Lovullo, who experienced tight pennant races in Boston as bench coach to John Farrell, served as a quick observer of his own team. Approaching mid-August and the portion of the schedule which begins to grind down teams, he discovered a distributing trend. Though all teams experience peaks and valleys, Lovullo told Call to the Pen that his club has lost focus.

"“We’re wandering and drifting through various parts of the game,” he said. “It’s August and guys are getting tired and cranky and the game starts to drift. We need to guard against that. The teams in here this week are all fighting for the same chunk of territory. We need to come out and perform at our best.”"

Dropping two of three to the Cubs and Dodgers over the past week is not the best way to approach a pennant race. While the Diamondbacks and Rockies hold a lead in the wild card race, this seems precarious at best.

Coming into play Monday, Colorado and Arizona are tied with the Cardinals 4.5 games behind, the Brewers 5.5, the Pirates 7.5 and Marlins 8.5 back in the wild card pursuit. All of which could be complicated because of the closeness of the NL Central Division. Beginning play on Monday, the Cubs held a one game lead in the division over the Cardinals, two over the Brewers and four over the Pirates.

If there is a sense of urgency for the Diamondbacks, this may be the hour. That was clearly accentuated by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt after Sunday’s loss to the Cubs at home.

"“We don’t like losing two of three to the Cubs and two out of three to the Dodgers,” he told Call to the Pen. “We want to play better, and we’ll come in here ready for (Monday).”"

Perhaps Sunday’s game was a microcosm of the season.

Starter Zack Godley held the Cubs in check into the seventh inning and left trailing 2-1. Entering the last stages of this one, where mistakes must be minimized, reliever Jake Barrett surrendered four runs on two homers. Coming into Sunday’s game, Barrett had a respectable 1.83 ERA and now sports a 4.02 ERA. All of which forced Lovullo into the obvious. Arms in the bullpen are tired, overworked and worn. Still, the dynamics of a pennant race should offer no excuse for breakdowns.

"“We did not execute pitches in the eighth,” he told Call to the Pen. “(Godley) pitched extremely well and gave us a chance to win. It was poor execution at an important moment.”"

Going forward, that’s the kind of scenario that can doom a marginal team with high expectations.

Next: Sox have decisions to make on Abreu, Garcia

Next

Now, the Diamondbacks confront the third likely postseason team in six days. This will be a four-game set with the Houston Astros, and the first two are in Chase Field.

On Monday night, look for Zack Greinke (13-5, 3.14 ERA) to take on Collin McHugh (0-1, 5.32). For Tuesday afternoon, Anthony Banda (1-2, 4.60) faces Brad Peacock (10-1, 3.07). Then, on to Houston for two to complete this home-and-home series.

The road trip continues with three against the Twins in Target Field, and four with the Mets at Citi Field. The Diamondbacks return to Chase Field Friday Aug. 25 against the San Francisco Giants.