Call to the pen
Fansided

Arziona Diamondbacks: Robbie Ray’s arm, J.D. Martinez’s bat extends streak

By Mark Brown

J.D. Martinez became the 16th player in the modern game to hit four homers in one game. (Harry How)/Getty Images)
J.D. Martinez became the 16th player in the modern game to hit four homers in one game. (Harry How)/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

J. D. Martinez of the Arizona Diamondbacks became only the 16th player in the modern era to hit four homers in one game on Monday.

LOS ANGELES – Before Monday’s game, Los Angeles Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts was asked how his team would respond from being swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks last week in Phoenix. Facing the Diamondbacks over the coming three days, Roberts went directly to the core.

Roberts jumped right to the heart of the manner, and told Call to the Pen that the Dodgers’ focus would be on Arizona starter Robbie Ray. Having defeated the Dodgers at Chase Field on Aug. 30, Roberts said, “Ray has our number. We need to find a way to unlock the code, and we’ll do that (tonight).”

Given L.A.’s current free-fall and the Diamondbacks current surge, the Dodgers’ effort to “unlock Ray’s code” was simply a prayer. With perhaps his most dominating performance of the season, Ray was nearly unstoppable in allowing only three base runners (all singles) in 7 2/3 innings, and cruised to a 13-0 victory over the Dodgers before 47,192 at Dodger Stadium.

Ray was supported by a four home run effort from J.D. Martinez, who became the 16th player in the modern era, 18th all-time, to hit four bombs in one game. Scooter Gennett of the Cincinnati Reds accomplished the feat earlier this season.

More from Arizona Diamondbacks

While Martinez supplied the firepower, the night equally belonged to Ray. With a career-high 14 strike-outs and first pitch strikes to 19 of the 26 batters he faced, Ray consistently kept the Dodgers off balance with a nasty curve down and in to right-handed hitters, and fastball clocked in the 96-97 mile-per-hour range.

Along the way, Ray set some impressive standards. For the fourth time this season against the Dodgers, he recorded ten or more strike-outs in a game, and no pitcher in the history of the game accomplished that feat. Also, Ray recorded 53 strikeouts this season against the Dodgers, and only Hall-of-Famer Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants was better in a single season. Mathewson fanned 58 Dodgers during the 1908 season.

Ray’s 14 strike-outs were the most by an Arizona pitcher since Randy Johnson fanned 15 in a game against the Dodgers on Aug. 31, 2004. Since May 20, Ray is 10-2 with a 1.94 ERA, and held hitters to a .197 batting average.

A principal reason for his success has been an effective curve. Getting a plethora of swings-and-misses, Ray’s secondary pitches clearly keep hitters off-balanced, and unprepared for a heater which constantly reaches the mid-90s.

After shutting down the Dodgers and raising his season mark to 12-5 (2.80 ERA), Ray told Call to the Pen the effectiveness of his secondary pitches remains a key reason for his success.

"“I worked on my curve and actually, I’m throwing four pitches for strikes,” he said. “Also, I’m getting ahead of hitters and that keeps them guessing. I thought (catcher Chris Herrmann) called a great game, and we were on the same page all night.”"

Sharing the spotlight, Martinez has now slammed 18 home runs for Arizona since being traded from Detroit on July 18. Including games with the Tigers, the 30-year-old has recorded six multi-homer games in his career, and five coming this year. After his record-tying effort against the Dodgers, Martinez told Call to the Pen he was at a loss for an explanation.

"“Really, I don’t know how to describe this,” he said. “I guess it’s one of those things that lines up properly. I hit three in a game before but, no, I was not thinking ‘home run’ when I came up (in the ninth). Right now, I’m just working on the mental aspect of my game, and not trying to do too much. Just trying to be me.”"

The beat goes on

With the victory, the Diamondbacks stretched their winning streak to 11 games. That ties a franchise record set from June 18 to 30, 2003. At the same time, Arizona has not trailed for 88 consecutive innings, and that ties for the sixth longest streak by a major-league team since 1912.

Next: Tanaka opting out looking more and more likely

In addition to Martinez’s four bombs, Brandon Drury and Adam Rosales reached the seats. The six home runs by Arizona tied for the most round-trippers by a visiting team in the history of Dodger Stadium. That dates back to 1962, and the six bombs tied the Cincinnati Reds, which set the mark on Aug 2, 2001.

The Diamondbacks go for number 12 in a row on Tuesday night. That’s when Zack Greinke (16-6, 3.08)  gets the ball from manager Torey Lovullo, and opposes lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu (5-7, 3.71).

Home/Arizona Diamondbacks