In The Desert
[AZSnakePit] Rangers 6, D-Backs 5: Angina in Arlington
It seems as if no amount of lineup tinkering or prospect call-ups has been able to shake the Arizona offense out of its malaise and the team’s pitching (both in the bullpen and in the rotation) have significant question marks themselves.
[AZCentral] Diamondbacks’ crushing, walk-off loss comes with a silver lining
“We’ve seen this before,” Lovullo said. “We’ve seen this lineup do what they did today.” He added: “We play games like this — and I know they’re very eager to get back out there and show what they can do — we’ll be just fine.”
[SI.com] What D-backs Poor Series Loss to Rangers Told Us — And What it Didn’t
The D-backs were held to just 6-for-25 with runners in scoring position, and stranded 21 batters. That is not a recipe for success, no matter how good the pitching may or may not be.
Gallen has been on a bit of a downturn ever since he was struck by a comebacker and forced to leave a promising start in Mexico City. Since that game, he has gone 0-3 and allowed 17 runs in 14.1 innings.
[DBacks.com] ‘This game will rip your heart out’: D-backs lament missed chances in Texas
“It’s brutal,” Lovullo said. “This game will rip your heart out. But the one thing I want to say is these guys play their [butts] off. And when you look at the full body of work, I thought today there was so much progress made and we were pushing in the right direction. I learned a lot about this team as I watched them rally and come together in those late innings and fight to win that baseball game.
[DBacks.com] Thomas trade provides Hazen, D-backs ‘flexibility’ for Deadline
In addition, the financial savings could pay dividends in a couple months at the Trade Deadline.
That’s because the Diamondbacks are getting close to the first Competitive Balance Tax threshold. They are around $5-$10 million away from that threshold, and if they want to make significant acquisitions at the Deadline, they’ll need some financial flexibility unless they are willing to go over the CBT for the first time in franchise history.
[Rangers.com] Burger delivers on SpongeBob Night as his ‘swagger’ leads to walk-off
For SpongeBob SquarePants Night at Globe Life Field against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, it was only right that Burger would blast a three-run opposite-field homer in the fifth inning before delivering a game-tying RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.
Around The MLB
[MLB.com] Varsho delivers walk-off hit in 10th
[MLB.com] McCarthy’s unassisted DP from left field is a Rockies first, MLB first in 13 years
[MLB.com] Josh Bell steals base for first time since 2018
[MLB.com] Braves first team to reach 30 wins
[FanGraphs.com] Dansby Swanson is King of old Shortstops
[CBS Sports] How to blow up the Astros: Why Houston could dictate the trade deadline if ugly season continues
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