Diamondbacks' speed, McCarthy's bunt beat Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — Jake McCarthy quickly ran the numbers in his head. The Diamondbacks needed a run. He hadn’t been swinging the bat well. The count was in his favor. And suddenly the right side of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ infield had opened up.
“You do the percentages there,” McCarthy said. “I’m a pretty good bunter. I’ve been working on that play this spring. So why not?”
McCarthy’s drag bunt down the first-base line made 2-1 winners of the Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon. He did not place it perfectly, but it was good enough. It could almost serve as a metaphor for the weekend.
The Diamondbacks split four games at Dodger Stadium despite being outscored 20-7. Their starting pitching was OK, at best. Their offense did not do much. Their bullpen was, at times, shaky. But it marked the first time in five years the Diamondbacks left this ballpark not having lost a series. So, not a great weekend. But not so bad, either.
The ninth inning had a chance go to off the rails for the Diamondbacks. It began well enough, when Ketel Marte shot a double inside the third-base line to lead off against reliever Brusdar Graterol. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed by finding a hole on the right side for a single. Then came trouble.
Marte motored into third but appeared to hesitate, likely because he assumed he would be held. Instead, third-base coach Tony Perezchica waved him home. Marte’s instincts might have been right. The Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, who shifted from second base to right field to open the ninth, unleashed a perfect throw to the plate to cut down Marte for the first out of the inning.
“All’s well that ends well,” manager Torey Lovullo said, when asked what he thought of Perezchica’s send.
It was easy to say that thanks to what came next. Christian Walker shot a single up the middle — “I think that changed the inning for us,” Lovullo said — and Corbin Carroll followed by reaching on a fielder’s choice ground out, putting men on the corners with two out.
In the fifth, Carroll was on first with two out when he promptly stole second and third on consecutive pitches from Dodgers right-hander Noah Syndergaard. He then scored the Diamondbacks’ first run of the game when Geraldo Perdomo dumped a double into right field.
Carroll put his speed to work again in the ninth. On a 1-1 pitch to McCarthy, he broke for second and took the base without a throw. The steal changed the dynamics of the inning. Rather than having Freddie Freeman holding a runner at first, Freeman backed up nearly to the grass. McCarthy, ahead in the count 2-1, took note of the extra breathing room.
“I just saw that the right side of the infield opened up a little bit,” McCarthy said. “And I figured Graterol was going to come with something firm at the top of the zone, so I figured that was a good pitch to do that on.”
McCarthy bunted to the right side. Graterol raced over to get it. He reached down and lifted his glove, but the ball didn’t come up with it. It went down as McCarthy's first hit of the season.
“I think speed," McCarthy said, "applies some pressure there."
Said Carroll: “I loved it. I don’t think any of us are really feeling our best at the plate — except maybe (Walker), he’s feeling pretty good — but just to find a way to grit that one out, that’s who (McCarthy) is as a player. It was awesome to see.”
Lovullo said it was not a play he called from the dugout.
“Those are instinctual plays and I open the door for these kids to execute on that level when they see something,” Lovullo said. “We practice that a lot so they’re ready to take advantage of it.”
Lefty Andrew Chafin, who got the final out of the eighth, and right-hander Scott McGough combined to get the final three outs. On the day, the Diamondbacks' bullpen fired four shutout, hitless innings, with Kyle Nelson and Miguel Castro combining for the first 2 2/3 innings in relief of Zach Davies (five innings, one run).
In four games, the Diamondbacks went 25 for 127 (.197) with a .513 OPS. They drew a total of one walk. Their pitchers, meanwhile, logged a 5.29 ERA and allowed more than a baserunner and a half per inning. And yet they held serve against a team that for years has tortured them, particularly in this ballpark.
“We were a long way from showing who we actually are,” Lovullo said. “But when you can grind out wins, I think these are kind of personality wins. We’re trying to define who we are. This team fights. I’m really proud of that.”
D-Backs, Dodgers tied at 1 through six
LOS ANGELES — Geraldo Perdomo’s double to right tied the game in the fifth as the Diamondbacks are looking to salvage a split of their four-game series at Dodger Stadium.
Right-hander Zach Davies turned in a strong performance, giving up just one run — a solo homer by Will Smith in the first — in five innings.
Corbin Carroll singled to center in the fifth, then stole second and third on back-to-back pitches with two out. Perdomo followed by dumping a double into right field.
Diamondbacks send Madison Bumgarner for tests on arm
LOS ANGELES — Diamondbacks left-hander Madison Bumgarner was sent back to Arizona to undergo tests after saying he experienced "arm fatigue" following his start on Saturday, manager Torey Lovullo said.
“We just thought it would be the best thing for him to get back to Phoenix to let our doctors get a look at him,” Lovullo said. “On the urgency scale, I don’t think it’s very high, but it’s all precautionary at this point.”
Bumgarner’s fastball velocity was down a little more than 2 mph from last year’s average. He gave up five runs in four innings in a 10-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Sunday's game
Diamondbacks at Dodgers, 1:10 p.m., Dodger Stadium
Pitchers: Diamondbacks RHP Zach Davies (2-5, 4.09)* vs. Dodgers RHP Noah Syndergaard (10-10, 3.94)*.
Davies made 27 starts for the Diamondbacks last season, logging 134 1/3 innings, prompting the club to give him another one-year guarantee in January. … He faced the Dodgers five times last season, allowing 14 runs in 21 1/3 innings. … C Will Smith has hit Davies hard, going 5 for 12 (.417) with two doubles, two homers and two walks. … Syndergaard was once one of the game’s most dominant starts, but he has pitched more like a mid-rotation starter in recent years. He split last season between the Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies, striking out only 6.3 batters per nine innings. … He has not faced the Diamondbacks since 2018. … He does not throw his fastball nearly as hard as he once did, averaging around 94 mph, though he was throwing a harder, livelier slider this spring.
COMING UP
Monday: At San Diego, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (1-1, 1.47)* vs. Padres LHP Ryan Weathers (0-0, 9.82)*.
Tuesday: At San Diego, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (0-1, 9.64) vs. Padres RHP Yu Darvish (16-8, 3.10)*.
Wednesday: Off.
Thursday: At Chase Field, 7:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (0-0, 0.00) vs. Dodgers RHP Dustin May (0-0, 0.00).
*-Stats from 2022.
Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers TV information
The game can be seen on Bally Sports Arizona in Arizona and SportsNet LA in Los Angeles.
It can also be streamed on the Bally Sports app.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks Daily: D-Backs' speed, bunt beats Dodgers
