It could be the sixth game of the season but Arizona Diamondbacks manager Tori Lovulo says he is already "tired".
Part of this could have been four losses in the first six matches. It could be his team's failure to string the hits together. And yes, there have been some injuries, which probably gave him flashbacks to last season when his team was ousted by those guys.
But the Diamondbacks have something to feel good about for the time being as they went 3-2 to the Houston Astros in 10 innings in front of 12,660 in matinee play on Wednesday at Chase Field. It was the second walk-off win for Arizona, having booked-end a six-game home stand to open the season.
"I've probably had about 45 changes in my mood and I'm just tired. Highs, lows and everywhere in between. And I felt like everyone was in the same boat," he said.
In the still young season, some of the things that troubled Arizona came to the fore again. It managed just six hits, two more than it lost 2-1 to the same enemy on Tuesday night. The Diamondbacks were the recipients of nine walks and three hits the batters were still struggling to score, going just 1-for-13 with the runners in the scoring position.
Shortly after the contest ended, the Diamondbacks were on a plane to New York for the first road set of the season, which opens against the Mets on Friday.
"That was a grinding game," Lavullo said. "I hope they're all emotionally exhausted because I am and they were invested in what they looked like, they were engaged and doing everything we could possibly have had the kinds of results we had. It was a really good moment. I felt like we pitched the ball really well. We made plays at the right time. But we talk about winning a one piece baseball game. It feels good to these guys because they can do it. How badly wanted."
The teams drew 1–1 in the extra innings, with Houston taking a 2–1 lead in his half of the 10th on a sacrifice fly by Alex Bregman, who came in with loaded bases and an out.
Getting an equalizer and a go-forward run in the same innings might have seemed like a tough question, given the position of the offense, but the Diamondbacks answered the challenge.
Sergio Alcantara served as second-place runner to start the frame and he went on a sacrificial bunt by Jake McCarthy. Seth Beer, whose walk-off homerun secured Arizona's win in the season opener, then lined up a single to defeat home Alcantara and tie the game for the second time, now 2-2.
"The biggest thing I need to do in that situation is try to hit the ball hard," Beer said. "If it leaves the yard, that's obviously great, but in that case if you try to press a person like Reliever (Ryan), you're in trouble. To me it's sticking to the approach." was trying to stay and find a barrel. and put it somewhere
Following Cooper Hummel's run, Keitel Marte tosses a fly ball to the left, which was fouled by Astros outfielder Chas McCormick, allowing the Bears to score a game-winning score.
"We've had some good pitching so far. The three starts we've faced this year were some of the best in the big leagues," Hummel said of the offensive issues. "The Astros have good pitching every year so give them your hat. We are missing some important pieces with injuries. And the guys are just starting a little bit slow. It's not a big deal. We're six games away. That's it. It's a long season. If you look at the numbers over time, 'everything's not going to get better.'
The Diamondbacks started the day with .132 as a team that was not only the worst in all major league baseball, but the lowest by a margin of 67 points.
Lavullo found his team treading the fine line of wanting to remain aggressive but at the same time be selective enough, especially when opposing pitchers were not exhibiting pinpoint control.
Hummel was the player who made the most of his at-bat, hitting base five times with four hits and one single. He also stole a base. Lovullo said that since his team hasn't been able to put together a big innings, he has to rely on those kinds of contributions and was drawn with a boxing analogy - one of many he did in the short run after the game. Did it in the press conference.
“There are about two or three punches that we have to throw at once and we have to get them all down before we can put some sloppy numbers but I think we are giving some body blows and we get the runner on base. And eventually that's going to come where somebody is going to slug at the right time and we're going to score some runs," Lavullo said.
Lovullo pointed to the performance of Hummel, who took the lead and served as the designated hitter, as his team needed.
"That's what we're looking for," he said. "We don't need to make him more or less. That's what he's good at and he knows what he's good at. We had a lot of conditions in front of us today. So many teams took us to this victory. Next part Knockouts," he said. It's going to blow. It's coming. It's going to happen at some point."
The Diamondbacks (2-4) produced an early run in the second after Lovullo successfully challenged a call to the ground that Marte was not hit off the pitch with a base load and two outs. The innings was opened by Pavin Smith with a walk to Jake McCarthy and Hummel, the last two coming in with out.
This remained until Houston also pulled in seventh-off reliever Sean Poppen, who was the third of seven pitchers that day, when Martin Maldonado blew a sacrificial fly, driving home McCormick, who scored one. Singled together.
That run meant that Merrill Kelly again went blank in the win column, despite her second stellar outing of the season. He played five and a third scoreless innings, giving away only three hits, two runs and a six. He worked out the jam in first aid by a double play and dismissed the side in the second.
He played four scoreless innings at the start of his season against San Diego, but was not a factor in the decision of that game either.
"Merrill (Kelly) did as much as he could and then handed it to the bullpen. The bullpen was fantastic. A little hiccup where it was an earned run for Poppen but it could have been a completely different result if we had done something Would have done things behind that. But it was a good win. We are going to enjoy it. For a young team, it feels really good."