PHOENIX – Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo sat in the interview room and said nothing went the way they expected after Wednesday's 8-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field.
After a dramatic late-game win Tuesday, the Diamondbacks (14-18) appeared to ride the wave with starter Jordan Montgomery ready for his first home start since signing a $25 million contract.
The Dodgers (20-13), instead, plated five runs in the second inning and trailed Montgomery by three as Arizona's bats came up short against LA's $300 million shortstop Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Arizona had not lost a game by more than five innings this season.
“This game had a different pace and a different flow than we're used to,” Lovullo said. “Jordan is usually very fast, he puts us in the hole and we just couldn't get out of first gear.”
Jordan Montgomery frustrated against the Dodgers
Montgomery was warm and ready to go on Tuesday, but the club decided after a nearly two-hour delay that the Bees would not prepare again.
The veteran southpaw didn't use that as an excuse, instead pointing to his command problems with his fastball and lack of curveball form.
“Today was my day to get the ball. Yesterday it was, but it didn't work out, so I was excited to go out there today and I just didn't have good stuff,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery had been efficient and effective with two quality starts on the trip, and he sparked a 1-2-3 first inning against the top of the Dodgers' order — with Shohei Ohtani on the bench.
The wheels started spinning on a walk to Kiké Hernandez in the second inning followed by an eight-pitch game against Andy Pages, which he capped with a home run. Montgomery threw a changeup under the knees that Pages threw out. Montgomery said his change was “waiting” longer than he would have liked.
Andy Pages steals! pic.twitter.com/fenpyFSXNG
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 2, 2024
“I mean, it was probably a ball and a half under the box, which is usually a pretty safe place, but if I'm cutting it, it's right in their path.”
Another walk, an Austin Barnes double and a Mookie Betts single capped the scoring. Will Smith went yard on a changeup to lead off the third and Montgomery finished with 63 pitches.
“It's a long season, you'll get there,” Montgomery said.
Jordan Montgomery isn't using yesterday as an excuse for today's disappointing outing. pic.twitter.com/SruwJtuJNf
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) May 2, 2024
Lovullo said there were no limitations with Montgomery coming in, that the idea was for him to throw 90-100 pitches.
For the second game in a row, Arizona needed a lot of relievers, but it had planned for that. Blake Walston was ready and waiting after being called up, and his MLB debut helped the D-backs bridge the gap.
Blake Walston makes his major league debut
Walston heard his name called and said it was “time (indistinct) to go.”
The 22-year-old southpaw had three scoreless innings with three strikeouts before finding trouble in the seventh. His day ended after he walked in a run, his third walk of the tournament.
He finished with two earned runs, five hits and four walks, a similar ratio from his days at Triple-A Reno. Walston was excited about the prospect, glancing around the stadium of 34,088 fans. But he was not satisfied with the performance.
“Not one of my best outings,” Walston said. “I wasted a lot of pitches and got to some spots where I'm behind most of the time, so those are some things I can clean up and make the rest of the season a lot easier for me.”
Arizona had eight scorers as a staff, similar to Monday's 8-4 loss. Three runners who reached base on balls scored, while two runs were scored (one over).
Lovullo said three things really get his blood boiling: poor defense, poor baserunning and walks.
“I want us to challenge the attackers. “We have good shooters who should challenge hitters,” Lovullo said. “It's a tough pace of play when you're just bouncing in and out of the box, the defense isn't locked down, it's just a tough situation for the whole team to get through. So the pitchers have to be better.”
The D-backs ended up throwing 183 pitches, more than 20 per inning. That's the second most pitches Arizona has thrown this season, behind only 11 innings against the Cubs.
It looked like the D-backs were on defense all game, as Yamamoto went six scoreless innings with 94 pitches. Arizona failed to string the bats together and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Ketel Marte had the lone extra-base hit, a double in the first inning of his 1,000th career MLB game. Joc Pederson had three hits, while Corbin Carroll hit some good balls and he's starting to see more consistent hard contact.
“I thought his Day 1 was a few days ago. I think the storm is coming,” Lovullo said of Carroll turning it around (197 average).
Torey Lovullo is starting to see it come back for Corbin Carroll. pic.twitter.com/kSRvmWqZc8
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) May 2, 2024
The Dodgers outscored the D-backs by 11 runs throughout the series with two lopsided victories in their first trip to Chase Field since the NLDS. The two sides will soon play again at Chavez Ravine on May 20.
Arizona will host the Padres Friday-Sunday before hitting the road next week.
Slade Cecconi will start Friday, Brandon Pfaadt Saturday and likely Ryne Nelson Sunday after coming off the 15-day injured list. Zac Gallen will wait until Tuesday.
