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Dan Bickley wraps up another bad start in D-Backs’ Game 2 loss | 1:55
azcentral sports columnist Dan Bickley discusses what’s ailing the Diamondbacks after Saturday’s NLDS Game 2 loss to the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
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Robbie Ray after D-Backs’ Game 2 loss | 0:53
Diamondbacks starter Robbie Ray discusses the approach the Dodgers had against him in Saturday’s NLDS Game 2 in Los Angeles.
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Piecoro, Bickley preview NLDS Game 2, D-Backs’ lineup changes | 2:36
azcentral sports Diamondbacks insider Nick Piecoro and columnist Dan Bickley preview Saturday’s NLDS Game 2 in Los Angeles as Robbie Ray takes the mound and Chris Iannetta and Jake Lamb return to the lineup.
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Dan Bickley wraps up D-Backs’ Game 1 loss to Dodgers | 1:49
azcentral sports columnist Dan Bickley wraps up the Diamondbacks’ NLDS Game 1 loss to the Dodgers, discussing Torey Lovullo’s rough night and the need for an ace performance from Robbie Ray in Game 2, in Los Angeles on Friday.
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Nick Piecoro, Dan Bickley preview NLDS Game 1 from LA | 3:11
azcentral sports Diamondbacks insider Nick Piecoro and columnist Dan Bickley preview Friday’s NLDS Game 1, including some potential reasons why Jeff Mathis is starting over Chris Iannetta and why Jake Lamb is on the bench.
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Shot Clock: D-Day for Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers | 1:59
azcentral sports’ Mark Faller and Sarah McLellan discuss the NLDS. Do the Diamondbacks have some things going in their favor?
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Shot Clock: Lovullo’s decisions work for D-Backs | 2:04
azcentral sports’ Greg Moore and Jay Dieffenbach discuss the Diamondbacks’ win over the Rockies.
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Reaction to Archie Bradley’s triple | 1:35
Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Archie Bradley recounts his RBI triple against the Colorado Rockies in the NL wild card game.
Michael Chow/azcentral.com
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Who starts against the Dodgers? | 0:57
Arizona Diamondbacks manager gives his thoughts on who starts game one against the Dodgers in the NLDS on Friday.
Michael Chow/azcentral.com
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Diamondbacks win wild one over Rockies | 2:10
Azcentral’s Scott Bordow and Greg Moore break down the Arizona Diamondback’s 11-8 win over the Colorado Rockies in the NL wild card game.
Michael Chow/azcentral.com
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What happened in that Diamondbacks Rockies wild-card game? Everything | 3:13
Some games have it all and the NL wild-card game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies was one of then. Sarah McLellan and Scott Bordow from azcentral sports break it down.
Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports
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Shot Clock: D-Backs vs. Rockies in wild card | 2:57
azcentral sports’ Mark Faller and Greg Moore preview the D-Backs’ wild-card game.
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Paul Goldschmidt and J.D. Martinez share insights on each other | 1:59
Arizona Diamondbacks sluggers Paul Goldschmidt and J.D. Martinez share insights on each other before the wild-card game against the Rockies.
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Greinke looks ahead to his wild-card start | 1:50
Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke talks about the National League wild-card game on Wednesday at Chase Field.
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Lovullo discusses the wild-card game against the Rockies | 1:16
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo discusses the wild-card game against the Colorado Rockies.
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Shot Clock: Zack’s comfort dog? Wild-card preview | 1:57
azcentral sports’ Jay Dieffenbach and Dan Bickley discuss the Diamondbacks roster for the wild card game against the Rockies.
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Piecoro, Moore on D-Backs’ preparations ahead of wild-card game | 3:11
azcentral sports Diamondbacks insider Nick Piecoro and columnist Greg Moore discuss how the Diamondbacks are preparing for the NL wild-card game from Chase Field on Monday. Rob Schumacher/azcentral sports
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Lovullo on Martinez: ‘As good a hitter … that I’ve been around’ | 1:16
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo discusses the work ethic that slugger J.D. Martinez brings to the plate for his club on Monday. Rob Schumacher/azcentral sports
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D-Backs’ Pollock on facing Rockies starter Jon Gray | 0:50
Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock discusses facing Rockies starter Jon Gray, whom they will face in the NL wild-card game, during a press conference at Chase Field on Monday. Rob Schumacher/azcentral sports
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Torey Lovullo on Paul Goldschmidt’s stats, focus | 0:53
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo discusses how Paul Goldschmidt thinks when it comes to stats and the upcoming NL wild-card game during a press conference on Monday. Rob Schumacher/azcentral sports
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D-Backs’ Pollock on security concerns for wild-card game | 0:33
Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock addresses security concerns for wild-card game after Las Vegas shooting on Monday. Rob Schumacher/azcentral sports
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D-Backs’ manager Torey Lovullo on Walker, Bradley vs. Royals | 1:30
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo talks about Taijuan Walker’s impressive start and Archie Bradley’s shaky outing.
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Archie Bradley after loss to Royals | 1:36
Diamondbacks reliever Archie Bradley talks about what went wrong in his outing against the Royals on Saturday night.
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Torey Lovullo after Greinke’s loss vs. Royals | 1:08
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo discusses Zack Greinke’s final tune-up before his anticipated start in the wild-card game on Wednesday.
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Zack Greinke on his outing vs. Royals | 1:17
Diamondbacks right-hander Zack Greinke talks about his start (four-plus innings, two runs) vs. the Royals on Friday night in Kansas City.
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J.D. Martinez’s on his record-tying home run | 1:02
With a solo shot in the ninth inning on Wednesday, J.D. Martinez tied a National League record with his 16th home run in September.
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David Peralta on his walk-off walk, J.D. Martinez’s hitting | 2:03
Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta talks about his game-winning walk and J.D. Martinez’s recent tear at the plate.
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J.D. Martinez on his hot streak, D-Backs’ win over Giants | 1:01
Slugger J.D. Martinez hit his 28th homer in his 58th game with the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night.
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Paul Goldschmidt after D-Backs clinch wild card spot | 0:50
Slugger Paul Goldschmidt in the celebratory clubhouse after the Diamondbacks clinched a wild card spot.
Nick Piecoro/azcentral sports
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Diamondbacks celebrate playoff berth | 0:44
After clinching a National League wild card berth earlier in the day, the D-Backs celebrated securing home field with a walk-off win over the Miami Marlins.
Scott Bordow/azcentral sports
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Fernando Rodney on his 300th career save | 1:07
Diamondbacks closer Fernando Rodney speaks after recording his 300th save in a win over the Marlins on Friday.
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Chris Iannetta on his 8-RBI night in D-Backs’ win | 1:11
Diamondbacks catcher Chris Iannetta discusses his eight-RBI night in Arizona’s win over the Marlins on Friday.
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Archie Bradley answers questions from reporters – and J.D. Martinez | 1:43
Diamondbacks reliever Archie Bradley talks with reporters about his RBI single in the eighth, then answers questions from teammate J.D. Martinez.
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Torey Lovullo after D-Backs avoid sweep in San Diego | 1:32
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo talks about his team’s 13-7 come-from-behind win over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night.
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A.J. Pollock on his two-homer game vs. Padres | 1:11
Diamondbacks center fielder A.J. Pollock talks about the two home runs he hit on Tuesday night in San Diego.
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Taijuan Walker on shaky outing vs. Giants | 1:12
Right-hander Taijuan Walker gave up four runs in five innings against the Giants, who beat the Diamondbacks 7-2 on Sunday afternoon.
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Zack Greinke after 2-0 win over Giants | 1:48
Diamondbacks right-hander Zack Greinke gave up two hits in eight scoreless innings against the Giants on Saturday night.
Nick Piecoro/azcentral sports
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Torey Lovullo on Greinke’s dominant start vs. Giants | 1:38
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo talks about ace Zack Greinke’s eight shutout innings on Saturday evening against the San Francisco Giants.
Nick Piecoro/azcentral sports
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Robbie Ray after 10-strikeout game vs. Giants | 1:36
Diamondbacks lefty Robbie Ray talks about his performance in a 3-2 win over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night at AT&T Park.
Nick Piecoro/azcentral sports
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Archie Bradley on baseball and beards | 3:14
Diamondbacks reliever Archie Bradley discusses the energy associated with his appearances as a reliever and his beard. Patrick Breen/azcentral sports
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Torey Lovullo on Pollock’s two-run double, Ray’s outing | 1:24
Manager Torey Lovullo talks about the Diamondbacks’ 3-2 win over the Giants on Friday night.
Nick Piecoro/azcentral sports
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Zack Godley on his outing against the Rockies | 0:54
Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Godley discusses his play against Colorado.
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Torey Lovullo on big win over Rockies | 1:04
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo discusses his team’s win over Colorado on Thursday.
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Paul Goldschmidt downplays his 1,000th career hit | 1:12
Diamondbacks slugger Paul Goldschmidt wasn’t too interested in discussing his 1,000th career hit on Wednesday night.
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Lovullo discusses his team’s win over the Rockies | 2:02
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo on his team’s win over Colorado on Wednesday night.
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D-Backs’ A.J. Pollock on his three-hit night | 1:08
Diamondbacks center fielder A.J. Pollock talks about his three-hit night against the Colorado Rockies.
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Coyotes take batting practice at Chase Field | 1:21
Coyotes players took batting practice at Chase Field before the Diamondbacks hosted the Padres Friday.
Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports
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Torey Lovullo on the end of the D-Backs’ win streak | 1:40
Manager Torey Lovullo, left-hander Patrick Corbin and third baseman Jake Lamb react to the 10-6 loss.
Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports
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Paul Goldschmidt says his elbow is structurally sound | 2:16
Diamondbacks slugger Paul Goldschmidt talks about the results of Tuesday’s MRI exam on his right elbow.
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Dan Bickley wraps up another bad start in D-Backs’ Game 2 loss
Robbie Ray after D-Backs’ Game 2 loss
Piecoro, Bickley preview NLDS Game 2, D-Backs’ lineup changes
Dan Bickley wraps up D-Backs’ Game 1 loss to Dodgers
Nick Piecoro, Dan Bickley preview NLDS Game 1 from LA
Shot Clock: D-Day for Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers
Shot Clock: Lovullo’s decisions work for D-Backs
Reaction to Archie Bradley’s triple
Who starts against the Dodgers?
Diamondbacks win wild one over Rockies
What happened in that Diamondbacks Rockies wild-card game? Everything
Shot Clock: D-Backs vs. Rockies in wild card
Paul Goldschmidt and J.D. Martinez share insights on each other
Greinke looks ahead to his wild-card start
Lovullo discusses the wild-card game against the Rockies
Shot Clock: Zack’s comfort dog? Wild-card preview
Piecoro, Moore on D-Backs’ preparations ahead of wild-card game
Lovullo on Martinez: ‘As good a hitter … that I’ve been around’
D-Backs’ Pollock on facing Rockies starter Jon Gray
Torey Lovullo on Paul Goldschmidt’s stats, focus
D-Backs’ Pollock on security concerns for wild-card game
D-Backs’ manager Torey Lovullo on Walker, Bradley vs. Royals
Archie Bradley after loss to Royals
Torey Lovullo after Greinke’s loss vs. Royals
Zack Greinke on his outing vs. Royals
J.D. Martinez’s on his record-tying home run
David Peralta on his walk-off walk, J.D. Martinez’s hitting
J.D. Martinez on his hot streak, D-Backs’ win over Giants
Paul Goldschmidt after D-Backs clinch wild card spot
Diamondbacks celebrate playoff berth
Fernando Rodney on his 300th career save
Chris Iannetta on his 8-RBI night in D-Backs’ win
Archie Bradley answers questions from reporters – and J.D. Martinez
Torey Lovullo after D-Backs avoid sweep in San Diego
A.J. Pollock on his two-homer game vs. Padres
Taijuan Walker on shaky outing vs. Giants
Zack Greinke after 2-0 win over Giants
Torey Lovullo on Greinke’s dominant start vs. Giants
Robbie Ray after 10-strikeout game vs. Giants
Archie Bradley on baseball and beards
Torey Lovullo on Pollock’s two-run double, Ray’s outing
Zack Godley on his outing against the Rockies
Torey Lovullo on big win over Rockies
Paul Goldschmidt downplays his 1,000th career hit
Lovullo discusses his team’s win over the Rockies
D-Backs’ A.J. Pollock on his three-hit night
Coyotes take batting practice at Chase Field
Torey Lovullo on the end of the D-Backs’ win streak
Paul Goldschmidt says his elbow is structurally sound
LOS ANGELES – Over two nights at Dodger Stadium, the Diamondbacks have looked like imposters. Their starters have failed them. Their bullpen has coughed up runs at inopportune times. Their defense has made costly mistakes.
In losing 8-5 on Saturday night and falling behind two-games-to-none to the Los Angeles Dodgers in this best-of-five series, the Diamondbacks have looked nothing like the team that won 93 games during the regular season. They have looked overwhelmed. And they can’t seem to figure out why.
“It’s a great question,” reliever Archie Bradley said. “I don’t know if I have an answer for that. I think we’ve done everything we can to prepare and be ready. You have to go out and execute and right now we haven’t been going out and executing. We haven’t been doing the things that have helped us win all year.”
Lefty Robbie Ray was erratic in his 4 1/3 innings on Saturday. He walked four. He couldn’t throw his breaking balls for strikes. He had ridden to the rescue in the wild-card victory only three days earlier, but he could not hand the Diamondbacks their first quality start of the postseason.
“It was all self-inflicted,” Ray said. “I was just trying to do too much in situations where I didn’t need to.”
And so in Taijuan Walker and Robbie Ray, the Diamondbacks have watched as a pair of pitchers making their first postseason starts lasted a combined 5 1/3 innings in two days. Shortstop Ketel Marte let an easy double-play ball roll between his legs on Saturday. Right fielder J.D. Martinez overthrew a cutoff man, giving up an extra base on the back end. The Dodgers ran wild on Saturday, stealing four bases.
Perhaps the Diamondbacks just played poorly in consecutive nights, nothing more. But they looked like a team on their heels. Now, they need to win both games at Chase Field on Monday and Tuesday in order to force a Game 5 back at Dodger Stadium.
History is not on their side. Of the 56 teams that have jumped to a 2-0 lead in division series history, 49 have gone on to win the series. Only twice have teams dropped the first two games on the road and come back to win; 22 others have had their seasons end.
“I don’t want to make it anything bigger than it already is,” Diamondbacks infielder Daniel Descalso said. “I don’t want to put any extra pressure. What we have to do first is win on Monday. We can’t start worrying about winning three games. We’ve got to win one game first and we’ll start on Monday do whatever we have to do to win on Monday and figure out the rest later.”
Like they did in the wild-card game on Wednesday, the Diamondbacks grabbed an early lead thanks to a first-inning homer from Paul Goldschmidt only to watch as the opposition chipped away at it. This time, the Diamondbacks were unable to respond.
Ray mostly dodged trouble for three innings. But his lack of command finally caught up to him when the Dodgers essentially stopped swinging at his slider, waited him out for fastballs and collected four hits in a two-run fourth.
Despite pitching just three days after making a 2 1/3-inning relief appearance, Ray said he “felt great” and disputed the notion that his command suffered as a result. Bradley, however, wasn’t so sure.
“It’s something he’s probably never done in his career as a starter,” Bradley said. “I’m not trying to say anything to make excuses or sound bad for him, but you’re asking a lot of the guy to do that.”
The Diamondbacks led 3-2 when Ray departed two batters into the fifth, giving way to rookie Jimmie Sherfy. Manager Torey Lovullo said he would have considered going to Bradley, his best reliever, but wanted to hold off on him until the sixth.
The decision backfired. Sherfy gave up hits to each of the three batters he faced as the Dodgers put together a four-run inning, jumping to a 7-2 lead.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t work out,” Lovullo said. “Jimmie was making quality pitches to get to two strikes, and he just didn’t throw the pitches good enough to finish off some good hitters. You’ve got to give them some credit.”
The Diamondbacks got a pinch-hit, three-run blast from Brandon Drury in the seventh to cut the lead to 7-5, but the Dodgers again responded, loading the bases in the bottom of the inning against Bradley and scoring a run on Marte’s error.
“We never really got grounded, got into a flow or rhythm throughout the entire game,” Lovullo said.
They never seemed to do that on Friday, either. After a season in which their pitching largely carried them, the staff has stumbled in this series – just as it did in the wild-card game, when the offense managed to keep adding on runs.
Six years ago, the Diamondbacks dropped the first two games of a five-game series only to return to Chase Field, win two and force a Game 5. Zack Greinke was on the other side of that series, then a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.
It will be up to him on Monday to do something the rotation has yet to do this postseason. Give his team a chance to win.
“I know he loves challenges like this,” Lovullo said. “If you’ve got to pick one guy to stop this situation that we’re in, I think we’ve found the right guy in Zack Greinke.”
BICKLEY: Once the broom, Diamondbacks in danger of getting swept
RELATED: The coaching duo behind J.D. Martinez’s dangerous swing
MORE: Robbie Ray continues trend of early exits by Diamondbacks starters
RELATED: D-Backs’ Ketel Marte not impressed by Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw
Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.
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