Diamondbacks getting exposed by the grind of the season

The Diamondbacks brought spacesuits to work on Tuesday. They wore them on the way out of town as get-away garb commemorating a flight to Houston.

It’s proof that a buttoned-up clubhouse isn’t above some childlike fun. But the astronaut costumes didn’t seem to fit a baseball team that’s been grounded for nearly two months.

“We have some things we need to get figured out if we’re going to continue to make a run at this,” outfielder Daniel Descalso said. “We need to start playing complete ballgames.”

Baseball has its quirks. There are too many unwritten rules. The game is far more dangerous than it looks from the couch. But the beauty of the sport is that its marathon schedule will reward the strong and illuminate the weak, laying every team bare for all to see.

The Diamondbacks are no different. They are 16-25 in their last 41 games. This is not a slump. This is a trend, a sample size representing more than 25 percent of the season.

They struck out 17 times on Tuesday, a sign of serious fatigue or a team that’s pressing too hard, straying too far from the necessary approach.

They are playing uphill baseball far too often, trailing early in games. They faced an 8-2 deficit against the Dodgers last Thursday and spotted the Astros an eight-run advantage on Tuesday.

They just finished an eight-game homestand with a 3-5 record, losing their shield of invulnerability at Chase Field. Their home record is still a respectable 39-23, but there was nothing to suggest that playing baseball in Arizona is all that difficult for the opposition.

The Dodgers and Cubs were buoyed by strong showings from their fan base. The six games were a confusing, nauseating mess of bipartisan cheering. Those taking bathroom breaks couldn’t be sure if the roar of the crowd was ominous or reason to celebrate.

Nothing makes a die-hard local fan more discouraged than feeling like a stranger in your own stadium. And by the end of the pivotal stretch of home games, there was a mere 16,935 in attendance on Tuesday, with nobody cheering for anyone.

“Inconsistent,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said when asked to describe the homestand. “It was something we really haven’t been doing (at Chase Field). We’ve protected this home field. I’ve asked these guys to come here and do that, which they’ve done all year long.”

The Diamondbacks haven’t been playing with a full deck. That’s no excuse. They flourished when A.J. Pollock was injured earlier in the season. Ketel Marte has been a pleasant surprise in his role as emergency shortstop. But there’s no denying the loss of left-handed starter Robbie Ray has left the team with a weakened pitching staff, the kind that gets devoured by quality competition.

Lovullo is trying hard to keep his team in a good place. On Saturday morning, he kept insisting that his team was OK, and he wanted them to feel as much. 

Some 48 hours later, he admitted the Diamondbacks had begun “wandering” and “drifting” through certain segments of a game. The charade was over.

“We didn’t do great things today, but we know what we have to get to,” Lovullo said. “I think our guys are grinding their way out.”

That’s wishful thinking. By contrast, Descalso said the team needs greater intensity, better focus and more attention to detail.

“For whatever reason, we didn’t play like we’re capable of playing in this homestand,” he said. “We had a nice bounce-back win (on Monday), but unfortunately, we weren’t able to carry that into today. But we’ve done it before. The good thing about this team is we played real good baseball earlier in the season. So we know it’s in the air.”

The Diamondbacks won 50 of their first 78 games, blowing away teams and expectations alike. A lot has changed since then, and here’s the best approach for frustrated fans:

Remember this was supposed to be a transition year. Treat this team like an enormous underdog, one that doesn’t stack up against the Dodgers, Nationals or Cubs. Don’t judge them too harshly on aesthetics or their dwindling lead in the wild-card race.

They embark on a nine-game road trip. After that comes a stretch of 12 games where they play the Dodgers six times and the Rockies thrice. It’s not going to get any easier. Be thrilled if they can limp into the playoffs for the experience alone, theirs and ours.

Remember, during this prolonged period of deconstruction, there is one constant with the Diamondbacks. They’ve never quit. And Lovullo is right about one thing:

If someone offered the Diamondbacks a 4½ game lead in the wild-card chase six months ago, you would’ve taken that option sight unseen.

“It’s time to hit the road and start playing our baseball,” Lovullo said.

Maybe the spacesuits will help them find some much-needed elevation.

MORE: Torey Lovullo praises Zack Greinke’s cerebral pitching style

MORE: Diamondbacks are plating runs and feeding fans

Reach Bickley at [email protected] or 602-444-8253. Follow him on twitter.com/dan.bickley. Listen to “Bickley and Marotta” weekdays from 12-2 p.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.