HEADLINE

Diamondbacks look to get offense on track vs. Padres

Field Level Media

April 13, 2019 at 8:26 am.

The Arizona Diamondbacks need their bats to get hot again. Perhaps seeing San Diego Padres starter Matt Strahm will do the trick.

Arizona has lost three consecutive games for the first time this season and is coming off a three-hit performance in a 2-1 loss to the Padres on Friday night. The D-backs also scraped together just three hits while being shut out by Boston on Sunday and were held to two runs in a loss to the Rangers on Wednesday.

San Diego retired the final 19 Arizona hitters on Friday night, spanning four pitchers, including starter Chris Paddack.

“Offensively, we never really got the line moving, we never really got into a rhythm,” said Arizona manager Torey Lovullo. “It seemed like when we had some good approaches to Paddack, he made pitches to finish us off and we never could really get in sync with him.

“We’ve seen it already a couple of times where our pitchers have done a great job, kept us in the game, and we haven’t done much offensively. That’s the nature of the beast.”

Lovullo added he already has seen opposing pitchers take a different approach after the first several games, specifically using more breaking balls to counter an aggressive Arizona lineup.

“We were pounding the ball, and this is a league of adjustments,” he said. “It’s up to us to lock it down and make adjustments to what teams are doing to us.”

Strahm will need to make some adjustments based on his start against Arizona on April 1 in San Diego.

He gave up five runs and eight hits in 2 2/3 innings, walking three, striking out two and giving up a home run to outfielder Adam Jones. Arizona went on to win 10-3.

Strahm (0-2) was sharper in his second start, giving up four hits and two runs (one earned) in five innings in a 4-1 loss at St. Louis. Strahm is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in seven career appearances against Arizona, spanning 12 innings. The April 1 game was his only start against the Diamondbacks.

He will be opposed by Arizona right-hander Merrill Kelly, a 30-year-old rookie who beat the Padres on April 1, giving up five hits and three runs over six innings. Kelly (1-1) was the hard-luck loser in the 1-0 loss to the Red Sox, when he pitched eight innings and allowed four hits and one run, while striking out nine and walking none.

San Diego has won the first two games of the four-game series and seven of nine games overall. Each of the Padres’ past six victories have come by one or two runs. The biggest margin among their 10 wins is three runs.

“It’s great,” rookie shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. said of the close wins. “We’re trying to compete right now. The team is bonding right now and we’re doing a great job.”

Tatis has showed off his strong arm at shortstop in this series, while third baseman Manny Machado made a spectacular throw to first while several feet into foul territory on Friday night.

“That left side of the infield just makes me smile,” Padres manager Andy Green said. “Watching those guys play beside each other, that’s fun. San Diego fans should hopefully be enjoying that for a very, very long time.”