The Diamondbacks lost 4–2 to the Marlins on Thursday night. The search term “diamondbacks” drew about 5000+ searches in the United States today, according to Google Trends.
What Happened
The Diamondbacks had a chance to build on a late comeback from the previous night and pick up wins over the Padres and the Cubs. Instead, the offense struggled badly. Michael Soroka pitched five innings, giving up one earned run while striking out six. The bullpen tossed five scoreless innings. Between the two groups, the Diamondbacks allowed just one run over ten innings against a Marlins staff described as mediocre.
That should have been enough. It was not.
The Diamondbacks Offense
The Diamondbacks went 1-13 with runners in scoring position. Gabi Moreno hit a solo home run in the first inning, and that was the extent of the offense. After that, the team could not score against the Marlins for nine innings.
The game featured some questionable plays, including a block of home plate that manager Torey Lovullo confirmed in the post-game presser is legal if the infield is playing in. The Diamondbacks also had trouble with strikeouts throughout the lineup.
Pavin Smith started almost every night since coming back up and went 0-3 again. Lars Nootbaar, who has been hitting well recently, went 0-5 with four strikeouts. Jordan Lawlar, who has also swung a good stick lately, went 1-5 with four strikeouts. In the 11th inning, Lawlar faced a Marlins reliever who threw him nothing but fastballs middle-middle, and Lawlar struck out.
Why This Broke Through Today
The Diamondbacks pitching did everything asked of it. The offense slumped to its lowest low of the season, unable to score against a very mediocre Marlins pitching staff for nine innings after the first-inning solo homer from Gabi Moreno.
Tonight’s game was a microcosm of that problem: a dominant pitching performance that was wasted because the bats could not find a way to score.
What Comes Next
The Diamondbacks will play the Marlins again tomorrow night to try to salvage a series win. They will send Merrill Kelly to the mound, with almost no room for error given how this team has been swinging it.
The Diamondbacks are also hoping for another Padres loss, which would give them another opportunity to gain ground in the standings.
The Search Term Itself
“Diamondbacks” is the search term used for the Diamondbacks, a professional baseball team. The search term drew about 5000+ searches in the United States today, according to Google Trends. That makes it among the top rising searches in the country on this date.
The Diamondbacks are a hard team to watch this season. Their pitching has been strong, but their offense has been unable to support it. Tonight’s game was a microcosm of that problem: a dominant pitching performance that was wasted because the bats could not find a way to score.
The Diamondbacks will need to fix this soon. The schedule does not offer many opportunities to make up lost ground. A series win against the Marlins tomorrow would be a step in the right direction, but the offense will have to show signs of life first.
For now, the search term “diamondbacks” tells its own story. People want to know what happened to the team that looked so good on paper but keeps finding ways to lose. The answer, tonight at least, was simple: the offense just could not score.
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