D-backs suffer worst loss of lost season
PHOENIX -- Tony La Russa described himself as the glass-half-full type on Monday as he discussed the Diamondbacks season to date.
"Because the opposite is really the mark of a loser," the D-backs' chief baseball officer said. "The half-full is that it's been painful and these guys look at themselves in the mirror and they evaluate what they've done they'll say, 'Hey, I can do better,' and then they'll look to the coaching staff to help them improve.
"There's nothing wrong with the talent in our starting rotation. Or nothing wrong with our young relievers except they need seasoning. ... I think our guys, talent-wise, are closer to what our record was last year than what our record is now."
La Russa and General Manager Dave Stewart opted not to break up the team's young core, as La Russa put it, and stayed out of the fray at Major League Baseball's non-waiver trade deadline. A few hours later, that core went out and was never in the game in a 14-1 loss to the Nationals.
Washington starter Stephen Strasburg had as many hits -- three -- as did the D-backs when he left the game after six dominant innings. Archie Bradley didn't last nearly as long, and the Nationals teed off late in the game as well.
It was the fifth loss by at least five runs in the D-backs' last 10 games.
"We cannot allow this club to settle in and say, 'Hey, what's one more loss?'" La Russa said. "It's unacceptable."
Monday's loss was the D-backs' worst of the season, in terms of final margin, and they fell 20 games below .500 and to 17-36 at Chase Field.
"We were beat pretty much from the first pitch," Hale said. "These are the tough ones. I know they don't look good. They're not pretty."
Before the game, Hale said it should not be assumed rookie Braden Shipley will be sent back to Triple-A when ace Zack Greinke returns from the disabled list.
"It's a competition," Hale said.
If so, Bradley did not help his case. The Nationals had a runner in scoring position three batters into the game but Bradley couldn't get out of the jam like he had so many other times before. Washington scored four runs in the first, when they sent 10 batters to the plate, and rolled from there.
The Nationals pounded out 19 hits, five for extra bases, and the final margin could have been worse if they hadn't stranded 10 runners.
"Warming up in the bullpen, it's always kind of scare because he felt really, really good," Bradley said. "Then I got out there and it didn't go where I wanted it to.
"It was just a bad outing. Everybody has those every once in a while. You just have to flush it and move on. You have to forget about."
That short memory is something Hale said the whole team must have after they were outscored 28-4 the past two days.
"It is hard. You can get beat down in these situations. You have to bounce back," Hale said. "... Let's hope our position players and relievers who struggled tonight have a short memory and get ready for tomorrow."