Lopez is as good a guy as there is in that Diamondbacks clubhouse, and he gives it all he has on the mound every time his turn in the rotation comes up.
But his numbers aren't pretty. Sunday, after the Diamondbacks couldn't support him with more than two runs and lost 3-2 to the Houston Astros, Lopez fell to 5-13. There's more.
Lopez has allowed 33 home runs (one Sunday), the most in the majors. His 99 earned runs allowed lead the majors. as do the 114 total runs he has surrendered in 171 innings pitched, which is the most on the Diamondbacks.
Lopez gave up a three-run shot in the first inning and settled down thereafter.
"After that I was able to get the ball down and get my game going," Lopez said. "I was not happy with it and I pushed myself. I tried not to get mad because I lose my focus, but it gave me the extra effort that I needed to be more aggressive."
Speaking of aggressive, apparently D-backs third base coach Joel Youngblood was just that. Maybe too much. When John Hester attempted to score with two outs from second base on a ball that barely made it out of the infield in the fifth inning, Youngblood waved Hester home. So said Hester, who was out by a mile and tried to save face by pancake blocking Astros catcher Jason Castro.
The play might have cost the D-backs a chance to tie, though they failed on subsequent opportunities later in the game.