The good news was that the Arizona Diamondbacks completed their sweep of the New York Mets at Chase Field in front of 30-plus thousand fans. The 5-3 win was yet another comeback victory for the team leading the majors in such wins. The bad news was that brand new starting pitcher Jason Marquis fractured his right fibula on a line drive.
The game was Marquis’ third start since being acquired from the Washington Nationals just before the trade deadline, and it was his first decent one. Marquis had made it three innings without giving up a run after giving up 11 in his first two outings. But a third inning line drive from Angel Pagan struck him in the leg. Marquis continued to pitch into the fourth before eventually being replaced by Zach Duke.
Relievers Duke, Micah Owings, and Brian Shaw filled the next five innings in lieu of Marquis. David Hernandez closed things out and snagged his eleventh save pitching for J.J. Putz, who had pitched three games in a row.
Without Marquis, Arizona fell behind 3-2 in the top of the fifth, before Justin Upton’s solo homer tied the game and opened things up for the comeback win. Paul Goldschmidt, who went 0-for-4 in Saturday’s game, went 3-for-4 on Sunday, including an RBI. Upton and Henry Blanco added RBIs of their own.
The D-backs finished an initially shaky homestand with six straight wins, going 7-for-10 overall, and keeping their two-game division lead over the San Francisco Giants, who beat the Florida Marlins on Sunday.
Though the team has not officially addressed Marquis' injury yet, it is likely to end his season and put the team in the hunt for replacement starter. Long relievers Micah Owings and Duke are likely to be an option, or a pitcher that made it through waivers. Potential call-ups Wade Miley, Jerrod Parker, and Trevor Bauer may also be on the table.