The Arizona Diamondbacks took an early first inning lead off of a solo home run from Aaron Hill, but that would be the last mark the team would make on the scoreboard on Saturday night. The D-backs fell 3-1 to the San Diego Padres and guaranteed their first losing series since the Atlanta Braves swept them in mid-August.
Josh Collmenter avoided falling into an early hole — dodging the latest D-backs trend — but he still allowed all three runs over his seven innings pitched, including solo homers to Orlando Hudson and Jeremy Hermida. With the loss, Collmenter falls to 9-10.
Arizona managed only five hits in the game, matching their meager output from Friday night’s 2-0 loss to San Diego. Heavy hitters Justin Upton and Gerardo Parra were both shut out through seven at-bats. Miguel Montero snagged two doubles, but neither led to any runs. After a six-game losing streak in August, the team seemed like they were finding some offensive spark again, but they have not been able to score more than three runs in any one outing of their three-game losing streak.
The D-backs are picking the wrong time to falter, too. After briefly finagling their way into a tie for second place in the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers have taken advantage, victorious in their last two outings. Arizona’s divisional competition, the San Francisco Giants, have also seized the opportunity. They are now riding a seven-game winning streak to close the gap to 5 games behind Arizona. Though it would take a historic collapse for the Giants to overtake them, the D-backs are making things very hard on themselves late in the season.
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