The Arizona Diamondbacks are off to a slow start coming out of the All-Star break. Honestly, it is a bit baffling to see a team take 3 out of 4 games from the Dodgers and then get swept by the Cubs after taking the week off. But that is exactly what happened.
The pitching really wasn't that great this weekend in Chicago, but with no run support, how can they be? The amount of pressure on their shoulders to go out and perform must be overbearing. The only two players that played somewhat decently were Bryan Shaw and Aaron Hill.
The Diamondbacks were unable to register more than one run in each of the games against the Cubs, but the award has to go to someone. We can't just vacate the trophy USC-style. That is why Aaron Hill wins the batters award this week. He was the only Diamondback regular to get a hit in each of the games. He scored their only run in the third game of the series, so that has to count for something.
For the pitchers side, Bryan Shaw came in the game twice as a reliever and threw two shutout innings, allowing just one walk in that time. He becomes the first true reliever to win pitcher of the week this season (Patrick Corbin and Josh Collmenter have starts under their belts).
Honestly, this was a difficult week to hand out awards. No one deserved any sort of recognition for stellar play. Hopefully that changes after a trip to Cincinnati and a meeting with the Astros next weekend.
Here are the stats for those keeping track:
Player of the Week awards:
Parra (1), Kubel (1), Roberts (1), Goldschmidt (4), Bloomquist (1), Montero (1), Hill (4)
Pitcher of the Week awards:
Saunders (1), Cahill (3), Corbin (1), Miley (5), Collmenter (2), Shaw (1)
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