Diamondbacks 2023 Season Review: July
The 2023 season saw the Diamondbacks jump out to an unexpected but thoroughly enjoyable 41-25 record, 16 games over .500 and a four game divisional lead through mid June. They played roughly .500 ball over the remainder of June, but were still in first place as the calendar turned to July with a 49-34 record and 2.0 game lead in the NL West over the surging Dodgers.
A well-balanced offense had been the D-backs calling card through that first half of the season. They ranked 5th in runs scored through June 30th, averaging 5.1 runs per game. Their team batting average of .263 and OPS of .767 ranked 4th and 6th respectively. Fourth in MLB with 81 stolen bases, and having been caught just 12 times, the D-backs were playing an exciting brand of baseball.
Zac Gallen was named on July 2nd to start in the All-Star game, and Carroll was voted in as a starter. Gurriel Jr and Perdomo were also named to the roster, and the contingent of four D-backs went off to Seattle to participate and did their city proud. It could have easily been six players sent to Seattle, as Ketel Marte and Christian Walker were also having All-Star caliber seasons.
There were some storm clouds on the horizon entering July too however. The offense, which had been outperforming the expected metrics based on batted ball data, seemed to be slowing down as June drew to a close and was perhaps primed for regression. A slumping Carroll had hurt his shoulder on a swing on June 29th, and sat out a couple of games before returning to the lineup on July 2nd.
The D-backs came home after taking two of three games in Anaheim against the Angels, having dropped the series finale 5-2. They were then swept three straight at Chase Field in an ugly series against the Mets. Miguel Castro gave up a big homer on the fourth of July, leading to a bullpen loss in an 8-5 ballgame. The next day Andrew Chafin blew a save chances, giving up two runs in the 9th, spoiling a marvelously pitched game prior to that, as the D-backs lost 2-1. In the third game of the series the D-backs were shutout 9-0 as the team was now was mired in a deep batting slump. The four game losing streak was their longest of the year to that point.
On July 6th, Carroll had to be removed from the game for the second time in eight days due to another painful follow through on a one handed swing. The D-backs took the first two games against Pirates. The highlight was a walk-off win against All star closer David Bednar on July 8th. Carroll, proving that the shoulder issue would not deter him, had the game winning hit. They lost the final game of the series, and staggered into the All Star break in a virtual tie with the Dodgers, 52-39, .571 vs. 51-38, .573, two percentage points behind. That was the last time they would see first place in the NL West for 2023.
Coming out of the All Star break, the offense continued to flounder as they dropped three straight in Toronto. A 16-run outburst against the Braves in Atlanta followed by a 5-3 win seemed to right their ship. But once again Castro would take a loss, spoiling a good Gallen outing by giving up a three run homer in the 8th inning. That turned a 4-3 leads into a 6-4 deficit in a game they went on to lose 7-5. They went on to Cincinnati and were swept three straight by the Reds and the free fall was in full effect.
Gabriel Moreno had been fighting a sore shoulder behind the scene for weeks, and had played in just seven games in July. Finally on July 23rd he was moved to the injured list, leaving Carson Kelly and Jose Herrera to handle all the catching duties.
On July 24th at home they took a 6-5 lead into the 9th inning but it was Andrew Chafin's turn again to blow the game, which he did in spectacular fashion, giving up five runs leading to a 10-6 loss. After dropping two of three to St. Louis, they did the same against the Mariners, before winning their final game of the month up in San Francisco, stealing an 11 inning game 4-3.
By the time July was over they had an 8-16 record for the month, and were outscored 133 to 95, averaging 4.0 runs per game on offense. That number was inflated by the 16 run game in Atlanta. Taking out that one game the offense averaged just 3.4 runs per game, scoring two runs or fewer nine times in 24 games.
Ending the month at 57-50, they now trailed the Dodgers by 3.5 games in the NL West and were in a three way tie for the 3rd NL Wild Card spot with the Brewers and the Marlins. Their playoff odds dropped from 76.4% on June 30th to 47.7% on July 31st. Suffice to say it was a rough month. Could the D-backs save a season that had started out so promising? Or were they destined to spiral downward and out of contention?
The D-backs made a trade on July 31st, a day ahead of the deadline, bringing in closer Paul Sewald from the Mariners in exchange for Josh Rojas, Dominic Canzone, and prospect Ryan Bliss. Many fans couldn't understand why GM Mike Hazen hadn't moved earlier on a deal to improve a bullpen that had blown so many 9th inning leads. He insisted those trades weren't available until the final week before the August 1st deadline. Hazen went into the deadline still searching for a starting pitcher, as Tommy Henry had just gone down with an elbow injury and Zach Davies was floundering.
While all that was going on, off the field the on going saga of their television contract came to a close, as Bally Sports ceased broadcasting games, and MLB took over the broadcast.
There weren't a lot of statistical highlights to the Month.
Ketel Marte continued his excellent season, batting .308/.376/.506, .882 OPS
Corbin Carroll overcame the shoulder issues and a long slump to recover to a .250/.337/.463 slash line, good for an .800 OPS and four homers.
Kevin Ginkel gave up just one run in 10 innings, lowering his ERA to 2.18 on the year.
