The Arizona Diamondbacks are playing themselves into a stand-pat position at worst as the trade deadline approaches.
The Diamondbacks battered the St. Louis Cardinals for the second straight game in a 10-1 victory Saturday, and they will go for a three-game sweep and a return to .500 in the series finale Sunday.
General manager Mike Hazen told reporters during the All-Star break that the Diamondbacks could be sellers if they did not make a quick turnaround after a 47-50 start.
“Our mentality is to win all these three games to see if it will change Mike Hazen’s mentality,” shortstop Geraldo Perdomo said. “You know ‘Geno’ (Eugenio Suarez) doesn’t want to go anywhere. It’s been tough for us, but I still believe we can do it.”
Suarez, mentioned in trade speculation, had two more homers Saturday, giving him 33 and a National League-leading 81 RBIs. Perdomo had three hits and four RBIs and Corbin Carroll had three hits, including two triples.
Arizona right-hander Merrill Kelly (8-5, 3.34 ERA) will oppose right-hander Miles Mikolas (5-6, 4.94) in the series finale.
The Diamondbacks remain 4 1/2 games out of the final wild-card spot and two behind the Cardinals. St. Louis has lost 10 of the past 14 games, however.
“We’ve gotten here by developing and continuing to grow and giving guys some opportunities,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “That doesn’t change just because now we’re actually winning some games or we’re ahead of where some people thought we would be at this point.
“We’re staying committed to that process and we’ll see where it leads us.”
Mikolas concluded a rocky first half with one of his best starts of the season, when he threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings in an 8-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on July 10.
He had given up 22 earned runs in his previous 26 innings over five starts, including an 11-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs on July 4 in which he gave up six homers in the first three innings.
“After that third inning I kind of figured out what I was doing wrong, fixed it,” Mikolas said. “Went from there and just went out and pitched my game.”
Mikolas gave up one run in six innings for a 4-3 victory against the Diamondbacks on May 23, and he is 3-2 with a 2.97 ERA in seven career appearances (five starts). He has not given up a homer in 18 2/3 innings at Chase Field. Eugenio Suarez is 7-for-17 with two homers off him.
Kelly has been the Diamondbacks ‘ most efficient pitcher this season. He gave up one run on one hit in a 5-1 victory at the Los Angeles Angels in his last start before the break. He has given up three runs or fewer in each of his past five starts.
“We’re a good baseball team, and we just have to continue to play that way,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.
Kelly is 3-1 with a 3.21 ERA in seven career starts against the Cardinals, the loss coming in the most recent outing, when he gave up four runs in six innings of a 6-5 loss May 24. Willson Contreras is 6-for-10 with a homer against him, and Brendan Donovan is 5-for-12 with two doubles.
-Field Level Media
