The Arizona Diamondbacks have been snakebit all season.
Injuries plagued the club in spring training and have continued to wreak havoc as the season reaches the midpoint, leaving manager Torey Lovullo searching for answers as he tries to cobble together a daily lineup.
“I have not seen anything like this,” Lovullo said from Chicago this week. “Usually, you have a bad week or a bad month, or two guys in a 30-day period of time that will go down, but it’s just been one after another. It’s frustrating. I feel for the players. I feel for this team.”
It’s been painful.
Left-hander Corbin Burnes, in January, lasted 11 starts before going down with a season-ending elbow injury. He followed fellow starter Jordan Montgomery and proceeded key reliever Justin Martinez in needing Tommy John surgery.
Reliever A.J. Puk also needs elbow surgery, to repair his left ulnar collateral ligament, a procedure that could turn into Tommy John. Pitchers Tommy Henry, Blake Walston and Christian Montes de Oca also are out for the season.
Catcher Gabriel Moreno has been out with a broken finger after being hit by a foul ball on June 15. Backup catcher Adrian Del Castillo has dealt with shoulder and back issues, spoiling his chance to move up from Triple-A Reno to replace Moreno.
The hits kept coming this week.
Arizona placed All Star outfielder Corbin Carroll on the injured list with a chip fracture in his left wrist before Tuesday’s game against the White Sox, then watched infielder Ildemaro Vargas go down with a broken foot after being hit by a pitch in the second inning. Carroll has been out since being hit by a pitch on June 18.
Third baseman Eugenio Suárez has been out of the lineup since being hit on the hand by a pitch on Monday. First baseman Josh Naylor also was injured on Monday, straining his right shoulder on an awkward swing, but returned to the lineup on Wednesday.
“It’s part of the game, but we’ve taken on a lot, there’s no denying that,” Lovullo said. “A lot of teams have. I don’t want anybody to feel sorry for us. But it’s our turn to go out there and figure out how to get the job done, and that’s where my main focus is right now.”
The Diamondbacks have managed to keep their focus during the rash of injuries.
With over the White Sox, Arizona has won 10 of 14 to move back into the NL wild card picture. The Diamondbacks aren’t out of the NL West race, either, entering Wednesday’s game 2 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“We’ve just got to push through it,” Arizona outfielder Alek Thomas said. “The vibe in the clubhouse, are still high. We still come every day to the field with our chin up and smiles on our faces.”
Some of those smiles are more like grimaces, but the Diamondbacks have found a way to grit their way through.
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