PHOENIX – Burly slugger Daniel Vogelbach hobbled home on one leg when Arizona's defense fell asleep, and the Diamondbacks dropped back into a rut Tuesday night with a 5-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
A day after ending a 17-game losing streak, the Diamondbacks were behind from the start. Kolten Wong led off with a home run and that was plenty for Freddy Peralta and the Brewers' bullpen in a combined two-hitter.
Recommended Videos
After the game, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Vogelbach suffered a significant hamstring strain and will go on the injured list.
Arizona lost outfielder Ketel Marte, who is hitting .366. He slowed down on his way to second on a ground-rule double in the first inning and exited with tightness in his left hamstring.
Vogelbach, however, took a far more unusual path to score in the sixth.
He was on second with two outs and the Brewers ahead 1-0 when Omar Narvaez singled to center field against reliever Stefan Crichton.
The hit normally would've scored Vogelbach without a play. But he pulled up lame just after rounding third base and even veered away from the plate.
Arizona infielders Josh Rojas and Nick Ahmed, however, never saw Vogelbach in distress. Instead, they tossed the ball to each other after getting the relay despite the waving and hollering from Crichton, catcher Daulton Varsho and teammates.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was among those trying to get their attention. He watched the play unfold right in front of him from the third-base dugout. A middle infielder in his playing career, he understood the situation.
“We saw him pull up, right in front of us. A number of us were trying to let them know," Lovullo said.
“They have middle-infielder responsibilities, keeping their heads on a swivel. Watching them play, having played, sometimes you take for granted that the run's going to score. It was just one of those plays. I feel like we’re good enough to execute it."
It might not have mattered in the end because the Diamondbacks only managed two hits — and Peralta had their number again. He gave up just one hit to Arizona in 7 1/3 innings in Milwaukee on June 4.
“It’s the second time he’s done that to us,” Lovullo said. “Fastball command, backdoor breaking balls, a combination of a lot of things he had working today."
Arizona is normally an outstanding defensive team — Ahmed has been a Gold Glove winner. But the defense has been just one of many elements that has failed the Diamondbacks during a historic plunge that has seen them lose 41 of their last 47 games.
“We’ve played satisfactory defense at times. There was an error (on Rojas) that allowed Vogelbach to get on first base. We've got to tighten that up,” Lovullo said.
Peralta (7-2) gave up just one hit — Marte's double — and struck out 10 in six innings. Arizona's only other hit came on Pavin Smith's infield roller in the ninth.
Christian Yelich homered into the pool in right-center field off Riley Smith in the eighth for the Brewers’ final run.
Zac Gallen (1-3), in his second start since missing six weeks with a sprained right elbow, gave up three runs in five innings.
The Diamondbacks fell to 2-18 in June and haven’t won back-to-back games since May 10-11 against Miami.
REASON TO CHEER
During a sixth-inning Milwaukee mound visit, the Chase Field crowd erupted in cheers. A block away, the Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers 104-103 at the buzzer to take a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference finals.
ABOUT YOUR GLOVE
Peralta was asked to change his glove before taking the mound in the bottom of the first. But it had nothing to do with umpires checking it for substances; rather, they objected to the light color of the mitt.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: 3B Eduardo Escobar pinch-hit for Gallen in the fifth inning and struck out. Escobar missed Monday’s game with a quad strain. ... RHP Tyler Clippard, sidelined all season with a sprained right shoulder, threw a bullpen before the game.
Brewers: LHP Brett Anderson was placed on the 10-day injured list, one day after hurting his right knee trying to beat a throw to first. Counsell said Anderson will be evaluated when the team returns to Milwaukee on Thursday.
ROSTER MOVES
Brewers: To replace Anderson, RHPs Miguel Sanchez and Ryan Weber were called up from Nashville. Milwaukee sent LHP Hoby Milner back to the Triple-A team.
OF Tyrone Taylor returned from the injured list and OF Derek Fisher was designated for assignment. Taylor appeared as a pinch-hitter in the seventh and struck out. Sanchez, making his major league debut, pitched a scoreless eighth inning and received hugs and high-fives from his teammates.
The promotion of Sanchez and Weber brought the Brewers’ roster total this season to 50. Only Seattle (51 entering Tuesday) has had more players this season, which still hasn’t reached the halfway point.
“It’s been a challenge, especially with some of the guys from different organizations to try to figure out roles for them to succeed,” Counsell said.
UP NEXT
The series concludes Wednesday afternoon in Phoenix with Brewers RHP Brandon Woodruff (5-3, 1.94 ERA) opposing Diamondbacks lefty Caleb Smith (2-2, 3.21). The Diamondbacks are trying to win their first series since beating Colorado from April 29 to May 2.
___
More AP MLB coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports