After a decent start to the 2021 season, the Arizona Diamondbacks are making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
At the end of April, the Diamondbacks were looking pretty good. Two games above .500 entering May, Arizona were making waves to begin the 2021 season. And then it all went downhill after that.
Arizona finished the month of May with a 5-24 record and fell to the bottom of the NL West by a significant margin. The month of June would not be much better for the D-backs, starting with 14 losses and only 1 victory so far.
Today, the Diamondbacks took their woes to another level with a loss against the San Francisco Giants. Squaring off against the Giants, it was another attempt for Arizona to squash their horrendous 13-game losing streak, a streak that has happened twice already for the D-Backs.
Well, after a 10-3 shellacking thanks to San Francisco, the Diamondbacks now have their longest losing streak of the season. But that isn’t even the worst part. With today’s loss, the Diamondbacks have now lost 23 straight games on the road, setting a Major League record.
“It’s nothing we’re proud of,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “It’s been an extended period of time. It weighs on you. It’s heavy.”
Winning on the road is incredibly difficult, but the last time Arizona was against the Atlanta Braves in April.
Today’s loss against the Giants gives Arizona sole possession of the away losing record. The previous record was 22, set by the Philadelphia Athletics in 1943. That season, the Athletics would finish 49-105 and were 22-54 on the road.
The 1963 New York Mets tied the 22-game road losing record as well but defeated the LA Dodgers 5-1 to snap the streak.
Arizona now returns home with two, 3-game sets against the Dodgers and Brewers. The Diamondbacks will get another attempt at cracking the losing streak in San Diego, starting June 25.
Since Madison Bumgarner’s no-hit bid against the Braves, the Diamondbacks have been swept on the road by the Marlins, Mets, Dodgers, Rockies, Brewers, Athletics and Giants. During this losing stretch, Arizona has been outscored by the opposition 137-60. Last week, the team fired hitting coach Darnell Coles and assistant hitting coach Eric Hinske.
The losing streak is taking a mental toll on manager Torey Lovullo. “I lay in bed at night thinking about different things,” Lovullo revealed. “Sometimes I’m up until 3, 4 o’clock in the morning trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together in my own head. It’s tough. It’s very challenging.”
On the season, Arizona is now 20-50, with a 9-31 mark on the road. The Diamondbacks are not the only team going through a dry spell on the road. The Orioles have dropped 19 games on the road, while the Texas Rangers most recently snapped a 16-game road losing streak.
The Diamondbacks now turn their attention to the Dodgers and Brewers, with their road losing streak still fresh on their minds.
