Baseball is a team game. Last season, the Arizona Diamondbacks scored plenty of runs. Yet, the team finished just one game ahead of the cellar-dwelling San Diego Padres in the National League West because the pitchers and fielders were inconsistent.
Fast forward to 2017. Arizona finished the opening homestand 6-1. The offense scored more runs than any other team and the starters and relievers combined for a 3.57 ERA. The combination of a potent offense and a shutdown pitching staff allowed the Diamondbacks to overcome sloppy defense.
The Diamondbacks fortunes took a turn for the worse in California.