Diamondbacks third baseman Eduardo Escobar was sent to the bench on Friday, given a chance by his manager to work with the team’s cadre of hitting coaches on Friday afternoon to pull himself out of what so far has been a season-long slump.
Escobar’s slow start – he entered the day just 12 for 70 (.171) with one home run – is an alarming development for the Diamondbacks, who relied on his production in the middle of their order for most of the past 1 1/2 seasons, though it is perhaps less concerning following the mini-breakouts of several other hitters over the past week.