After rolling through the season’s first month or so, the Diamondbacks’ offense hit an inexplicably ugly stretch over the past week. It wasn’t just that they couldn’t come up with key hits, they also couldn’t score in situations in which a hit wasn’t even required.
Seeking a solution, the Diamondbacks coaching staff turned to one of baseball’s most tried-and-true maneuvers. They changed things up. And then they watched as their hitters went out and clobbered the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 9-3 victory at Chase Field on Monday that snapped a three-game losing streak.
Rather than going through their usual pregame routine – swings in the indoor batting cages, followed by hitting on the field during batting practice – the Diamondbacks instead focused primarily on situational drills in both settings.