Ketel Marte reached for his right hamstring on his way to first base on Wednesday night, and moments later, he was on the ground in a heap. A bad start to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ season had turned nightmarish.
An hour and a half later, after his team’s 8-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field was in the books, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo seemed to deliver encouraging news, offering hope that Marte’s issue was nothing more than a cramp, though he cautioned the diagnosis was not conclusive.
If the injury is minor, then, well, the start to the Diamondbacks’ season can be upgraded from horrific to merely bad. Through six games, they are 2-4. Their injured list is getting crowded, their bullpen thinning out. Their rotation has been awful, their offense disappointing.
And several of the players the Diamondbacks were banking on for bounce backs have not provided much reason for hope, at least not in the early going.
Case in point is left-hander Madison Bumgarner. The Diamondbacks were optimistic that a normal spring training would allow Bumgarner’s stuff to return to its usual range. They were hopeful this would help him rediscover the form they thought they were getting when they gave him a five-year, $85 million deal in December 2019.
Bumgarner’s stuff has, in fact, resurfaced, to some degree, but the results have not come along for the ride. He gave up five runs in five innings on Wednesday night. The Rockies hit nine balls off him in the air or on a line at 95 mph or harder. In two starts, Bumgarner has allowed 11 runs in nine innings.
“I think just consistency with locating the baseball is very important for him and all of our pitchers,” Lovullo said. “I think when he fine-tunes that you’re going to see a better version than what you’ve seen so far this season.”
Bumgarner did not speak with reporters after the game.
Marte had been one of the few bright spot this season. He had again looked like a dominant force in the lineup, like the hitter he was for most of 2019, going 12-for-26 (.462) with four doubles and two home runs. A night earlier, he provided the game-clinching hit, rocketing a double into the left-center field gap in the 13th inning.
Now, the Diamondbacks have no choice but to hope for the best.
“He felt his leg cramping up as he was running down the line,” Lovullo said. “He was trying to put on the brakes and protect it the best that he could. We’re not exactly sure the extent of what is happening there right now. He’s going to continue to be evaluated for the rest of the night and through the night and on into tomorrow.”
If Marte requires a trip to the injured list, he will have company. Already there is right-hander Zac Gallen, the club’s best pitcher last season, and right fielder Kole Calhoun, its best hitter. Also there is shortstop Nick Ahmed and relievers Tyler Clippard and Joakim Soria. And the club is now without right-hander Chris Devenski, who left the team for personal reasons and was placed on the restricted list on Wednesday evening.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte limps off field but could be OK