At the twilight of his career, this is not the way Rodrigo Lopez would like to exit.
In the first five months of the current baseball season, Lopez has one win to show for each month, and will likely leave that Diamondbacks' Sedona Red uniform when the final curtain falls October 3. That translates now to dropping his season mark to 5-13, 5.21 ERA in 28 starts for the Diamondbacks. The Houston Astros dealt Lopez latest stroke of misery with a 3-2 defeat Sunday afternoon before 25,416 at Chase Field.
At one point in the season, Lopez won three of four starts (between June 21 and June 27), but has won one game since. That was a 10-4 win over the Marlins July 8 at Chase Field and from that time, he has lost 6 games, including Sunday's defeat to Houston, with four no decisions in his last 10 outings.
"Yeah, it's been rough times, but you have to stay positive," Lopez said. "I really can't control the wins and losses. August was a terrible month for me, but now, I think I'm doing my job."
From the start Sunday, Lopez experienced another disastrous outing. A three run home run off the bat of Hunter Pence in the first inning gave Houston an early lead from which they did not relinquished.
"The ball (Pence) hit was a slider and it was in a bad location," Lopez added. "I had the tough start, then pushed myself, and happy I didn't given up any more runs."
In reality, the gopher ball has been a significant reason why Lopez has struggled.
With Pence's first inning bomb, Lopez has now allowed a National League-high 33 home runs, and that's ahead of David Bush of the Brewers and Ted Lilly of the Dodgers, each surrendered 27 each.
To his defense, interim manager Kirk Gibson said, despite a recent history of limited production, Lopez did not quit.
"Early on, I thought he was pressing but then settled in," Gibson said of the effort Sunday against Houston. "Overall, I thought he gave us a pretty effort."
The fact Lopez has remained in the starting rotation remains one of mysteries of the baseball season. Signed to a minor league contract by the Diamondbacks last December, Lopez arrived in Tucson as a non-roster invitee. Winning a spot on the roster, Lopez found himself in the fifth starter shuffle, and eventually landed that coveted role.
That was because Brandon Webb showed no recovery from 2009 surgery and several others, in the mix for a starting job, eliminated themselves with poor spring performances. Lopez was actually named as the fourth starter and Ian Kennedy was selected as the fifth starter during the final days of spring training.
For the record, Lopez entered the 2010 season with a career 68-66 record, and his best years were in Baltimore. With the Orioles, he won 15 games twice and that a 15-9 year in 2002 and 15-12 in 2005. Since leaving Camden Yards after a 9-18 season in 2006, the 34 year old native of Tiainepantia, Mexico made stops in the Colorado, Atlanta and Philadelphia organizations.
Lopez was also the O's starter on opening day in 2003, 2005 and 2006. topped AL rookies with 15 wins and 138 strikeouts, and finished second to Toronto's Eric Hinske as the AL rookie of the year in 2002.
For now, he remains in the starting rotation and Diamondbacks management, with the season lost, will ride this team, and Lopez, into the sunset.
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Diamondbacks' third baseman Mark Reynolds took himself out of Sunday's game with a bone bruise on his right hand. That was after Reynolds grounded out to third with Chris Young, the tying run, on third with two outs in the eighth inning.
"(Reynolds) could not throw the ball, and that bruise has been bothering him for a while," Gibson said. "Reynolds is a tough kid and has played a great deal of pain this season."
Reynolds is day-to-day and could face Giants' lefthander Madison Bumgarner Monday afternoon in the first game of a three game set with San Francisco at Chase Field.
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