Before last Friday’s game versus the Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo invited Arizona State baseball alum and Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Dustin Pedroia to speak to the team as they head into the final stretch of the season.
Who better to bring in than a two-time World Series champion to speak to a young team, trying to punch a ticket to play October baseball.
Lovullo relayed the same message to reporters before the game, saying that Pedroia told his team, “Don’t tell me a young team can’t win a World Championship,” before they took the field Friday night.
The words of high praise from a player who had won two World Series himself spoke volumes into the D-backs clubhouse. It must be giving them confidence heading into the final two weeks of the season.
Lovullo and the Diamondbacks are attempting to clinch the team’s first playoff berth since 2017.
Much has changed since then. Christian Walker and Ketel Marte are the only two active players on the roster today from that team which garnered 93 wins.
Another critical series began on Tuesday night when Arizona played host to a San Francisco Giants squad only two games out of the final playoff spot.
Here are what the Wild Card standings looked like heading into the first game of the series.
National League
- Philadelphia Phillies 82-68 +4.0
- Arizona Diamondbacks 79-72 +0.5
- Chicago Cubs 78-72 0.0
- Cincinnati Reds 79-73 0.0 GB
- Miami Marlins 0.5 GB
- San Francisco Giants 76-74 2.0 GB
Coming off one his poorest outings of the season last week at the Mets, Zac Gallen tried to get back on track Tuesday night where he is at his best.
Chase Field.
Mustering his way through five innings, the “Milk Man” struck out six, walked three, and gave up four earned runs. Gallen improved to 16-8 on the season and now shares the National League record for wins at home (12) with Chicago Cubs SP Justin Steele (12-2 2.18 ERA).
After a two-run home run from Joc Peterson in the first and a bases-loaded scare in the top half of the fifth that saw two more San Francisco runs score, Gallen ended the night with 93 pitches.
On the Giant’s side, Alex Cobb (7-7) was forced to leave the game early after surrendering five runs in only two innings of work. Cobb would exit the field with trainers in the bottom of the third, leaving Alex Wood to replace him.
Tuesday’s outing may not have been Gallen’s most dominant—he has struggled of late.
Excluding the complete game shutout victory vs Chicago, Gallen has combined for an uncharacteristic 21 earned runs over four of his last five starts.
Nevertheless, Arizona’s offense was able to pick up the Cy Young candidate by “Creating Chaos,” the team’s new motto that seems to be clicking at the perfect time for a postseason push.
The “Creating Chaos” theme was seen over the base pads tonight as the Snakes racked up a total of 12 hits on eight runs. Seven players totaled a hit, four players had two hits or more, and the one-two punch of Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte at the top of the lineup continues to be a recipe for success.
Between the two they combined for six hits, four RBI’s, three runs, and two stolen bases.
The Diamondbacks (80-72) maintain ground in the Wild Card standings, still holding onto a slim 0.5 lead over Chicago. The loss slips the Giants (76-75) down to three games behind Chicago for the final spot.
The quick two-game series against San Francisco wraps up Wednesday afternoon with first pitch at 12:40 p.m. Merill Kelly (11-7 3.45 ERA) looks to continue to add to the successful season he has put together when he faces off against San Francisco’s ace Logan Webb (10-12 3.31 ERA).
