The D-backs have a shot at a season sweep against an NL opponent. It has been a while…
The Diamondbacks have won their first five games against the Marlins this season, though admittedly, four of those were by the narrowest possible margin. That gives them a chance to complete the season sweep over Miami this afternoon at Chase Field, and that’s a rarity against any team. The last time they did it at all was 2019, when they swept the Toronto Blue Jays – but that was just a single three-game series. They did the same against other American League opponents in 2017 (the Indians and White Sox), 2015 (Mariners), 2013 (Orioles) and 2012 (A’s). But you also have to go back to 2012 to find the last time they swept a season series with six or more games, when they took all six games against the Astros.
That was back when Houston were a) in the National League, and b) blew chunks. They lost 107 games that year, and the D-backs destroyed them, outscoring the Astros over the six games by an average of more than six runs per game (56-19). Arizona scored eight or more runs in all but one of the contests. One member of the current team took part in that series – Ian Kennedy, who started against the Astros on August 19 (pictured top), going six innings and getting the W, allowing one run on five hits and five walks with seven strikeouts. With the recent retirement of Gerardo Parra, I think Paul Goldschmidt is left as the only Diamondback from that day who’s still in the majors.
Before that, the only other season sweep against a NL opponent was August 2002, as they went 6-0 against the Reds. So it seems a once per decade thing, which perhaps augurs well for this afternoon! [Mind you, we have seven against the historically woeful Reds in June, so that presents another possible opportunity.] The 2002 series versus Cincinnati was also one-sided, with the D-backs scoring three for every run the Reds brought home, an overall 42-14 margin. Arizona trailed at the end of precisely one of the fifty-four innings against Cincinnati that year. Despite the closeness of the games this year, Miami has led after only 3 of 45 frames – the first three in the Miami finale. We’ll see if that sustains this afternoon.