Our first game against San Francisco this season.
Well, if you predicted Brandon Pfaadt would have a seven inning start before Zac Gallen… congratulations. That certainly helped give the bullpen a break, with Justin Martinez looking pretty good in getting most of the remaining six outs. There is an extra arm down there, in the form of Logan Allen. With the team needing to make a roster move tomorrow, to free up room for Jordan Montgomery’s debut (being available only as an Apple TV+ exclusive, annoyingly), it wouldn’t surprise me to see Allen used tonight if there are low-leverage innings to be had. Hopefully because the D-backs blow this one open early, and are cruising to a win in the opener of this four-game series.
The obvious narrative here is long-time Diamondback Nick Ahmed, facing his team for the first time since being DFA’d late last season. He is currently hitting .268 for San Francisco, which is a higher figure than for any complete year in Nick’s career. But that is helped by a .341 BABIP, which has been giving him particular assistance on ground-balls. The defense still seems to be there though, Considering the struggle the Diamondbacks have had at the shortstop position, the $850K Nick is getting from the Giants seems a bargain, especially compared to the $2 million Arizona is paying – even after a large contribution from Oakland – for the services of Jace Peterson.