Can the D-backs stretch the winning streak to five?
This game is on Fox Sports – plan accordingly!
Zac Gallen has struggled particularly hard when pitching at Chase Field this season. His ERA over eight starts at home is 6.38, compared to 3.79 in six games elsewhere. That’s a contrast to two seasons again, where things were very much the other way. In 2023, he had a sparking 2.47 ERA at Chase, almost two whole runs better than on the road (4.42). Last year, there wasn’t much difference (3.36 vs. 4.02) but this season, he has won just once in Phoenix. The peripherals this year are similarly skewed, with his K:BB almost twice as good outside of Arizona. However, it’s worth noting that Gallen’s road BABIP is a freakishly low .198, so even when opposing hitters are putting balls in play, they’re almost always outs.
Oh, look: another D-backs reliever is probably going to miss the rest of the season because he needs surgery. Must be a day ending in Y. This time it is Christian Montes De Oca, who’ll be sidelined for the remainder of 2025. But, surprise! It’s NOT a result of the elbow inflammation which was reported by the team when he was placed on the injured list. Instead, Mountains of Goose is going under the knife to address a back issue. Jack reports that it’s something which had been bothering the pitcher since spring training, but became too much to handle of late. Torey Lovullo says it’s a three month recovery process, so add on rehab appearances, and Christian is basically done for the year.
The D-backs will try and tie their season high five-game winning streak against the Padres this afternoon. They won five in a row from April 12-17, to move to a 12-7 record that was as good as it got. Mind you, that did include a three-game sweep of the Marlins, a slight thrill at best. I’d say that a five-game winning streak achieved against the Mariners and Padres would be more significant. The latter in particular are both divisional rivals and have serious post-season aspirations this year. As noted yesterday, they currently occupy the last NL wild-card slot, 31⁄2 ahead of the Diamondbacks. A win tonight would get us into “Objects in the rear-view mirror ar larger than they appear” territory.