As the 2024 MLB regular season nears a close, the Arizona Diamondbacks enter the final week in a Wild Card spot with six critical games remaining on the schedule against the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres as they look to clinch a playoff berth.
The D-backs find themselves in the playoff race thanks to their MLB-leading offense that’s scored 861 runs. All-Star Ketel Marte has led the way, hitting .295 with 35 home runs and 98 RBIs, while players like Eugenio Suarez, Joc Pederson and Christian Walker have stepped up for an offense that was ranked 14th in runs scored with 746 in 2023.
Picking the team’s biggest success of 2024, ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle unsurprisingly chose the D-backs offense.
The Arizona offense has been one of the most explosive groups in the majors. The Diamondbacks lead the big leagues in scoring by a decent margin, and while their home venue plays into that, Arizona has also been a top eight or so offense when away from Chase Field. The Snakes rank in the top two in all three slash categories, and only the Dodgers have homered more often among NL clubs.
Despite the offensive success, the same can’t be said for the starting rotation. While Zac Gallen has won 13 games and Ryne Nelson has stepped up in the wakes of injuries to Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez, Doolittle lists Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery as the team’s biggest failures this season.
When Arizona acquired Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery, it looked like the D-backs had supercharged their rotation. Whether it’s injuries, a short spring (in the case of Montgomery) or simply bad pitching, the moves have yet to pay off. Together, Rodriguez and Montgomery have a 5.93 ERA and just seven quality starts out of 28. Montgomery accounts for six of those quality starts, but his numbers lapsed so badly that for a time he was bumped to the bullpen.
After signing a four-year deal in the offseason, Rodriguez didn’t make his first start until Aug. 7 after missing the first few months of the season with a shoulder injury. In eight starts, Rodriguez has posted a 3-3 record with a 5.09 ERA, 36 strikeouts and a 1.45 WHIP.
Despite his struggles, Rodriguez’s last start was one of his best of the season, going 6 1/3 innings with just two earned runs surrendered and 11 strikeouts in the team’s 9-4 win versus the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.
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Montgomery has had his struggles this season as well. After signing just a few days before the start to the regular season, Montgomery has posted an 8-7 record with a 6.23 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. He was moved to the bullpen on Aug. 23 following the returns of Rodriguez and Kelly.
Montgomery would return to the rotation after Nelson was placed on the injured list with a shoulder injury. His last start was a mixed bag, going 4 1/3 innings while giving up three earned runs with six strikeouts and two walks in the team’s 10-9 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.