For the first time this season, the Diamondbacks will face an NL West rival
The Diamondbacks are struggling right now. I hope that isn’t too controversial of a statement. They’ve lost five of their last six series, and it’s taken everything in their power to stay above .500 during that time. They’ve gone from being in a tight race for the NL West, to already being six games behind the Dodgers and out of a Wild Card spot. I don’t want anyone to take this as me saying the season is over, mind you, but it’s indisputable that this is a bad stretch.
And the timing is terrible, as the Dodgers are coming to town next. The blue Los Angeles team has been much as advertised. After briefly stumbling out the gate, they are now the best team in baseball, leading the NL West by 1.5 games (over both the Padres and Giants), with one of the most potent offenses in baseball. The Diamondbacks have had some tough opponents so far. This series will be the biggest challenge of all.
Game 1 – 5/8 6:40 – Brandon Pfaadt (5-2, 3.79 ERA, 110 ERA+, 1.24 WHIP) vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (4-2, 0.90 ERA, 436 ERA+, 0.92 WHIP)
The apparent Ace of the Diamondbacks will be the first to take the mound against the Dodgers. As you can see above, for the season he has been pitching well, getting big wins along the way. Last time, however, was a very different story. He was rocked for six runs in just 4 2⁄3 innings, with his old boogeyman home runs coming back to haunt him. It doesn’t get easier with an opportunity for a bounce back against the Dodgers, but if anyone this season has shown they are up to it, it’s Pfaadt.
Those numbers are not a typo for Yamamoto. He has been beyond dominant to start his second MLB season. In seven starts, he has only given up multiple earned runs once. He has held his opponents scoreless four times. He has yet to throw fewer than five innings. After a merely good season to start his MLB career, he is pitching exactly as he was expected to and better this year.
Game 2 – 5/9, 6:40 – Eduardo Rodriguez (1-3, 5.92 ERA, 71 ERA+, 1.47WHIP) vs. Roki Sasaki
It just isn’t coming together for Rodriguez in Arizona up until this point. His first season was almost entirely lost to injury, and he was ineffective when he did play. This season, he has given up three or more earned runs in all but two of his seven starts. He’s given the Diamondbacks decent, if uninspiring, length. All but one start he has pitched into at least the fifth inning. The question becomes; did we actually want him to do that? And I’m not sure we did in most of them. Without any A+ prospects knocking on the door, there is no reason to assume that his position isn’t 100% safe, but early results give his season a strong unsatisfactory.
Sasaki was the big acquisition for the Dodgers, and he’s been… fine. The results have been nothing special, but anyone knows that the sheer talent that he possesses is lying right underneath the surface. He just has to get his legs underneath him. Dodgers can’t be too mad it’s taking time, though, given he’s making league minimum.
Game 3 – 5/10, 5:10 – Corbin Burnes (1-1, 3.58 ERA, 117 ERA+, 1.37 WHIP) vs. Dustin May (1-2, 4.36 ERA, 90 ERA+, 1.24 WHIP)
This will be Burnes’ first start after skipping his last and recieving a cortisone shot in his shoulder. He shared earlier this week that he had been dealing with some shoulder discomfort over the past week or two and that prompted the Diamondbacks to send him for imaging. No structural damage, though, so that’s why he is able to make this start just ten days later. As an aside, it is 100% the Diamondbacks luck that as soon as we sign one of the most durable pitchers in the league, he starts having shoulder discomfort…
May is finally back on the mound after undergoing Tommy John in 2023 and then surgery to repair an esophageal tear in 2024. He started off strong, giving up two runs total in his first three starts, but since then has given up seven, three, and four to the Cubs, Marlins, and Braves respectively. This will be the easiest match up for the Diamondbacks, but that says more about the first two pitchers they face. May is still a very capable pitcher who has shown his abilities on the biggest stages. Easier does not mean easy.
Justin27’s pinch hit appearance:
Game 4 – 5/11, 1:10 – Zac Gallen (1-1, 4.37 ERA, 96 ERA+, 1.213 WHIP) vs. Tony Gonsolin (1-0, 4.09 ERA, 98 ERA+, 1.091 WHIP)
Gallen is coming off two very good outings against the Mets, where he pitched a total of 9 innings and struck out 14 between the starts and Citi Field and at Chase. Gonsolin will be making his third start of this season after missing the entirety of last year due to Tommy John surgery.
Conclusion
Look, I don’t have super high hopes for this series. The Dodgers are a power house, the Diamondbacks are struggling, and they’ll be facing some of the most talented pitchers in the league. It’s going to be tough. That said, they are just six games removed from taking two out of three against the second best team in baseball, so anything is possible. It’s going to be a challenge though.
Justin’s conclusion: I would be ecstatic with a 2-2 finish to this series. I don’t have high hoped for this, though.