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Giants win again against Diamondbacks; Brandon Pfaadt has further problems

Posted on by Vanessa
Giants win again against Diamondbacks; Brandon Pfaadt has further problems

At the end of the day on September 21, the Diamondbacks had a three-game lead over the Atlanta Braves and secured a wild-card spot in the National League.

Three nights later, that lead has shrunk to half a game, and it looks increasingly likely that the race between the three teams for two wildcard spots could be decided on Sunday's final day of the regular season.

The San Francisco Giants beat the Diamondbacks 11-0 at Chase Field on Tuesday night. That loss could raise concerns about starter Brandon Pfaadt's rotation and was certainly alarming enough to raise questions about whether Arizona can make the playoffs for the second straight year.

The loss also left Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo frustrated, and he didn't have much to say after the game.

“I usually try to filter things properly and come up with something that sounds a little positive, but I don't think there was much positivity in this game,” Lovullo said. “We need to play better baseball. We need to play more focused baseball.”

“It all comes down to pitching, and that makes the game look crisp, gets the game flowing and keeps everyone on task when you're attacking the zone. I just think there were some bits and pieces of that there.”

It wasn't long ago that the Diamondbacks (87-71) were already safely in the playoffs. They haven't had a long losing streak this month, just two losses in three games, including the last three consecutive losses, but the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves have been closing in on the wild-card standings.

Now Atlanta (86-71) and Arizona are tied in the loss standings, and Atlanta, with its 5-2 record against the Diamondbacks, holds the tiebreaker in head-to-head play this season.

The Braves won their third straight game, defeating the Mets at home and giving themselves a chance to overtake the current wild card Mets for second place.

The Diamondbacks are trying to keep a cool head, outfielder Corbin Carroll said, drawing on their postseason results last season and what they've been through this season.

“We have to leave everything out there, and that's what we plan to do,” he said.

The Giants could have won by an even larger margin if Carroll had not denied Mike Yastrzemski a home run in the second inning and Ketel Marte had not blocked a bouncer into right field with two outs and the bases loaded in the eighth inning.

“He hit the ball pretty high and gave me a chance to get there,” Carroll said. “I think that's probably the first home run I ever robbed.”

But the Giants hit five home runs that night, chasing Pfaadt (10-10) before the end of the third inning. Pfaadt, who allowed one run on two hits in a seven-inning win in his last start in Milwaukee, was penalized with four earned runs on six hits and two home runs. He has allowed at least four earned runs in seven of his last eight games.

Lovullo said the Diamondbacks need to forget Tuesday night.

“We've got four games left and we've got something really special coming up. But we can't let that distract us from what we're trying to do,” Lovullo said. “We've got to focus on (Wednesday) and take care of our business. But that was definitely a frustrating day and I want the guys to feel that, I want them to understand why that happened and then put it all behind them and be ready (on Wednesday).”

The Giants hit Pfaadt’s missed throws hard and often.

“I felt great physically,” Pfaadt said. “It felt like we made throws early, but we left a couple of fastballs up the middle and paid the price for that. We've talked about being consistent, but that hasn't been the case lately.”

Pfaadt is scheduled to play in the final game of the regular season on Sunday, but he has not yet been confirmed. His two shortest appearances of the season were the last three games, including Tuesday.

“I will be ready. Whatever they ask of me, of course I am ready,” said Pfaadt.

The Diamondbacks finished the night with six hits, the second time this month they went scoreless and the sixth time this month they allowed 10 or more runs to an opponent.

—Jose M. Romero

Diamondbacks attendance increases by over 4,000 fans per game

The 2024 Diamondbacks are on pace for their best total and average attendance per game since 2008. Chase Field has five regular-season home games remaining, including Tuesday night.

Arizona averaged 28,560 fans per home game before Tuesday night's game in 2024, compared to 24,212 in 2023 when they reached the postseason. It seems clear that playing in the World Series last season had an effect, even though the Diamondbacks are 11th of 15 National League teams in attendance.

According to Baseball Reference, the Diamondbacks had welcomed 2,170,557 fans to Chase Field through 76 games through Tuesday night. They need about 50,000 more fans in the four remaining regular-season games to surpass 2018's total and average attendance, which is likely to happen.

In 2008, the Diamondbacks drew nearly 31,000 fans per game to Chase Field after a postseason appearance. While they won't reach that number this season, there's a good chance they'll reach their highest number since 2008 in 2024.

Manager Torey Lovullo said the team needs to win every year to maintain a consistent fan base. The fans deserve it, he said, and the organization hopes to maintain that standard.

“We were in the World Series last year and we're in the thick of the race to get back into the big dance. And our fans are smart and they know where we are right now,” Lovullo said. “So I want to thank them for coming out and supporting us. I think we're about where we were in 2008. … We're thankful for that. We love playing in front of our fans. They rock this place. And it's loud, and when they come here, they make a difference.”

“But we want to continue to win them back, little by little and year by year, because we want to be in this situation every year,” Lovullo added. “The fans come and know us. They know us by first name now and that's a nice feeling.”

—Jose M. Romero

Right-hander Ryne Nelson worked a bullpen session Tuesday afternoon and said he is ready to return from the injured list whenever the team wants him back – and in whatever role the Arizona Diamondbacks prefer him.

“I feel great after what happened today,” Nelson said. “I feel strong. I feel like I still have life in me and I think that will only continue to grow over the next few days and weeks and hopefully the next month.”

“I think I should be ready whenever they want to send me there.”

Nelson was the Diamondbacks' most reliable starter in recent months until he was placed on the injured list two weeks ago due to inflammation of his right shoulder.

Nelson said he was sore and had trouble catching in the days following his Sept. 8 start against the Houston Astros, after which the club sent him for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan that showed only inflammation. He took four days off from throwing but has picked up momentum in recent days. He threw his first bullpen on Saturday, followed by one on Tuesday at Chase Field.

Manager Torey Lovullo said Nelson is “very likely” an option to pitch this weekend, but said the club does not have a final plan on who will pitch Saturday and Sunday against the Padres after right-hander Merrill Kelly starts the series opener on Friday.

“Maybe he can be used as a piggyback player, I don't know,” Lovullo said. “I like when Nelly is in the game. He throws the ball really well. I want to make sure that no matter what the pitch count is, I'm taking advantage of that number as much as I can.”

Nelson has a 4.33 ERA in 147 2/3 innings this season. Since June 14, he has a 3.46 ERA in 96 1/3 innings, with 17 walks and 92 strikeouts. The Diamondbacks are 12-4 in his 16 appearances during that span.

Left-hander Jordan Montgomery has started in Nelson's place the last two times and is next in line on Saturday. But with Thursday being a game day, the Diamondbacks could skip Montgomery and go back to left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez on Saturday, with Nelson serving as a reliever either that day or Sunday.

Nelson said he would be comfortable in any pitching role the Diamondbacks wanted.

“I'm just going to keep the ball as long as they let me have it and try to get as many outs as possible,” he said.

Nelson was asked what he thought was the most sensible course of action in terms of his pitching numbers. Just a few weeks ago he was throwing over 100 pitches every five days, but now he's also dealing with an injury and has taken time off from throwing from the mound.

“There are definitely people who know a lot more about the human body than I do,” he said. “There was a decent little period where I didn't throw at all for four days, and I think that has some influence on the decisions.”

“I think they're going to make the smartest decision as far as my health is concerned and also as far as my performance and my ability to perform and my support for the team. I think that's a balancing act that they're doing very well.”

—Nick Piecoro

Pitching duel between Diamondbacks and Giants on Wednesday

Giants at Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m., Cox, Chapter 34

Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (13-6, 3.74) vs. Giants RHP Mason Black (1-4, 5.88).

At Chase Field: Gallen pitched four scoreless innings in Milwaukee before serving up three home runs in the fifth inning as the Brewers rallied from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game. … In his last start, he allowed three runs in five innings, also against the Brewers. … Pitching late into the game has been an issue in recent weeks for Gallen, who has gone six innings in only two of his last eight games. … Black has made eight major league appearances (seven starts), and his most recent outing was probably his best. Against the Royals, he allowed no runs in 5 2/3 innings on four hits and a walk … He has never played against the Diamondbacks. … He throws a good number of strikes and walks just 2.7 batters per nine innings. … Black averages 92.5 mph on his fastballs. He also throws a sweeper, slider and changeup.

Soon

Thursday: Out of.

Friday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (5-0, 3.71) vs. Padres LHP Martin Perez (5-5, 4.25).

Saturday: At Chase Field, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks TBA vs. Padres RHP Yu Darvish (6-3, 3.18).

Sunday: At Chase Field, 12:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (10-9, 4.66)* against Padres RHP Michael King (12-9, 3.04)*.

* – Statistics effective Tuesday.

(This story has been updated to add new information)

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