Diamondbacks Begin Final Home Stand of the Regular Season

The Diamondbacks start their final home stand of the season on Monday, and take on the Giants in a crucial series for the teams playoff hopes.

Sep 21, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (2) grounds out against the Milwaukee Brewers in the fifth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images / Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks return home to Chase Field on Monday night for their final homestand of the regular season. This comes on the back of a crushing loss in Sunday's series finale against the Brewers, which tail ended a successful series in Milwaukee.

Now the Giants come to town for the final matchup between the two teams in 2024, in what is a crucial series with mountenous playoff implications.

The Giants have already been eliminated from playoff contention but would love to play spoiler against a division rival. The Diamondbacks are currently tied for the 2nd Wild Card spot with the Mets and are 2 games up on the Braves for a playoff position.

With the Mets and Braves ending the year against one another, and the D-backs finishing against the Padres, what happens in these 3 games leading up to the end of the year is paramount.

Starting Pitchers

Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP, 3-3, 5.09 ERA, 4.10 FIP in 40.2 IP

Eduardo Rodriguez is coming off his best start in a Diamondbacks uniform. Facing the Rockies in Colorado, Rodriguez went 6.1 innings of dominant baseball, only allowing 2 runs. Most impressively he was able to induce lots of swing and miss, including a season-high 11 strikeouts with only 1 walk.

Rodriguez's season was largely lost to injury, with his first start with his new club coming on August 7th in Cleveland. His results have been slid since coming back, providing some consistency in the rotation that the Diamondbacks desperately needed, and there are signs that he is trending positively.

In the lefty's last two starts, Rodriguez has set new season highs in strikeout totals, with 7 and 11 respectively. Also important is that these numbers are not coming at the expense of his walk rate, with only 4 free passes allowed in those two starts.

How Rodriguez is able to generate swing and miss will be something important to monitor against the Giants, as he could play a big role for the club going into October.

Hayden Birdsong, RHP, 4-5, 4.74 ERA, 4.94 FIP in 62.2 IP

Hayden Birdsong is part of a very young and inexperienced Giants rotation. His debut came on June 26th against the Cubs, and Birdsong has pitched rather well since then.

The biggest issue in his game has been length. Birdsong has never gotten an out in the 7th inning and has only completed 6 frames once. He has also only reached the 5th inning twice in his last 8 starts, with both of those outings coming in his last two appearances.

Birdsong has faced the Diamondbacks before in his young career but did not have much success. He only lasted 3 innings against Arizona, allowing 3 hits and 2 runs. Importantly he walked 5 hitters to only 4 strikeouts, showcasing how good the D-backs are at putting up patient at-bats, and putting the ball in play.

Lineups

Diamondbacks lineup vs Giants 9/23 / @Dbacks on X

Ketel Marte is out of the lineup for the Diamondbacks in the series opener. At the time of posting, we do not have any explanation as to why he is out, or if this is injury-related. This post will be updated with the latest information as to the D-backs star 2nd baseman's absence when we know more.

Gabriel Moreno is also out with an injury he sustained in Sunday's ballgame against the Brewers. It was revealed to be a left adductor tightness. Moreno missed over a month with a strain to the same area and only recently returned.

It is expected that the D-backs catcher will receive an MRI today, and as with Marte, we will provide an update as soon as details are provided.

The Arizona Diamondbacks take on the San Fransisco Giants at 6:40 P.M. at Chase Field. Make sure to stay tuned to Arizona Diamondbacks ON SI for breaking news, health updates, as well as all things D-backs as the club makes its final playoff push.