Diamondbacks Have Opportunity to Take Huge Series Against Twins

The Diamondbacks face off with the Twins tonight with a chance to win a huge series at home.

Jun 25, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Ketel Marte (4) celebrates with teammate Corbin Carroll (7) after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

After holding on to a tight 5-4 lead in a win last night, the Arizona Diamondbacks have a huge opportunity to take the series against the Twins today.

The D-backs took the opener against Minnesota, something that has become a trend for them as of late. They are now 7-0 in opening games in June, being only 3-16 before that.

The Twins are not an "easy" opponent. They are part of a suddenly heavily contested AL Central and hold a strong 43-36 record. They have a strong offense, much of which is currently clicking, and a strong top end to the pitching staff.

The Diamondbacks are coming off a successful, albeit sour ending to a road trip on the east coast, taking 2 of 3 against the Nationals and dropping a series to the Phillies. They are playing good baseball while down significant pieces of the roster, even losing Gabriel Moreno on the trip.

Teams have been incredibly aggressive against the D-backs as of late, something we saw highlighted in the Nationals series. Torey Lovullo spoke with the media pregame on how they will respond. "We have to make some adjustments, we are aware of it. We watched the Nationals walk up there and in 3 games we averaged 11 pitches per inning. We are trying to stay one click ahead of it."

It's now time for the D-backs to show the team they are and jump out to a 2 game lead in the series, something that they need to do more often against over .500 teams. Now who will be on the mound to give them a chance at this?

Starting Pitchers

Ryne Nelson, RHP, 5-5, 5.18 ERA, 4.52 FIP in 64.1 IP

Nelson has been the definition of inconsistent for the Diamondbacks, but in his last two starts has found some stability. Each outing had its own style, showing some versatility that he desperately needs. In his last start, the young righty went 7 innings, giving up only 2 runs against the Nationals in a winning effort. He gave up only 3 hits, but was bit twice by the longball.

The previous start is very notable as Nelson was able to strike out a career high 8 betters against the White Sox going 6 innings of 1-run ball. The outing was certainly impressive, and after pairing back to back solid starts it is valid to wonder if we are seeing some things clicking for Nelson.

Torey Lovullo spoke on Nelson finding his groove saying "He's been there for me for some time...we've watched the outings improve, the stuff improve, the consistency of the stuff improve, and the adjustments improve. He's in a really great spot... he's on a quest to continue winning baseball games."

Overall he has been fine as a fill-in during a string of injuries. His FIP indicates some bad luck, and he has generally kept the walks under control, with only 11 in 13 games started. Nelson will work with Tucker Barnhart today with Gabriel Moreno still on the injured list.

Simeon Woods-Richardson, RHP, 2-1, 3.26 ERA, 3.66 FIP in 60.2 IP

Woods-Richardson was acquired by the Twins in the Jose Berrios trade with the Toronto Blue Jays. This seems to be doing well for Minnesota, as Woods-Richardson has been dominant in 2024. He has gone 7 straight starts allowing 4 runs or fewer, and has only allowed 4 or more runs once.

His FIP may signal some regression, but with such a low ERA even that 3.66 FIP seems to reflect his dominance. The strikeouts reflect this as well. He has tallied 26 strikeouts in his last 5 games, never striking out fewer than 4 batters.

Something the Diamondbacks can likely take advantage of is his longevity. Woods-Richardson has been inconsistent on the length he has provided on the mound. He has gone 4.2 innings or fewer 5 times already this year, and twice in his last 4 starts. It would make sense to see an early aggressive approach from Arizona, as they look to knock him out of the game early and get to the Twins' bullpen.

Starting Lineups

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Minnesota Twins / Alex D'Agostino

The Diamondbacks are sticking with a very familiar lineup, not changing much against the righty.

Corbin Carroll is continuing to swing the bat well, working his way back from his early season struggles. Yeasterday's game showed more positive signs from the young outfielder, hitting the ball extremely hard against Joe Ryan and drawing a key walk late in the game that set up Ketel Marte to score the go ahead run.

Tucker Barnhart, the Diamondbacks' regular backup catcher, is hitting 8th as Gabriel Moreno is still on the IL. Barnhart has tallied an RBI hit in each of his last 5 games behind the plate and seems to find himself in the middle of the offense, even with his modest season long numbers.

Eugenio Suarez is continuing to struggle. While things seem to compound, he did manage to take an excellent swing on a pitch from Joe Ryan in last nights ballgame that led to an RBI triple in the 2nd inning.

The Twins bats are rolling and some key ones headline the top of their batting order.

Royce Lewis is an obvious name to highlight, as his 10 home runs and incredible 1.192 OPS leads Minnesota by far. He was however held hitless by the Diamondbacks pitching staff last night.

Byron Buxton is back in center field and is hitting 7th tonight. He notched his 6th home run yesterday, along with a double taking his OPS to .737. Injuries have often been the problem for Buxton but he is taking on this Diamondbacks team in shape and they will need to treat him as a threat at the bottom of the order.

A notable ommision from the Twins lineup is catcher Ryan Jeffers who hit a game-tying blast against Brandon Pfaadt last night. Instead it is Christian Vasquez who is filling in. Vasquez isn't having a great season offensively, hitting only .188 with 2 home runs, but his 11 RBI are notable as he rounds out the bottom of the Twins' order.

The Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Minnesota Twins tonight at 6:40 PM Arizona time at Chase Field. Make sure to keep up to date on all things D-backs on Inside The Diamondbacks for postgame content and news.