D-backs Try to Draw on 2023 Experience in Wild Card Dogfight

With just four games left to play the Arizona Diamondbacks are trying to stay level headed while they seek to find a way back to the Postseason

Sep 17, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll (7) during in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Throughout much of the 2024 season there has been one consistent refrain heard from within and around the Arizona Diamondbacks. A young team gained invaluable experience and perspective on what it takes to persevere over a 162 game season and then play their best baseball once getting into the Postseason.

Last year they got into the Postseason on the second to last day of the season despite losing their final four games. Through the first three months of the season they were one of the best teams in the league, racing out to a 50-34 record through the first 80 games.

Then they fell on hard times, slumped badly, fell all the way down to below .500 before righting their ship and getting into the playoffs. They had help. Another young team, the Cincinnati Reds, went 4-8 over their final 12, opening the door for the D-backs.

Once they got to the Postseason, the D-backs got hot, and made it all the way to the World Series, before bowing out in five to the Texas Rangers.

As an organization they knew they had to continue to grow. Addressing the media on the first day of spring training, General Manager Mike Hazen spoke about the improbability of what the team accomplished, and how they'd need to be better going forward.

"We won 84 games last year. We were the last team into the playoffs. That's not really a sustainable position to put the team in, in terms of wanting to get to playofs every year. We got in with a day or two left in the season. That's not a position I want to be in moving forward. "

Unfortunately that's exactly the position the team finds themselves in heading to the last four games of the season. Technically they are a better overall team, with an 87-71 record. But the NL Wild Card race is equally tight to last year.

The New York Mets are a half game ahead with an 87-70 record, and the Braves are a half game behind at 86-71.

Also similar to last year, both those teams hold the head-to-head tie-breaker advantage, complicating the standings and the pathways into the Postseason. The D-backs must finish with one fewer loss than at least one of those teams to get in, and the only way to do that is to start winning some games.

Whether or not the team can start doing that is in question, for the simple reason that the pitching staff is imploding. Despite having the best offense in the league, the pitching has been nearly the worst all year, and for the month of September, it has actually been the worst in MLB.

After Tuesday night's 11-0 shellacking at the hands of the San Francisco Giants, the D-backs now have a 5.73 ERA in September, which ranks 30 of 30. League average for the month is 3.86. The rotation and bullpen have taken turns disappointing.

On Sunday the bullpen was handed an 8-3 lead, but lost the the games 10-9. The last two games the starting pitchers, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt were both hit hard and made early exits. The starters ERA for September is 5.12, and ranks 26th. The bullpen ERA is a horrific 6.51 and ranks 30th, nearly a full run higher than the nest worst team.

That's where things feel different from 2023. While the bats struggled over the final handful of games last year, the bullpen was lights out, posting a 2.31 ERA in September. The starters had a 5.01 ERA similar to this year however.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing is that the D-backs offense has scored 135 runs in September, the most in MLB. Much like most of the season, it's the position players that have kept the team afloat and in the race, while the pitching has floundered.

But suddenly, the offense has gone cold and the pitching has been unable to flip the switch, in fact it's only gotten worse. Speaking after Tuesday night's game, Corbin Carroll was asked how they're dealing with what's happened over the last few days.

"We just need to try and flip the script and not dwell on it too much. We've got an opportunity tomorrow, and just try and win the day tomorrow."

Carroll still believes last year's experience has helped them through the ups and downs of this year and will help the team get through these final few games.

"I think that everything the team's been through this year, there have been plenty of lulls, plenty of late runs we've gone on in stretches, I just think all of it adds up to a team that's able to keep some level headedness regardless of the situation"

That hasn't actually seemed to be the case the last few games, however. Aside from Carroll's own spectacular home run robbing play Tuesday, defensive miscues and questionable approaches at the plate have resulted in them being outscored 26-4 over their last 24 innings, (Since the fourth inning on Sunday).

That said, Carroll acknowledged the sense of urgency. Last night Torey Lovullo said he might have read the team the riot act in the clubhouse after the games. When asked about Lovullo's message to the team, Carroll

"We know he cares about us. We've got such a great staff, they take care of us in so many ways. He was just reiterating the care that we have for each other and that he has confidence in us to get it done.

"There's no two ways to look at it," Carroll said. We want to play Postseason ball, and in order to do that we have to take care of business these next four games.

Torey Lovullo after the game, "We've got to play better baseball. We've got to play more focused baseball...It all builds off of pitching."

Indeed it does. If the D-backs are going to get up off the mat and play better baseball, it must start Wednesday night with a good outing from Zac Gallen and a good performance from the bullpen. Just one win, one game at a time. It's the only thing they can do at this point.