D-backs Look to Continue Momentum Against the Rockies

Arizona has won all five games against the Rockies at Chase Field this season.

The Diamondbacks (71-67) enter play today tied with the Cincinnati Reds (72-68) for the final National League Wild Card spot. In order to stay ahead of their opponents, they will likely need to sweep the Rockies in this three-game series. The second game of the series will be tonight, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm MST.

Pitching Matchup

Pfaadt (1-7, 6.21 ERA) has looked much improved in the second half, although is coming off a start in which he was clobbered for six runs in four innings against the NL West-leading Dodgers. In his other six starts, he has pitched to a 2.95 ERA in 36 2/3 IP with a 34 to 8 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The key for Pfaadt to continue to pitch well is to be able to command the fastball at the top of the zone against these Rockies hitters. Pfaadt sits 93-95 MPH with a 4-seamer, then utilizes a sweeper, curveball, and a changeup as his secondary pitch. Being able to stretch the zone with high fastballs and then using the curveball and sweeper to get chases below the knees.

The D-backs are very familiar with Kyle Freeland (5-14, 5.18 ERA), as he's made 19 career starts against Arizona. He's 3-8 with a 5.49 ERA in 103 1/3 innings, with D-backs hitters slashing .282/.339/.496 with 19 home runs against the Rockies left-hander. He's faced Arizona twice this year, losing both starts with a 6.17 ERA. Freeland features a 4-seam fastball that tops out at 90 MPH, sinker, slider, curveball, and changeup. He likes to use his sinker/slider combination to induce weak contact early and the curveball serves as his best swing-and-miss pitch.

Lineups and Notes

Michael McDermott

Four of the D-backs top five hitters in the lineup have an OPS above .850 against Freeland. Ketel Marte leads the team with a 1.076 OPS in 47 ABs against the Rockies left-hander, with Longoria (1.027/44), Pham (.979/20), and Walker (.869/33) experiencing success.

Corbin Carroll is the lone left-handed hitter in the lineup, giving manager Torey Lovullo a deep bench of lefties to use in key matchups against the Rockies right-handed relievers. 

On his next extra-base hit, Carroll will become the first MLB rookie to have 60 XBH in a season since Pete Alonso's 82 in the 2019 season. Carroll was the D-backs first-round pick that season and leads all rookies with 5.1 Baseball-Reference WAR (bWAR).

Elehuris Montero is a dangerous hitter in the Rockies lineup, slashing .309/.356/.564 in 17 games against Arizona in his career. 

D-backs Bullpen

The D-backs only used Kevin Ginkel (16 pitches) and Paul Sewald (25) yesterday, so their middle relief is more rested after a heavy workload against the Dodgers. Rookie right-hander Bryce Jarvis is unavailable after throwing 49 pitches against the Orioles on Sunday. When left-hander Andrew Saalfrank appears in a game, it will be his MLB debut.