The Arizona Diamondbacks fell flat Saturday night as they lost to the Seattle Mariners by a score of 3-1. Today, the D-backs will look to salvage the series win the finale, and avoid a four-game losing streak. The D-backs offense has been scuffling while the bullpen has struggled to limit runs from scoring. They will need a bounce-back performance from the offense and continued strong pitching from Brandon Pfaadt to win today's game.
The Seattle Mariners are 15-12 and sit in first place in the AL West. Meanwhile, the D-backs are 12-16 falling to fourth place in the NL West. This is the first time they have been four games under .500 since the end of the 2022 season. Game time for today's game is at 1:10 PM local AZ time. It is on D-backs TV.
Starting Pitchers
The D-backs will sending out Brandon Pfaadt to the mound while the Mariners counter with co-ace Logan Gilbert. Pfaadt has been a mixed bag so far this season. He's started five games and in three of them has allowed two or fewer earned runs. However, in the other two, he's allowed five or more earned runs. His last two starts have been stellar. He's pitched 12.1 innings and gave up just four runs against 10 strikeouts and three walks.
On the season, Pfaadt is 1-1 with a 4.97 ERA over 29 innings. He's allowed 28 hits, 16 earned runs, four homers, six walks, and has struck out 27 batters. The key for Pfaadt today will be to avoid leaving his sweeper over the plate and to limit homers. After giving up 22 homers in 95 innings last year, he's already given up four in 29 innings. If Pfaadt can limit the homers and locate his sweeper today, the D-backs will be in good shape. The Diamondbacks badly need a stellar start from Pfaadt as the offense tries to find it's groove again.
There is plenty of reason to think that Pfaadt's numbers will improve as the season goes on. While his ERA is an unsightly 4.97, MLB average is 4.01. His FIP is a much better 3.92, MLB average is 3.98. His xFIP is an even better 3.81 while MLB average is 3.96. His xERA or expected ERA is a strong 3.49.
Pfaadt is still learning how to pitch deeper into games. He's doing a far better job than last year, but it's a growing process. Last year, opponents hit for an OPS of .703 the first time through the order. This year, it's down to .576. The second time through the order Pfaadt has dropped opponent OPS from .859 to .775. The third time through order has dropped from 1.193 to .813. It's still high but it's trending well.
The Mariners counter with an ace in Logan Gilbert. The hard throwing right-hander has been stellar this season. He's 2-0 with a 1.87 ERA in 33.2 innings and five games. He has allowed just 19 hits, seven runs, eight walks, and struck out 35.
Gilbert has allowed just two runs over his last three starts that combine for 21 innings. During that span, he allowed 10 hits, six walks, and struck out 20. He has faced the D-backs once before. He pitched 6.1 innings and gave up nine hits, two runs, and struck out five en route to a win.
Gilbert throws six different pitches, albeit only five are used for the most part. He has a four seamer, slider, cutter, split finger, curveball, and occasionally a sinker. He mainly used the first four pitches.
Starting Lineups
The D-backs are trotting much the same lineup construction as yesterday with a couple of changes. Tucker Barnhart is in for the day game with Gabriel Moreno getting the day off. Kevin Newman replaces Blaze Alexander at shortstop.
There's some precedence to having Newman hitting in day games. In 21 road day games, Newman is hitting .297 with a .774 OPS since the start of the 2023 season.
This season, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Jake McCarthy, Joc Pederson, and Christian Walker have excelled in road day game. McCarthy is hitting .375 while Gurriel Jr. has a .389 average and .889 OPS. Pederson is hitting .333 and has a 1.100 OPS while Walker is hitting .313.
McCarthy has been on a tear at the plate lately. He has hit safely in 9/10 games and during that span since April 14th, has hit at a .387 average with a double, triple, four RBI, three walks, and two stolen bases. He has a six-game road hitting streak.
More must-reads: