Carroll and Perdomo Lead Diamondbacks into Denver to Face Rockies

It looked like Zac Gallen was getting his season on track after back-to-back excellent outings against the New York Mets to begin the month of May. Instead he's struggled mightily with control over his last seven starts, going 1-4 while walking 19 batters and giving up nine homers in his last 41 innings. He's posted a 6.10 ERA in this stretch to put his season ERA up to 5.19.

Austin Gomber missed the first two plus months of the season due to a sore shoulder. He returned on June 15 to throw five scoreless innings against the Braves, allowing just two hits and walking one. The D-backs faced Gomber four times last year, getting to him for 14 runs on 24 hits.

Saturday, June 21, 6:10 p.m.

Merrill Kelly has been the most consistent, reliable starter for Arizona most of this year. He's given up four earned runs in three of his last five starts, but there were two scoreless outings in between that.

Carson Palmquist made his MLB debut against the D-backs on May 16, giving up five runs in four innings. He's made a couple of decent starts since then, but has struggled overall.

Brandon Pfaadt took a step forward last time out against the Blue Jays after a series of rough starts. He went five innings, giving up two runs on four hits, including a homer. Far from dominant, he walked one, hit three batters, and struck out three. But it was a step in the right direction nonetheless.

Antonio Senzatela picked up his second win in his last start, going five innings and giving up just one unearned run against the Nationals. Like most of the Rockies' staff, it's been an extremely tough season for the veteran of nine seasons with Colorado.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Colorado Rockies Offense

The D-backs remain fourth in the league in runs scored with 375, and third in OPS at .772. They had a three-game slump at the plate until they broke out of it with nine runs on Thursday. The offense has been powered by Eugenio Suarez of late, who now has 22 homers and 62 RBI to go with an .837 OPS.

Ketel Marte continues to lead the team with an .944 OPS. Josh Naylor is batting .304 with an .830 OPS, and is on a nine-game hit streak. His 49 RBI are tied for second on the team with shortstop Geraldo Perdomo.

The most important player for this series is likely to be Corbin Carroll, provided he can play. Hit on the hand by a pitch on Wednesday night, he did not play Thursday. Torey Lovullo said that Carroll should be good to go all three games this weekend however. Carroll is 15-for-49, .306, with four homers and a 1.036 OPS at Coors Field in his career.

For the month of June, the Rockies are actually fifth in MLB in runs scored with 80 and first in OPS, posting a .797 mark. They've been a completely different team this month. For the full season they're 27th in the league with 261 runs scored, and 26th in OPS at .672. This despite playing their home games in Coors Field, the most hitter-friendly park in MLB.

Hunter Goodman is hitting .344 with seven homers and a 1.117 OPS in June. Ryan McMahon has caught fire as well, batting .271 with five homers and a .934 OPS in June.

Arizona Diamondbacks vs Colorado Rockies Bullpens

The D-backs' bullpen continues to flounder under the weight of injury and underperformance. The team reliever ERA of 5.42 ranks 28th in MLB.

Shelby Miller has taken on the closer duties, but was forced to pitch on Thursday in a game the D-backs were originally leading 9-1. He came into the ninth to protect a 9-5 lead. That likely will result in Miller being available one fewer game in Colorado.

The Rockies' bullpen has been almost a run better, posting a 4.62 ERA despite pitching at Coors Field. Jake Bird (41.2 IP, 2.17 ERA) and Jimmy Herget (36.1 IP, 2.97 ERA) have been the workhorses of their relief corps. Seth Halvorsen is the closer, but has five saves against eight blown saves. He took the extra-inning loss on Thursday.

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