Diamondbacks May Face Must-Win Game in San Diego

The Arizona Diamondbacks have set themselves up for a difficult three-game stretch to end their season. After failing to take two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers, they may face elimination against the San Diego Padres on Friday night.

Arizona must win at least two of their next three games. Unless both the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds are swept, Arizona will need to sweep the Padres.

Therefore, if the Mets or Reds claim victory before the D-backs have finished their contest Friday Arizona will be facing a must-win elimination game.

Related Content: Diamondbacks' Season On the Brink in San Diego

Arizona Diamondbacks vs San Diego Padres Pitching Matchup

RHP Zac Gallen (4.70 ERA) vs RHP Yu Darvish (5.51 ERA)

Friday's game may very well be Zac Gallen's last start as a Diamondback. After battling illness and fatigue, the team made the decision to push him back a day and go with a bullpen game. Gallen did not request this extra day.

The decision backfired in the form of a blowup loss to the Dodgers on Thursday. Now, Gallen will be forced to try and keep his team alive.

It's been a tough season for the former ace, but his second-half turnaround has been remarkable. In his past two months, he's only given up more than three earned runs in a start once. He has a 3.16 ERA in the month of September.

Gallen has been in strong command and has picked up strikeouts at a high clip once again, punching out nine over seven innings against the Phillies his last time out.

The Padres will turn to veteran right-hander Yu Darvish, who has had poor results since coming off the 60-day IL in July.

Darvish's first start of the year was against Arizona. The D-backs only scored two runs, but chased him after 3.2 innings after collecting three hits and three walks. They had nearly the same output against him a month later, with three runs over four innings.

Darvish throws many pitches. That is his strength. His mid-90s sinker has been his most-used pitch this year, at 21%, with a relatively even split between seven other offerings. Good luck.

The sinker has been hit to a mere .212 by opposing hitters, while his slider has been hammered .357 this season.

Diamondbacks vs Padres Lineup

(Check back later for lineup.)

Diamondbacks vs Padres Bullpens

The D-backs' bullpen got heavy usage on Wednesday, but with everything on the line, it seems unlikely there will be much restriction. Jalen Beeks, Nabil Crismatt and newcomer Austin Pope each pitched. Taylor Rashi threw the final three innings and is likely down.

The Padres used four pitchers in their loss to the Brewers, including David Morgan, Adrian Morejon, Kyle Hart and Jeremiah Estrada. Robert Suarez has not pitched since Monday, and Mason Miller has not thrown since Sunday.

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