Takeaways from D-backs' Tightrope Series Win vs Giants

It wasn't the prettiest series win of all time, but the Arizona Diamondbacks held on for two critical wins against their NL West rival Giants in San Francisco. Arizona was outscored 18-16, but gritted out two close wins.

Familiar issues with both the bullpen and starting rotation arose, but they were able to do just enough to prevent a slide below .500.

Here are three takeaways from an ugly, nail-biting, necessary series win at Oracle Park.

1: Slugging Stars

The Diamondbacks have not been known in recent years as a homer-happy club, but that identity has certainly taken form in the early goings of 2025.

Star outfielder Corbin Carroll tied Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber for the home run lead with his 14th of the season in game two (though that lead would last all of one day thanks to Judge), and it was Carroll's two solo homers that provided the entirety of Arizona's offense in their 2-1 game one victory.

Meanwhile, Ketel Marte homered twice in game three, and Eugenio Suárez pulled within one homer of Carroll with his 13th in game three. Suárez is slugging .760 in his last seven games, and despite the .210 average, boasts a .819 OPS. In 2024, Carroll and Suárez did not reach their 14th and 13th homers until August 20 and July 28, respectively.

Even Josh Naylor got into the slugging party with a homer of his own in game two, though it came in garbage time.

It's not that the Diamondbacks can no longer play chaos ball. But adding this much early slug to the mix is the extra dimension Arizona's offense had been looking for. It's simply a matter of how consistent it can remain, and if the pitching staff can hold those leads.

2: Untimely, Unnecessary walks

The Diamondbacks' pitching staff has seen its fair share of struggles this season. Some of Arizona's poor pitching results — especially with regard to lefty starter Eduardo Rodríguez — have noted some poor batted ball luck, uncharacteristically bad defense, and some of the coinflip-esque outcomes that always pervade baseball.

But D-backs pitchers issuing free passes has become an issue. Coming into Wednesday's game, it's not as if the D-backs were severely underperforming with regard to bases on balls. They had given up the 14th-most walks — below average, yes, but not to the point of it being a foundational cause of their seventh-worst team ERA.

But in this series, it was untimely, unnecessary walks that plagued Arizona's starting pitchers and relievers. In game two, Brandon Pfaadt issued two walks in the second. The more glaring of which was to Patrick Bailey to load the bases.

All four balls were non-competitive pitches. Bailey entered that game with a 37% whiff rate (3rd percentile in MLB) and a 33.9% strikeout rate, and was batting eighth, but the walk ended up being the difference between a game-tying home run and a go-ahead grand slam to the nine hitter. It's impossible to play the hindsight game with results, but it's also difficult to not have a slight inkling that even a poorly-located strike might have helped Pfaadt get out of the inning.

Similarly, Rodríguez struggled with command and non-competitive balls in his game-three start. He walked three batters in four innings. Eight-hole hitter David Villar walked twice, facing Rodríguez and righty Ryne Nelson. Two of Rodríguez's three walks scored.

In the ninth inning, Shelby Miller walked Bailey again. This time with three of four non-competitive balls. That nearly came back to bite Arizona, as Bailey was able to represent the winning run without having to swing the bat on the payoff pitch.

Miller then walked in San Francisco's seventh run before barely escaping the inning. In total, seven free passes were handed out to Giants hitters in game three. All seven of them were to the 5-9 hitters.

A win is a win, but this series demonstrated a difficulty in maintaining one of the fundamental rules of baseball: make your opponents beat you with their bats - especially those without superstar reputation.

3: Enduring the Gauntlet

The Diamondbacks began a brutal 16-game stretch without an off day back on April 29, with series against some of MLB's best clubs. They faced the Phillies, the Mets (twice) and the Dodgers for four games before going to Oracle Park, where they had been 26-41 since 2017 prior to this year's series win.

They alternated wins and losses back and forth for 12 straight games without a repeated outcome. Sure, they left wins on the field. Yes, there were heartbreaking, avoidable losses. But Arizona endured its toughest stretch to date, and came out with a .500 record in that span. They remain two games above .500 on the year, and gain a modicum of ground on the Giants, who are now 1-5 in their last six games.

The 162-game season is a marathon, and some hills are tougher to climb than others. If the D-backs are able to endure this stretch, they should be in for some much-needed "easier" opponents.

Though no major league game nor opponent is ever an easy, guaranteed win, they will see the Rockies for three at home before facing the Dodgers on the road once more. After that series at Dodger Stadium, however, the schedule does lighten up a bit, and Arizona could begin to stack wins, as long as some of the inconsistencies begin to work themselves out. That, of course, remains a question.