The Diamondbacks did what they were supposed to do in Colorado and took two out of three against the Rockies, though it was touch and go there for a while. They remain below .500, however, and they’ll be looking for another series against a struggling team to leapfrog up past that point again.
The Giants are, in fact, that struggling team. They’re seven games below .500 and currently 7.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot. Things just haven’t gone right in general for the Giants this season. What’s
really hurt them is their offense and their 165 total runs scored, which is the lowest in all of baseball.
Game 1 — 5/18, 6:40 PM : Zac Gallen (-0.4 bWAR, 1-4, 5.02 ERA/81 ERA+, 1.51 WHIP) vs. Robbie Ray (1.0 bWAR, 3-5, 3.04 ERA/129 ERA+, 1.17 WHIP)
Robbie Ray is still going strong. Ray, of course, was with the Diamondbacks for many years before being traded in 2020, going to Toronto, and becoming the Cy Young award winner many of us knew he could be, but never managed in Arizona. He’s been with the Giants for three years now, was named an All Star last season, and is putting up a better ERA+ so far this year. Walks have always been an issue for him, and they still are. He’s given up three or more walks in five of his nine starts. Patience will be the key here.
Game 2 — 5/19, 6:40 PM: Ryne Nelson (-0.7 bWAR, 1-3, 5.40 ERA/76 ERA+, 1.15 WHIP) vs. Landen Roupp (0.6 bWAR, 5-4, 3.49 ERA/112 ERA+, 1.14 WHIP)
Loupp has had a pretty decent season thus far. Through his first six starts in April, he only gave up more than three runs once. It was a seven run beat down against the Mets in his second start of the season. He had settled down fairly well, though, until the end of the month. Since the calendar has turned to May, he’s pitched three times, and he’s given up four runs twice. This could be a situation of catching a pitcher at the right time.
Game 3 — 5/20, 12:40 PM: Merrill Kelly vs. Tyler Mahle (-0.3 bWAR, 1-5, 5.59 ERA/70 ERA+, 1.56 WHIP)
That’s a stat line for Mahle that looks like it would fit right in with the Diamondbacks pitching staff. It’s been very much a coin flip for Mahle and the Giants as to what sort of performance he is going to put up. He’s started nine times. Three times, he has held his opponent scoreless. Once he gave up two runs. The other five starts? He’s given up five runs or more. Combine this with an offense that sporadically likes to beat up on pitchers, this could be a very beneficial matchup for the Diamondbacks.
Conclusion
The Dbacks have done well over all against struggling teams this year, and the Giants are struggling more than most. That being said, the Diamondbacks are significantly closer in the standings to them than they are to the Giants. There are reasons to be optimistic for Arizona. Kelly finally looked like the Mainstay that we were expecting in his last start in Coors Field. Nelson has done fairly well in his last few starts as well. Gallen, well, we know what Gallen is at this point.
The offense has been too sporadic of late to predict. Some days they’re putting up eight runs, others they can barely scratch by two. Given that, it’s really hard to say what to expect from them against some decent, if not spectacular, pitching coming from the Giants. When it’s all said and done, I think they win this series as well, but it’s going to be close.
