Diamondbacks News
(Arizona Sports) The good and the not-so-good from Zac Gallen in Diamondbacks’ loss to Pirates
Gallen drew a season-high 15 whiffs (swings-and-misses), nine with his slider and six with the curveball (none with the fastball), according to Statcast. Gallen’s arsenal has changed this year. His curveball does not drop like it used to, and he has replaced it as his primary breaking ball with a slider that has been more effective.
Coming into Thursday, Gallen’s overall whiff rate on the year was 16.5%,
way below his career and the league’s average (both at 25%). The slider has been his best pitch at missing bats.
(SI.com) What D-backs’ Rough Series Loss to Pirates Told Us — And What it Didn’t
It looked like an offensive breakthrough had occurred in game one, as the D-backs put together a patient, well-rounded offensive effort against Pirates righty Bubba Chandler in a 9-0 win. It was the largest margin of victory of the year for Arizona. Walks were taken, productive outs were utilized, and Arizona’s approach looked airtight.
But in game two, the approach went out the window. Granted, facing Paul Skenes is no easy task. When the Cy Young-winning Pirates ace is on, there’s often little that can be done to stop him.
But the D-backs employed an early-swinging approach, expecting a wealth of hittable strikes. When that approach was clearly flawed, no adjustment was made, and Arizona gave up quick out after quick out on the way to eight innings of Skenes dominance.
“It’s the idea of getting everybody together and saying, ‘Hey, we’re relying on you,’” Hall said on Bickley & Marotta Mornings. “Our bullpen is doing its job. If you guys don’t get later and deeper into games, we’re going to hurt our bullpen. And our offense is keeping us in games. You guys are not. And get back to what you were doing at the beginning of the season.”
(CBS Sports) Diamondbacks’ Ryan Waldschmidt: Exits Tuesday after pitch to head
Waldschmidt was out of the lineup Wednesday for Triple-A Reno’s 9-5 loss to Sacramento after he was removed from Tuesday’s series opener when he was hit in the helmet by a pitch in the top of the first inning, Preston Salisbury of AZSnakePit.com reports.
MLB News
(Yahoo! Sports) The Ws keep flying: How Cubs have suddenly surged to the top of the baseball world
The Chicago Cubs are 26-12 after Thursday’s 8-3 victory against the Reds, a win that capped a four-game sweep of Cincinnati. The Cubs are tied for the best record in MLB. They’ve also won 15 consecutive home games, the second-longest streak since 1935.
It all looks as real as baseball-related things can look in May. Not since the Rizzo-Bryant-Baez curse-breaking heyday have the vibes been this immaculate on the North Side.
We’re still a few months away from Major League Baseball’s trade deadline at the beginning of August, though there seem to be a few obvious names regarding potential trade candidates.
There are some players who need to be moved because their teams aren’t in a position to win anytime in the near future, and others because they don’t make much sense on their current roster.
Below, I’m looking at the five most likely players to be traded at the Major League Baseball trade deadline.
(NBC Sports) Cubs’ Matthew Boyd has surgery on knee that he injured playing with his kids
“It’s kind of the minor meniscus surgery so we know he’s going to miss a month, six weeks,” Counsell said ahead of his team’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. “Probably closer to six weeks with getting it ramped back up. That’s what we’re hopeful for. Obviously, we’ll see how it all goes and I think the important thing is how much time do we miss throwing. That’s probably the biggest thing right here. The knee is going to recover pretty quickly, but how much throwing down time do we have to take?”
Ted Turner, the former owner of the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks and World Championship Wrestling, has died at age 87. His company, Turner Enterprises, announced his death on Wednesday.
Turner shared in 2018 that he had been diagnosed with the progressive brain disorder Lewy Body Dementia, and in 2025, he was hospitalized with pneumonia.
