ARLINGTON, Texas — For the first time this year, the first place Texas Rangers will get a look at one of their National League counterparts from out west.
The Arizona Diamondbacks, who had not been on the radar of many as contenders in the NL West, are a half-a-game back for the top spot behind only the dynastic Los Angeles Dodgers.
At 16-13, Arizona comes into their first series in May one game better than the San Diego Padres, the team many expected to be the challenger to dethrone the Dodgers. Like Texas, whether or not Arizona can sustain their early season success will be the storyline of the summer in the desert.
Here’s what the expect from the brief two-game set that will begin May for two rising upstarts:
Where Arizona’s coming from
As expected for a team that is keeping pace with LA, the Diamondbacks are on something of a roll, having won or split their last four series. Their last series loss came in mid-April to the Miami Marlins, who are having a decent run in their own right.
Arizona has been riding the wave of late-inning success from their bullpen and timely output by their offense. The members of their rotation have been struggling of late to get through six innings. However, the Rangers will see their one big exception in the short series opener.
Zac Gallen has been the star pitcher for the Diamondbacks. The former third-round pick for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2016 came to Arizona via Miami in the Jazz Chisholm, Jr. trade. He was one of the bright spots for the D-Backs in last year’s rotation, making 31 starts and pitching to a 2.54 ERA with a 0.913 WHIP and 4.09 K/BB rate. He finished fifth in the Cy Young voting.
This season, Gallen gave up five runs in his first start, four runs in his second outing and that’s it. He’s had 28 scoreless innings in his last four starts, dating back to April 10. A fastball/curveball pitcher, Gallen has taken over the ace mantle, especially with Madison Bumgarner, who has since been released, on a severe decline. Gallen will oppose Jon Gray on Tuesday night.
Wednesday’s afternoon starter for the Diamondbacks has yet to be determined, as, since Bumgarner’s departure, the team has been listing out just four starting pitchers. With two off days this week, coming off of one on Monday and going into one on Thursday, the Diamondbacks can afford to have an empty spot in the rotation or they could be waiting to announce the promotion of a pitching prospect such as right-hander Brandon Pfaadt.
The Diamondbacks are also waiting to see about the status of rookie left fielder Corbin Carroll. The 22-year-old Rookie of the Year candidate crashed hard into the wall and was hurt attempting a catch in Arizona’s 11-4 win over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Saturday.
At first, the thought was that Carroll had just suffered a bruised knee, but he has undergone an MRI since the team landed in Texas. His status won’t be known until before the series opener.
On the year, Carroll has been slashing .309/.374/.536 with four homers and nine RBI after debuting as one of the top prospects in baseball last season. He’s already been the recipient of an eight-year, $111 million extension, so the Diamondbacks have placed a lot of stock in him to produce, which he’s been doing so far in 2023.
Things to watch for
Game 29, 7:05 PM CT: RHP Zac Gallen (4-1, 2.15 ERA) vs. RHP Jon Gray (1-1, 3.91 ERA)
Game 30, 1:05 PM CT: TBD vs. LHP Andrew Heaney (2-2, 4.38 ERA)
Arizona coming to town means that Rangers former manager and current Diamondbacks bench coach Jeff Banister will be present. This might not mean much, but the former catcher has been working closely with the Diamondbacks’ 23-year-old catcher, Gabriel Moreno.
Moreno has thrown out twelve would be base-stealers and allowed only three successful attempts on the year, his first in Arizona. As Texas is already struggling in the stolen base category, coming in the bottom third in baseball, trying to challenge this backstop might not prove to be fruitful.
Evan Longoria is also with the Diamondbacks this year. The 37-year-old veteran third baseman and designated hitter hasn’t been producing like in his heyday in Tampa Bay, but Longoria isn’t with Arizona to be a star player; he’s there to mentor the younger talent on Torey Lovullo’s team, players like Carroll and Emmanuel Rivera. Rivera, who’s only been up for five games for Arizona, has already logged eight hits playing the hot corner and is likely to take that position in the long run.
For the Rangers, the team completed a four-game set against the New York Yankees, taking three of those games, including a rout in the finale. The offense again has been clicking on all cylinders, as the middle of the lineup – Nathaniel Lowe, Adolis Garcia and Josh Jung – has been cashing in on the success of the bottom of the lineup getting on base.
Texas will send Gray and Andrew Heaney to the mound against the D-Backs. Gray’s last start was against the Reds, a quality effort in which he gave up three runs in six innings of work. He’s been as consistent as Texas could have hoped for, pitching into the sixth in all but one of his starts, a game in which he was hit in the arm with a comebacker.
Heaney, meanwhile, was the pitcher in the Rangers’ lone loss to the Yankees, a hard-luck affair with the AL’s top starter Gerrit Cole opposing him on the mound. Heaney gave up three runs, all in the second inning, but otherwise struck out six in a quality start.
Both teams’ bullpens should be well rested, and with another day off after this short series that ends on Wednesday, both bullpens should be fully available.
Do you think the Rangers will earn a series win before heading west? Share your predictions with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
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