The Diamondbacks are rolling out another starter against the Giants, and Kohl Drake is the one taking the ball this time after Arizona made a roster move to clear space. With Jose Cabrera still on the roster after what was described as a decent performance last night, despite a rocky first inning, the club sent reliever Burgos back to Reno. Arizona’s 40-man roster now sits at 39.
Drake gets his chance after a solid first big-league start, when he worked five innings of one-run ball against the Athletics. The follow-up stretch has been much rougher.
In his next three outings, he never made it past the fourth inning and gave up nine earned runs over 11.2 innings. Even so, his strikeout-to-walk numbers were not ugly, checking in at 8:4, or 13:6 if you include his debut.
Arizona’s lineup for the game also comes with the continued absence of Ketel Marte, and the numbers over the last ten games suggest the offense has felt it. Since the start of KetelGate 2026, with Marte missing the opener at Fenway Park, the D-backs have averaged 3.90 runs per game and posted a .688 OPS. Before that stretch, they were at 4.54 runs per game with a .715 OPS.
The clearest comparison has come at Marte’s spot in the lineup, where Ildemaro Vargas has been filling in. Marte’s last ten games before the absence produced a .250 average, but he also drew seven walks against nine strikeouts and hit two home runs, good for a .250/.400/.469 line and an .869 OPS.
Vargas has not come close to matching that production. Over the ten games since, he has gone 5-for-41 with one walk, leaving him at .128/.146/.205 and a .351 OPS.
That drop-off has been hard to miss, even if it hasn’t flipped any results by itself. All five losses during that span came by at least five runs, so the missing offense was not the only issue. But it has certainly not helped.
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Diamondbacks Put On The Spot By Ketel Marte Situation
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Torey Lovullo has defended Marte amid the speculation, trying to keep the focus on the player and not the noise around him. Former MLB pitcher Heath Bell also weighed in, saying the reaction around Marte reflects a disparity in how players from Latin America are treated compared with American players, adding another layer to a story the Diamondbacks would probably have preferred to handle quietly. [Read more 🡒]