Brandon Pfaadt didn’t have his best stuff on Friday, but he gave Arizona exactly what it needed in a huge spot. The right-hander spent most of the night pitching with traffic on the bases, yet still battled through 7.2 innings and limited the damage to four runs. It won’t count as a quality start, but it was a grind-it-out performance that helped the Diamondbacks get a win in Game 1 of one of the season’s biggest series.
The bigger concern for Arizona is what comes next with Corbin Burnes. Burnes was throwing a bullpen session between his last start on Sunday and his scheduled outing on Saturday, but something felt off.
General manager Mike Hazen said Burnes was not feeling pain, but the ball was not coming out right to where Burnes felt he could help the team. Burnes had an MRI in Phoenix on Friday and will get a second opinion after being placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation.
That leaves the Diamondbacks in a tough spot for Saturday’s game against the San Diego Padres, which has turned into a must-win situation. Arizona is expected to use Ryne Nelson as an opener and then lean on a full bullpen game.
There was also an update on Gabriel Moreno, who left Arizona’s rout of the Padres on Friday with tightness in his leg. Torey Lovullo said he expects Moreno to be fine and has pencilled him in as the team’s DH so he can rest the leg. Arizona will also call up another catcher to make sure it still has two available for the final two games of the regular season.
The day also brought a roster move involving Jesus Sanchez, whose experiment did not last long. It may have already been over for the season if Moreno had not exited Friday night’s game early because of the leg tightness.
In Other News...
Diamondbacks Roster Move Puts Jesus Sanchez In A Tough Spot
Gabriel Morenos left hamstring injury has already forced the Diamondbacks to shuffle their catching mix, with Moreno expected to serve as the designated hitter in the next game while James McCann handles the workload behind the plate. To cover the backup role, Arizona is set to bring up a Triple-A catcher, a move that also clears the path for another roster change as the club tries to patch together its depth on the fly.
That opening leaves Jesus Sanchez in a difficult spot. Arizona is designating the outfielder for assignment to make room, and the move reflects how quickly his opportunity faded after the team claimed him off waivers from the Blue Jays. Sanchez has struggled on both offense and defense this season, and unless something unexpected changes in the process, he is expected to be released after clearing waivers. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Suddenly Face A Brutal Wild Card Problem
Eury Perezs complete-game one-hitter in Miami was the kind of outing that can ripple well beyond the NL East, and it landed at a time when the playoff picture in the National League is getting crowded in a hurry. For Arizona, the bigger takeaway was its own momentum, with the Diamondbacks stretching their winning streak to six and tightening the race for the final wild card spot.
The Diamondbacks are now one game behind the Phillies for that last berth, and they hold the tiebreaker, which gives them a real edge in a chase that keeps getting more uncomfortable for Philadelphia. Around the league, there have been no shortage of notable milestones and end-of-season wrinkles, but Arizonas focus is squarely on the standings and the chance to keep pressing a Phillies club that suddenly has less room for error. [Read more 🡒]
Diamondbacks Surge Is Suddenly Making Philadelphia Sweat
The Phillies have been trending toward a Wild Card berth for a while, but Arizonas latest surge has turned what looked like a comfortable finish into a genuine race. The Diamondbacks have won five straight and, with the tiebreaker in hand, they are suddenly putting real pressure on Philadelphia to finish the job before the calendar flips to the postseason.
Philadelphia still needs a combination of two wins and Diamondbacks losses to lock up the spot, and the timing matters as much as the math. If the Phillies have to wait until their final regular-season game, they may need Zach Wheeler to take the ball, which could ripple into their Wild Card series starting Sept. 29. [Read more 🡒]