For most of this year, the Arizona Diamondbacks struggled to piece together even an average rotation. The plan was basically Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and pray for rain — Zach Davies and Ryne Nelson disappointed, Tommy Henry went down with injury and top prospects Drey Jameson and Brandon Pfaadt fell flat in their MLB debuts, leaving the Snakes with not a whole lot beyond its two aces. The result? A 4.67 starters ERA that ranked 21st in baseball.
The postseason, however, has been a whole different story. Regular off-days have allowed Arizona to mask its lack of depth a bit more effectively, and Pfaadt has gone from rookie disappointment to breakout star. D-backs starters have pitched to a 3.63 ERA so far in October, and are a big reason the team is getting ready to take on the Texas Rangers in Game 1 of the World Series at 8:03 p.m. ET on Friday night. Before the games get going, let’s take a look at how Torey Lovullo be lining up his rotation.
Diamondbacks starting pitchers
Game 1: Zac Gallen (17-9, 3.47 ERA in regular season)
Game 2: Merrill Kelly (12-8, 3.29)
Game 3: Brandon Pfaadt (3-9, 5.72)
Game 4: Bullpen game
If I hopped in a time machine and told you at the beginning of October that Gallen would have a 5.24 ERA in these playoffs, you probably wouldn’t have Arizona even making it out of the Wild Card round — much less getting all the way to the Fall Classic. And yet, here they are, having survived the Phillies in a seven-game NLCS despite two clunkers from their Cy Young candidate. But despite his struggles so far this month, Lovullo is still giving Gallen the ball for Game 1 against Texas, falling back on six months’ worth of consistency rather than a couple of off weeks. Gallen was fifth in all of baseball with 20 quality starts in the regular season, and he was brilliant (six innings, one run, 11 Ks) the last time he faced the Rangers in late August.
The D-backs’ other ace, however, has been on a roll. Kelly fell victim to the home-run ball in Game 2 of the NLCS, but he more than redeemed himself in a return trip to Philly, striking out eight over five innings of one-run ball on Monday to help Arizona force a Game 7. That outing lowered his postseason ERA to 2.65, and while Lovullo has yet to make him the official Game 2 starter, he’ll be on normal rest and will almost certainly get the ball in Arlington.
If you’re looking for an explanation as to how this Arizona team shocked the world and ran through the NL playoffs, there are plenty of reasons — but none bigger than Pfaadt’s emergence this month. When October began, it wasn’t clearly whether the D-backs had anything beyond Gallen and Kelly, a skepticism that only grew after Pfaadt lasted just 2.2 innings in Game 1 of the Wild Card series against the Brewers. Since then, though, the rookie has shown why he was among the better pitching prospects in baseball to start the season, giving up just two runs with 18 Ks over his last 14 innings against the fearsome Dodgers and Phillies.
After that … well, we mentioned above that depth was a bit of an issue. Arizona doesn’t really have a viable fourth option, even if Henry manages to return from injury to make the active roster. Lovullo will likely go full Johnny-whole-staff in Game 4, much like he did in Game 4 of the NLCS — in which eight D-backs relievers managed to do just enough to escape with a dramatic 6-5 win. It’s certainly not the least stressful strategy, but it’s gotten Arizona this far, and it’s one the team seems to prefer over running Gallen back out on three days’ rest.
