The Arizona Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates won’t be making much noise in the National League playoff picture this season. However, they will play a significant role in shaping the NL race in the days to come. Sunday’s matchup is an example of that intrigue.
Both teams will be active sellers at the trade deadline. Arizona has already started, trading Josh Naylor to the Mariners and Randal Grichuk to the Royals. It’s expected that more names will follow, starting with slugging third baseman Eugenio Suárez. Sunday could be his last game for the Snakes as trade talks heat up. It may also be the last start for Sunday’s expected pitcher Zac Gallen in a Diamondbacks uniform.
Paul Skenes, the starter for the Pirates, won’t be traded. But many of his teammates are in trade discussions. At 19 games under .500, Pittsburgh never had a chance at postseason play this year. It’ll hope to replenish the farm system in order to find more talent to complement Skenes and center fielder Oneil Cruz.
Pittsburgh is a -157 home favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook for Sunday’s game. The total is set at 7.5 runs. Let’s preview this game before getting into my favorite pick.
Diamondbacks at Pirates prediction, preview
A year ago, this would have been an excellent pitching matchup for a Sunday matinee game. Skenes needs no introduction; he’s got as good a case as anyone for being the best pitcher in the league. Gallen never had that pedigree, but he has three top-10 Cy Young finishes to his name, including a third-place finish in 2023. Now, in his contract year, he’s having the worst season of his seven-year career.
The 29-year-old righty is pitching to a 5.58 ERA this season. His breaking pitches have seemingly abandoned him. Hard hit balls are up, velocity is down, and ground ball rate is down. Until recently, an expiring Gallen would have been one of the premier trade deadline chips. It’s possible that another team feels they can get some value out of him at the deadline, but he’ll be sold at a low point. Sunday is his last audition for a new employer.
And it thoroughly tilts this matchup in favor of the Pirates. They can’t hit as a team, but Skenes turns every other lineup into the Pirates. If they can scrape anything across against Gallen, it bodes quite well for their chances at home.
