ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS NOTES:
IN THE WEST: The D-backs are third in the NL West, 4.0 games behind the Giants and 6.5 games behind the Dodgers.
VS. TWINS: Today, the D-backs begin their fifth series all-time @ Twins and first since Aug. 18-20, 2017.
♦ The D-backs took 2 of 3 in their last series @ Chase Field from June 17-19, 2022.
♦ Arizona is seeking its first victory in the Twin Cities since Sept. 22, 2014 (W, 6-2).
PFAADT WAS PHENOMENAL: Yesterday, in his 9th career start, Brandon Pfaadt became the first D-back starting pitcher to toss 7.0+ innings with 2-or-fewer hits allowed, 1-or-fewer runs and walks allowed and 7+ strikeouts within their first 10 career starts.
♦ Pfaadt joins only 3 other D-back starting pitchers to toss bids of 7.0+ innings with 2-or-fewer hits and 1-or-fewer runs allowed: Drey Jameson on Sept. 15, 2022 vs. Padres (7.0 shutout, 2 H); Tyler Gilbert on Aug. 14, 2021 vs. Padres (no-hitter); Enrique González on June 13, 2006 vs. Giants (7.0 shutout, 1 H).
CLOSE ONES: 4 of the D-backs’ last 6 games have been decided by 1 run:
July 29 vs. SEA ……. W……4-3……… (+1)
July 30 vs. SEA…………L……..0-4………..(-4)
July 31 @ SF……….. W……4-3 (11).. (+1)
Aug. 1 @ SF…………L…….3-4……… (-1)
Aug. 2 @ SF …………….L……..2-4………..(-2)
Aug. 3 @ SF…………L…….0-1……… (-1)
STARTING PITCHERS: D-backs starting pitchers, in their last 9 road starts (6 quality starts), since July 19, boast a 3.93 ERA (22 ER in 50.1 IP), .212 opponent average (39-for-184), 0.99 WHIP, 11 walks and 35 strikeouts.
‘PEN SUPPORT: Since July 27, the D-backs’ bullpen ranks among MLB teams in K/9.0 IP (1st, 12.86), homers allowed (T-1st, 1), ERA (4th, 2.14), hits allowed (T-6th, 17) and strikeouts (T-7th, 30).
CARROLL ON THE BAGS: Corbin Carroll’s 34 stolen bases currently rank third in the Majors, behind Ronald Acuña Jr./ATL (51) and Esteury Ruiz/OAK (43).
♦ Carroll’s 34 stolen bases are the most by a rookie in D-backs’ franchise history, ahead of Chris Young/2007 (27).
♦ Carroll’s 34 stolen bases rank fifth all-time by a D-back in a season, behind Tony Womack/1999 (72), Eric Byrnes/2007 (50), Tony Womack/2000 (45) and A.J. Pollock/2015 (39).
♦ Since 1990, Carroll is 1 of 10 MLB rookies to steal 30+ bases at age 22 or younger:
MARTE TARGETING 100: Ketel Marte’s 97 home runs as a D-back are tied with Miguel Montero for ninth on the D-backs franchise list.
♦ Marte is 1 of 12 D-backs with 90+ home runs and looks to become the ninth D-back to reach the 100+ home run mark: 224 – Luis Gonzalez; 209 – Paul Goldschmidt; 153 – Steve Finley; 132 – Chris Young; 121 – Mark Reynolds; 110 – David Peralta; 109 – Christian Walker; 108 – Justin Upton; 99 – Matt Williams; 97 – Ketel Marte; 97 – Miguel Montero; 91 – Jay Bell.
YOUNG ‘BACKS: The D-backs have featured the third most players aged 25 or younger this season (age upon call-up or start), behind the Pirates (21) and Guardians (17). Justin Martinez (21), Corbin Carroll (22), Carlos Vargas (23), Alek Thomas (23), Geraldo Perdomo (23), Gabriel Moreno (23), Slade Cecconi (24), Brandon Pfaadt (24), Ryne Nelson (25), Luis Frías (25), Drey Jameson (25), Diego Castillo (25), Dominic Canzone (25), Dominic Fletcher (25), Jake McCarthy (25) and Tommy Henry.
TRADE DEADLINE RECAP: The D-backs made 4 trades prior to the trade deadline:
♦ August 1: acquired RHP Peter Strzelecki (STREZ-lecky) from the Brewers for LHP Andrew Chafin.
♦ August 1: acquired OF Tommy Pham and cash considerations from the Mets for INF Jeremy Rodriguez.
♦ July 31: acquired RHP Paul Sewald (SEE-wald) from the Mariners for INF Josh Rojas, OF Dominic Canzone and INF Ryan Bliss.
♦ July 31: acquired INF Jace Peterson and cash considerations from the Athletics for RHP Chad Patrick.
STARTING PITChER – RHP MERRILL KELLY ♦ #29
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Has made 2 starts (0-1, 3.27 ERA) since returning from the injured list on July 25.
- In 8 road starts, is 6-1 with a 2.74 ERA (14 ER in 46.0 IP)…the D-backs are 7-1 in those contests.
- The D-backs are 7-3 in his last 10 starts.
ALL-STAR WORTHY: Ranked among NL starters in wins (T-1st, 9), opponent average (5th, .210), IP (7th, 95.0) and ERA (9th, 3.22) prior to going on the IL on June 27.
LAST START: Took the loss on July 30 vs. Mariners (3 ER in 5.0 IP).
- Became the ninth pitcher in franchise history to record 600 strikeouts, joining Randy Johnson (2,077), Brandon Webb (1,065), Robbie Ray (998), Patrick Corbin (897), Curt Schilling (875), Ian Kennedy (705), Zack Greinke (683) and Zac Gallen (609).
VS. TWINS: Won his lone start on June 19, 2022 vs. Twins (1 ER in 7.0 IP).
VS. AL CENTRAL: In 4 career starts (2 quality) against AL Central teams, is 3-1 with a 4.05 ERA (12 ER in 26.2 IP)…the D-backs are 3-1 in those contests.
- In his last 2 starts (both on the road), is 2-0 with a 4.61 ERA (7 ER in 13.2 IP).
INTERLEAGUE INSIGHT: In 16 career starts, is 8-6 with a 3.99 ERA (43 R-42 ER in 94.2 IP) against American League opponents.
PITCH TRACKING: Opposing batters are hitting .147 (15-for-102) with 32 strikeouts on his changeup, .163 (8-for-49) with 14 strikeouts on his cutter and .158 (3-for-19) with 7 strikeouts on his slider.
FIRST TIME THRU: Limiting batters to a .206 average (30-for-146) with 14 walks and 40 strikeouts the first time through the lineup.
AHEAD IN THE COUNT: Holding batters to a .166 average (25-for-151) with 60 strikeouts when he is ahead in the count.
VS. LEFT AND RIGHT: Limiting lefties to a .190 average (37-for 195) with 54 strikeouts and righties to a .239 average (45 for-188) with 55 strikeouts.
- In his last 2 starts, is holding lefties to a .158 average (3-for-19).
IT’S UNDER CONTROL: Has walked 2 or fewer batters in 11 of his last 13 starts.
LEAD OFF SUCCESS: When leading off an inning, holding batters to a .206 average (21-for102) with 29 strikeouts.
KEEP ‘EM CHASING: His 33.2 out-of-zone swing percentage is a career-high.
0-2 GOT YOU: Opponents are 9-for-51 (.177) with 27 strikeouts on an 0-2 count and are batting .149 (32-for-215) with 2 strikes.
RISP-Y BUSINESS: Holding runners in scoring position to a .191 average (13-for-68) with 17 strikeouts.
IL REPORT: Placed on the 15-day injured list (right calf inflammation) on June 27…reinstated on July 25.
MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: Completed their six-game roadtrip with a record of 2-4, going 0-3 in Kansas City last weekend, followed by a 2-1 series win in St. Louis this week…tonight, the Twins will begin a three-game homestand/weekend series with the Arizona Diamondbacks…they will hit the road again on Sunday evening and play a seven-game roadtrip with stops in Detroit (August 7-10) and Philadelphia (August 11-13)…the Twins have gone 30-24 at home and 26-30 on the road.
The Twins are 2-6 in their last eight games after going 9-2 in their first 11 coming out of the All-Star break.
SONNY FINALLY GETS THE W: The Twins beat the Cardinals last night in St. Louis by a score of 5-3, scoring four runs in the second inning…Sonny Gray (5-4) was the starter and winner, allowing two runs on five hits in 7.0 innings pitched, with no walks and eight strikeouts…it marked Gray’s first win since April 30 vs. Kansas City…Griffin Jax earned his 16th hold with a scoreless eighth and Jhoan Duran earned his 19th save…the offense recorded seven hits, two from Donovan Solano…Ryan Jeffers hit his sixth home run and Michael A. Taylor hit his 13th home run, both two-run shots in the second inning…the victory made the the Twins 16-15-4 in series play on the season and 7-9-2 in road series.
TWINS AND SNAKES: The Twins and D-Backs are playing each other for the 25th, 26th and 27th times in their history this weekend…the Twins have gone 14-10 all-time against Arizona, going 4-2 at the Metrodome (2003-08), 5-1 at Target Field (2014-17) and 5-7 at Chase Field (2004-22)…these two last met for a three-game series at Chase Field from June 17-19, 2022 as the Twins won the middle game.
The Twins have won six of their last eight games against the D-Backs, dating back to September of 2014.
These two last met in Minnesota for a three-game series from August 18-20, 2017 as the Twins swept, outscoring Arizona 27-8…the Twins have won five-straight home games vs. the D-Backs with their last loss here coming on September 22, 2014…Twins are 8-1 in their last nine in Minnesota, dating back to the Metrodome days of 2008.
NATIONAL EXPOSURE: The Twins have gone 12-14 in Interleague Play this season, going 1-2 at Miami, 1-2 vs. Washington, 2-1 vs. San Diego, 2-1 vs. Chicago-NL, 1-2 at Los Angeles-NL, 1-2 vs. San Francisco, 2-0 vs. Milwaukee, 0-3 at Atlanta and 2-1 at St. Louis.
Jorge Polanco has reached safely in 13 of 14 Interleague games this season, hitting .296 (16-for-54) with four doubles, three home runs, five RBI, six walks, and a .904 OPS…he has reached safely in nine of his last 21 plate appearances in IL Play (6 hits, 3 walks).
MAKING A TARGET RUN: The Twins are playing their third home series since the All-Star break and have gone 4-2 in six games since…in their last 14 home games since June 21, the Twins have gone 9-5…Twins batters have slashed .246/.322/.437 with a .760 OPS and 4.6 runs-per-game in 54 home games this season, compared to .227/.306/.386 with a .692 OPS and 4.2 runs-per-game in 56 road games.
Donovan Solano is hitting .299 (38-for-127) with 11 doubles, two home runs, 15 walks, a .384 on-base percentage and an .817 OPS in 47 games at Target Field this season.
BULLPEN BULLETS: The Twins ‘pen posted a 1.50 ERA (12.0 IP, 2 ER) with one walk and 12 strikeouts in their final four games on the roadtrip.
Twins relief pitchers have allowed 41 home runs this season — tied for fifth fewest in MLB.
Twins relief pitchers have a first-pitch strike rate of 66% over the last 14 days (12 games) — third highest in MLB; League Avg: 62%.
Opponents are hitting just .260 against Twins relief pitchers when they’re behind in the count this season — best in MLB; League Avg: .343.
Twins relief pitchers have allowed a slugging percentage of just .491 in non-two strike counts this season — best in MLB; League Avg: .556.
YEA, YA KNOW, THAT’S A PRETTY NEAT LITTLE DEAL THERE: Prior to tomorrow night’s game against Arizona, the Twins will formally enshrine club legend Joe Mauer as the 38th member of the Twins Hall of Fame…the St. Paul, Minnesota native and former number one overall selection in the 2001 First-Year Player Draft played 15 seasons for the Twins from 2004-18… below is a brief overview of scheduled pregame events tomorrow:
YU ARE THE MAN: Infielder Yunior Severino was named Texas League Player of the Month for July yesterday afternoon, then was promoted to Triple-A St. Paul…he slashed .342/.432/.750 for Double-A Wichita and led the league in home runs (9), slugging percentage (.750), OPS (1.182) and total bases (57)…he ranked fifth in average (.342) and on-base percentage (.432), and was sixth in RBI (19)…Severino recorded eight multi-hit games and hit safely in 17 of 20 games in July…the 23-year-old was originally signed by Atlanta as an international free agent out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on July 2, 2016, but was declared a free agent on November 21, 2017 and signed with Minnesota on December 8, 2017.
STARTING PITCHER – BAILEY OBER #17
2023: 6-5, 3.19 ERA CAREER: 11-11, 3.57 ERA
Making his 18th start of the season and 11th home start…also his 49th career start and appearance.
Facing the Diamondbacks for the first time in his career…is 4-4, 3.45 ERA (90.0 IP, 38 ER) with 21 walks and 90 strikeouts in 18 previous starts when facing a new team.
Began the season with Triple-A St. Paul and was recalled when Kenta Maeda landed on the Injured List on April 29…since being inserted into the rotation, the Twins have gone 10-7 in his 17 starts.
Selected by the Twins in the 12th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of the College of Charleston.
LAST START: Took his fifth loss of the season and snapped his seven-consecutive quality start streak on July 29 at Kansas City, a 10-7 Twins’ defeat…pitched a season-low 4.0 innings and allowed a career-high six runs on a career-high 11 hits (2 HR), with no walks and five strikeouts; snapped a 10-game streak of allowing three-or-fewer earned runs…marked his shortest outing since May 27, 2022 vs. Kansas City (3.0 IP)…allowed solo homers to Bobby Witt Jr. in the first inning and Michael Massey in the second inning; marked the fifth time this year he has permitted two homers in a start (May 11 vs. San Diego, June 14 vs. Milwaukee, June 20 vs. Boston and July 23 vs. Chicago-AL)…also yielded a sacrifice fly to Maikel Garcia and an RBI single to Witt Jr. in the second inning…permitted a two-run single to Kyle Isbel in the third…relieved by Jordan Balazovic in the fifth inning who allowed one run over 2.0 IP (RBI single by Salvador Perez…Jovani Moran entered in the seventh inning and allowed an RBI triple to Drew Waters…replaced by Josh Winder who yielded an RBI single to Garcia (charged to Moran) and an RBI triple to Witt Jr…Winder pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Has not issued a walk in three-consecutive starts, tying a career high (also, August 30-September 12, 2021)…tied for the second-longest active streak among American League starting pitchers, trailing Tampa Bay’s Zack Littell (4)…has faced 84 batters since his last walk on July 7 vs. Baltimore to Gunnar Henderson in the third inning.
Has yielded five home runs in his last three starts, tying a career high over a three-game span (also, June 30-July 10, 2021 and June 8-June 20, 2023).
TWO STARTS AGO: Did not factor into the decision despite recording his seventh-consecutive quality start on July 23 vs. Chicago-AL, a 12-inning, 5-4 Twins’ victory…pitched 6.0 innings and allowed three runs (2 ER) on five hits (2 HR), with no walks and six strikeouts…allowed solo homers to Eloy Jiménez in the second inning and Zach Remillard in the third inning…later allowed an unearned run in the top of the sixth inning after Oscar Colás advanced to third on an error and scored on Remillard’s RBI single…relieved by Oliver Ortega in the seventh inning who combined with Jorge López to pitch 3.0 scoreless innings (Ortega – 2.0 IP, López – 1.0 IP)…the Twins tied the game in the bottom in the ninth inning with three runs off Kendall Graveman (RBI doubles by Willi Castro and Alex Kirilloff and a sacrifice fly by Carlos Correa)…Jhoan Duran entered in the 10th inning and permitted an RBI double to Tim Anderson…the Twins won the game in the 12th inning via a walk-off RBI single by Ryan Jeffers to complete the sweep of the White Sox.
SNAKE PIT: Facing the Diamondbacks for the first time in his career tonight…Arizona will be the 19th team Ober has faced since his debut on May 18, 2021 vs. Chicago- AL…is 4-4, 3.45 ERA (90.0 IP, 38 ER) with 21 walks and 90 strikeouts in 18 previous starts when facing a new opponent…is making his sixth Interleague start of the season, going 3-1, 3.45 ERA (28.2 IP, 11 ER) with eight walks and 25 strikeouts in his five previous starts…is 3-1, 3.89 ERA (37.0 IP, 16 ER) with 11 walks and 33 strikeouts in seven career Interleague starts…making his third career start against a National League West opponent, going 1-1, 4.24 ERA (17.0 IP, 8 ER) with four walks and 14 strikeouts in those outings; all three starts have taken place this season (May 11 vs. San Diego, May 16 at Los Angeles-NL and May 22 vs. San Francisco).
HOME BASE: Ober is making his 11th home start of 2023 tonight…Twins have won five of his 10 home starts this year, with Ober going 2-3, 2.98 ERA (57.1 IP, 19 ER) with 13 walks, 50 strikeouts and six quality starts…last earned the win at home on June 14 vs. Milwaukee, a 4-2 Twins’ win (6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R/ER, 2 HR, 1 BB, 7 K); started his seven-consecutive quality start streak…is 4-2, 3.48 ERA (41.1 IP, 16 ER) with five walks and 45 strikeouts in seven road starts this season.
Has seen slightly more success at Target Field than on the road in his career..is 6-4, 3.48 ERA (129.1 IP, 50 ER) with 30 walks and 127 strikeouts in 25 career home starts…in 23 road starts, he is 5-7, 3.67 ERA (117.2 IP, 48 ER) with 18 walks and 115 strikeouts.
LEFT AND RIGHT: Left-handed hitters are batting .230 (43-for-187) with 43 strikeouts and 13 walks against Ober after 17 starts this season…right-handed hitters are hitting .235 (42-for-179) with 52 strikeouts and five walks…lefties went 6-for-9 (1 HR) with three RBI and two strikeouts against him in his last start on July 29 at Kansas City while righties went 5-for-13 (1 HR) with three RBI and three strikeouts…in his career, left-handed hitters are batting .257/.317/.401 with 101 strikeouts against Ober…righties are hitting .227/.250/.437 with 141 strikeouts off him.
Owns the 16th-lowest opponent batting average against left-handed hitters among American League pitchers with at least 17 starts this season…also has the seventh-lowest OPS (.621) and eighth-lowest slugging percentage (.332) against lefties this year.
