ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS NOTES:
HERE’S THE STORY
♦ The D-backs’ 27 wins ( 22 vs. NL opponents) are the second most in the NL, behind the Dodgers (29 total; 27 vs. NL) and Braves (29 total; 19 vs. NL).
♦ The D-backs are a season-high 7 games above .500 and have won 7 of their last 9 games.
♦ The D-backs are second in the NL West (23 days in/tied for first place from April 2-30).
♦ Arizona has won 3 straight series and 6 of its last 8.
♦ Christian Walker, a Philly-area native, is a career .354 batter (23-for-65) vs. Phillies…in 2022, hit safely in 5 of his 6 games (.435; 10-for-23) with 3 multi-hit games.
♦ Corbin Carroll, in his last 10 road games, is hitting .367 (11-for-30)/1.202 OPS with 3 doubles, 2 homers, 9 runs, 6 RBI, 11 walks and 4 stolen bases.
♦ Geraldo Perdomo, in his last 11 road games, is hitting .412 (14-for-34)/1.222 OPS with 2 doubles, 3 homers, 8 RBI and 4 walks.
KETEL BEING KETEL
♦ Ketel Marte’s 21-game on-base streak is the third-longest active streak in the Majors and is the second-longest streak of his career, 1 game shy of tying his career-best streak (22, Aug 2-29, 2019).
- During the streak, is batting .291 (23-for-79)/.379 OBP with 1 double, 1 triple, 4 homers, 13 RBI, 11 walks and 2 HBP.
♦ Has reached base in 14 straight road games , hitting .370 (20-for-54)/1.114 OPS with 1 triple, 5 homers, 11 RBI and 6 walks.
OH, LOURDES!
♦ Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is riding a career-high 14-game hitting streak, during which he is batting .375 (21-for56)/1.247 OPS with 5 doubles (1 walk-off ), 6 homers, 12 RBI and 8 walks.
- His streak is the longest by a D-back this season and is tied for the Majors’ longest active hitting streak (also: Yandy Díaz/TB).
♦ In his last 12 road games, is hitting .300 (15-for-50)/.906 OPS with 2 doubles, 3 homers, 7 RBI and 6 walks.
THE ANSWER-BACKS
♦ The D-backs’ 15 comeback wins are fourth in the Majors, behind the Orioles (18), Angels (16) and Mets (16).
♦ Arizona’s 7 total comeback wins in the month of May are third in the Majors.
STOLEN BASE RACE
♦ Corbin Carroll marked his fourth 2+ stolen base performance of the season yesterday and first since April 25 vs. Royals…has 3 stolen bases over his last 2 games.
♦ Carroll’s 13 total stolen bases are tied for seventh in the Majors (also: 4 others), behind Esteury Ruiz/OAK (24), Ronald Acuña Jr./ATL (18), Jorge Mateo/BAL (14), Jazz Chisholm Jr./MIA (11), Wander Franco/TB (14) and Ji Hwan Bae/PIT (14).
SEEING IT WELL
♦ The D-backs’ .352 OBP in the month of May is the highest in the Majors, ahead of the Rangers (.348), Red Sox (.346) and Rays (.340).
♦ Since May 1, the D-backs’ 10.9 walk pct. is second in the Majors, behind the Padres (11.7)…from the start of season to April 22, the D-backs’ had a 5.0 walk pct. (MLB low).
♦ The D-backs’ 78 walks in May (18 games) are tied for third in the Majors (also: Cubs, 19 G), behind the Dodgers (80 in 19 G) and Padres (79 in 18 G).
FOR THE TAKING
♦ The D-backs’ 52 pct. extra bases taken percentage leads the Majors, ahead of the Reds and Padres (50%).
Pct. runner advanced more than 1 base on single or 2+ bases on a double.
OUT OF THE PEN
♦ Since May 8, the D-backs’ bullpen has a 2.78 ERA (14 ER in 45.1 IP), the third best in the NL, behind the Padres (1.12; 5 ER in 40.1 IP) and Phillies (1.62; 8 ER in 44.1 IP).
YOUNG ‘BACKS
♦ The D-backs’ 28.0 roster age is tied for fifth youngest in the Majors with the Nationals, Mariners and Reds behind the Guardians (26.3), Rays (27.3), A’s (27.6) and Orioles (27.8)…the Phillies are just behind at 28.1.
TODAY’S STARTING PTICHER – LHP TOMMY HENRY ♦ #47
AT A GLANCE: Signed by the D-backs as a Competitive Balance-B selection (74th overall) in the 2019 draft.
- Attended the University of Michigan, where he helped lead the Wolverines to the 2019 College World Series vs. eventual champion Vanderbilt University.
- The Michigan native attended Portage Northern High School, where he lettered in baseball and basketball.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Had back-to-back quality starts on May 6 vs. Nationals (2 ER in 6.0 IP) and May 11 vs. Giants (2 ER in 6.2 IP).
- Holding leadoff hitters to a .167 average (4-for-24) with 3 strikeouts.
- The D-backs are 3-2 in his 5 starts.
LAST START: Worked 4.2 frames with 4 runs allowed in a 9-8 loss @ A’s on May 16.
VS. PHILLIES: Making his second career start vs. Phillies, first in Philadelphia (also: August 31, 2022, 7 ER in 4.0 IP).
PITCH TRACKING: Opposing batters are hitting .211 (4-19) on his changeup, .188 (6-32) with 8 strikeouts on his curveball and .167 (2-12) on his slider.
KEEP ‘EM CHASING : His 31.1 out-of-zone swing percentage is up 6.2 percent from 2022 (24.9).
FIRST WIN: Earned his fi rst Major League win, in his second start, on Aug. 9, 2022 vs. Pirates (1 ER in 7.0 IP).
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #46 RECAP: The Phillies defeated the Chicago Cubs, 2-1, and took another series win in front of a sold out crowd at Citizens Bank Park … Starer Taijuan Walker (ND) made his first career start on three days rest and tossed 5.1 scoreless innings – he allowed only 2 hits with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts … With the game scoreless in the 7th, Bryson Stott belted his first career pinch-hit home run to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead … Craig Kimbrel picked up career save #399.
ON THE DOORSTEP OF HISTORY: Right-hander Craig Kimbrel picked up his 399th career save in yesterday’s 2-1 Phils win … Kimbrel is one save away from becoming only the eighth player in the history of major league baseball to reach 400 saves … His next appearance will be the 729th of his career – of the seven previous pitchers to reach 400 saves, only three did so in under 800 career appearances: Mariano Rivera (697 G), Trevor Hoffman (706 G) and Kenley Jansen (778 G) … Billy Wagner reached #400 in his 813th career game, John Franco in his 837th, Lee Smith in his 847th and Francisco Rodriguez in his 878th.
IN COMPANY WITH COOPERSTOWN: One save away from #400, Craig Kimbrel also ranks 11th since at least 1893 with 1,127 strikeouts as a reliever … He trails Hall-of-Famers Trevor Hoffman (1,133) for 10th place and Mariano Rivera (1,135) for 9th place … Kimbrel has faced 2,819 batters in his career and has struck out 1,127 of them (39.98%) … Per Stats LLC, 1,923 pitchers in MLB history have faced at least 2,500 batters in their career – of those 1,923 pitchers, Kimbrel’s 39.98% strikeout rate ranks 2nd – he trails only Aroldis Chapman who has faced 2,669 batters and has struck out 1,072 of them (40.16%) … Over his last 13 appearances (since 4/16) Kimbrel has struck out 25 of the 47 batters he has faced (53.2%) while walking only three (8.5%).
OTHER RECENT MILESTONES BY PHILLIES: With Craig Kimbrel one save away from #400, we thought it would be fitting to look back at other recent milestones achieved by Phillies players: Roy Halladay’s 200th win: 4/14/2013 at MIA and his 2,000th strikeout came on 7/29/12 at ATL (David Ross) … Jim Thome’s 400th career home run: 6/14/2004 vs CIN (Jose Acevado) … Mike Schmidt’s 500th career home run: 4/18/1987 at PIT (Don Robinson) … Steve Carlton’s 300th career win: 9/23/1983 at STL and his 3,000th strikeout came on 4/29/1981 vs MTL (Tim Wallach).
BEDLAM AT THE BANK: Through 21 games at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies are averaging 39,901 in attendance per game which ranks 2nd among all clubs in MLB behind only the Dodgers (47,873) … Of Philadelphia’s first 21 games at home, 13 have been sellouts (62%) and 16 have been over 35,000 (76%) … Among all clubs in MLB, the Phillies have the largest year-to-year increase in attendance per game this season at +13,001 (up from 26,901 in 2022) … The Toronto Blue Jays rank 2nd behind the Phillies among all clubs in year-to-year attendance growth at +5,791 and the Pittsburgh Pirates rank 2nd among NL teams at +4,797 … The Phils have welcomed 837,928 fans to CBP thus far this year – through 21 games last
season, the Phillies had 564,917 in attendance (+273,011 in 2023).
IN A PINCH: In yesterday’s game, Bryson Stott hit his first career pinch hit home run in the 7th inning to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead over the Cubs … It was Philadelphia’s second pinch hit home run this year (other: Edmundo Sosa, 4/7 vs CIN) which is tied for the most among all clubs in MLB this season with eight other teams … The Phillies are 6-for-20 in pinch hit at bats this season (.222 AVG), but of those six hits, four have been for extra bases (2B, 3B, 2 HR) and their .556 SLG ranks 3rd in MLB behind only CIN (.680) and MIA (.591).
SACKS PACKED: With the bases loaded this season, the Phillies are 14-for-36 at the plate with an NL-best .389 AVG (next: ARI, .304 AVG) … In 41 plate appearances with the bases loaded, the Phillies are slashing .389/.366/.556 with a .921 OPS – Philadelphia’s .556 SLG and .921 OPS with the bases loaded both rank 3rd in the National League.
A REAL UNICORN: Since the start of last season (regular and postseason combined), J.T. Realmuto has played a total of 1617.2 innings at catcher (190 G, 186 GS) … That is 274.2 innings (almost 31 full games) clear of HOU’s Martin Maldonado who ranks 2nd in MLB at 1343.0 innings at catcher … Realmuto started this season slashing .205/.222/.364 (.586 OPS) through his first 11 games (45 PA, 3/30-4/13), but since then, he is slashing .317/.357/.519 (.876 OPS) over his last 29 games (115 PA, since 4/14).
RIDING THE SEESAW: Since April 26, the Phillies have played 22 games and are an even .500 at 11-11 … This 22-game stretch consists of a four-game winning streak (4/26-29), a season-long six-game losing streak (4/30-5/6), a season-best five-game winning streak (5/7-13), a five-game losing streak (5/14-19) and now two straight wins (since 5/20) … The Phillies opened May with a 5-10 record: five losses to start, followed by five wins and five losses … Per Elias, the only other time in franchise history that the Phillies had a five-game losing streak followed by a five-game winning streak followed by a five-game losing streak over a span of 15 games in any calendar month was in May of 1897 (at any point in the month, not just to open a month) … The last MLB club prior to the Phillies who did so was Atlanta in April of 2017.
CASTY’S BACK, TELL A FRIEND: Phils right fielder Nick Castellanos has gotten ahead 1-0 in 60 plate appearances this season – after taking ball one, Castellanos is slashing .472/.533/.774 with a 1.307 OPS that ranks 3rd out of 224 qualified players in MLB this year … He has 10 extra-base hits (7 2B, 3 HR) after getting ahead 1-0 … Last season, Castellanos got ahead 1-0 in 174 plate appearances and totaled only 10 extra-base hits as he slashed .197/.276/.299 with a .575 OPS that ranked 201st out of 203 qualified hitters.
PHILLY SPECIAL: Through 75 games under Rob Thomson at Citizens Bank Park (since 6/3/22), the Phillies are 48-27 (.640 win %) in the regular season and 6-2 in the postseason (.750 win %) … The Phillies are 17-5-2 in regular season series play under Thomson at CBP with a +75 run differential (388- 313) … Philadelphia’s .640 winning percentage at home since Thomson took over ranks 3rd in the National League and 5th in MLB behind only LAD (.716), ATL (.707), TB (.705) and NYY (.663).
TONIGHT’S STARTER – ZACK WHEELER RHP #45
2023: 3-3, 4.06 ERA Career: 77-60, 3.45 ERA
LAST START: 5/16 at SF: L (3-3), 6.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, BB, 8 SO, 101 pitches (64 strikes), 28 batters faced … Wheeler generated 51 swings and had 20 whiffs (39%) including 13 whiffs on 27 swings against his four-seam fastball (48%) … Of the Giants’ 9 hits on the night, 6 were hit under 90 MPH including a 66.1 MPH single in the 5th and a 56.0 MPH single in the 6th …. The Phillies went 1-for-11 with RISP.
TONIGHT’S START:
East Coast Bias: Since joining the Phillies, Wheeler has faced the NL West seven times at CBP: he is 5-0 with a 1.60 ERA (8 ER, 45.0 IP) in those seven games and the Phillies are 6-1 … He has a 0.80 WHIP in those games and has held the 169 batters he has faced to a .157/.226/.281 slash line (.507 OPS)
Right About That: Wheeler has faced 119 RHH this season and has limited them to a .279 SLG and .531 OPS (6 2B, 1 HR allowed) with 36 strikeouts to 5 walks
Sweeping Success: Wheeler has thrown 125 sweepers this year and opponents are hitting .160 with a .200 SLG against it while whiffing on swings against it 41.2% of the time
vs NL West: 15-10, 3.53 ERA (86 ER, 219.0 IP) in 36 starts
Statcast Rankings: 96th percentile in extension, 95th percentile in AVG exit velo, 93rd percentile in barrel rate, 83rd percentile in fastball
spin & xSLG, 82nd percentile in fastball velo and 81st percentile in whiff rate
10 years: Wheeler is at 9 years and 152 days of Major League service time today … He is scheduled to hit 10 years of service on June 11 vs LAD
HOME:
2023: 1-1, 3.34 ERA (11 ER, 29.1 IP) in 5 starts
Career: 37-32, 3.36 ERA (238 ER, 637.1 IP) in 103 starts CBP:
Career: 21-10, 2.46 ERA (88 ER, 321.2 IP) in 50 starts
Career as a Phillie: 18-9, 2.33 ERA (72 ER, 277.2 IP) in 43 starts
2023 SEASON:
Recorded his 17th career double-digit strikeout game and 9th as a Phillie on 4/23 vs COL, and his 23 swings and misses were a new career high
Made his 200th career start on 4/23 vs COL
On 4/12 vs MIA extended his streak of home starts without allowing a HR to 4 and his streak of 5 or fewer hits allowed at home to 9
