ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS NOTES:
HERE’S THE STORY
♦ The D-backs have won 9 of their last 11 games…their 9 wins since May 11 are tied for the most in the Majors (also: Astros, Cardinals and Yankees).
♦ The D-backs’ 29 wins are tied for the second most in the NL (also: Braves), behind the Dodgers (31)…the D-backs’ 24 wins vs. NL opponents are second behind the Dodgers (29).
♦ The D-backs are a season-high 9 games above .500 for the since Sept. 11, 2018 (77-68).
♦ The D-backs are second in the NL West (23 days in/tied for fi rst place from April 2-30).
♦ Arizona has won 4 straight series and 8 of its last 10… they look to earn their fi rst sweep @ Phillies since June 16-18, 2017, and fi rst since Aug. 26-28, 2022 @ White Sox.
♦ Zac Gallen grew up in Gibbsboro, N.J., 14 miles east of Citizens Bank Park…entering today, he ranks among NL leaders in wins (T-2nd, 6), home runs allowed (T-2nd, 2), strikeout-to-walk ratio (T-5th, 6.00) and strikeouts (T-6th, 72).
SOMETHING ABOUT MAY
♦ Since May 1, the D-backs’ off ense with 2 outs ranks among the Majors in SLG (1st, .467), homers (T-1st, 7), runs (2nd, 22), stolen bases (2nd, 5), extra-base hits (T2nd, 13), OBP (4th, .336), and average (T-4th, .242).
♦ The D-backs’ .348 OBP in May is the highest in MLB, ahead of the Rangers (.342), Red Sox (.339) and Blue Jays (.336).
♦ The D-backs’ 83 walks in May (20 games) are fourth in MLB, behind the Dodgers (88 in 21 G), Padres (87 in 19 G) and Cubs (84 in 20 G).
SNAKE BITES
♦ Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is hitting .358 (19-for-53) vs. lefties , the sixth highest in MLB…ranks among Major League leaders in average (7th, .317), slugging pct. (8th, .557) and OPS (9th, .929).
♦ Christian Walker, Philly-area native, is hitting .319 (15- for-47) vs. lefties, the fourth highest among MLB first basemen …is a career .329 batter (24-for-73) vs. Phillies… has hit safely in 5 of his last 6 games vs. Phillies (.435; 10- for-23, 3 2B, 1 3B, 4 RBI).
♦ Geraldo Perdomo, in his last 13 road games, is hitting .390 (16-for-41)/1.151 OPS with 3 doubles, 3 homers and 10 RBI.
♦ Gabriel Moreno, in his last 14 games, is hitting .333 (16-for48)/.407 OBP with 2 doubles, 1 homer, 5 RBI and 6 walks.
♦ Corbin Carroll, in his last 12 road games, is hitting .359 (14-for-39)/1.141 OPS with 5 doubles, 2 homers, 7 RBI, 11 walks and 4 stolen bases.
OUT OF THE PEN
♦ Since May 8, the D-backs bullpen’s 6 saves are tied for second in the NL (also: Cardinals) and 2.96 ERA (17 ER in 51.2 IP) is tied for third, behind the Padres (1.25; 6 ER in 43.1 IP) and Phillies (1.82; 11 ER in 54.1 IP) while their .658 OPS is fourth lowest, .308 OBP is fifth lowest and .228 AVG is sixth lowest.
RUN AT YOUR OWN RISK
♦ Gabriel Moreno’s 52.2 caught stealing pct. (12-of-23) leads all MLB catchers while his 12 caught stealings (CS) are second, behind Shea Langeliers/OAK (14).
OH, LOURDES! HE’S AT 16
♦ Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is riding a career-high 16-game hitting streak, the longest active streak in the Majors and tied for third longest this season (also: Masataka Yoshida/ BOS), behind Mauricio Dubón/HOU (20), Bryson Stott/PHI (17)… in the span, he is batting .387 (26-for-65)/1.304 OPS with 7 doubles, 7 homers, 14 RBI and 8 walks.
- His streak is the longest by a D-back this season and tied for third longest by a D-back since 2013 (also: Ketel Marte from May 16-June 4, 2022 ).
KETEL REACHES 23
♦ Ketel Marte’s 23-game on-base streak (since April 26) is the second-longest active streak in the Majors …is his career best and tied for fifth longest by a D-back since 2014.
- During the streak, is batting .284 (25-for-88)/.371 OBP with 1 double, 2 triples, 4 homers, 14 RBI, 12 walks and 2 HBP.
♦ Has reached base in 16 straight road games , hitting .349 (22-for-63)/1.062 OPS with 2 triples, 5 homers, 12 RBI and 7 walks…is fifth-longest streak by a D-back since 2019.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – RHP ZAC GALLEN ♦ #23
AT A GLANCE: Is in his fifth season with the D-backs.
- 2022 D-backs Most Valuable Pitcher by the Arizona Chapter of the BBWAA after going 12-4 with a 2.54 ERA.
- Fifth in the 2022 NL Cy Young Award voting.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The D-backs are 7-0 in his last 7 day starts.
- In his last 8 starts (6 quality), is 6-1 with a 1.97 ERA (11 ER in 50.1 IP), 0.87 WHIP, .198 opponent average and 62 strikeouts.
- His 2.11 ERA (37 ER in 158.0 IP in 25 starts) since July 13, 2022 is the lowest in the Majors (min. 120 IP).
- In innings 1-3, has allowed 6 runs, held opponents to a .178 average, walked 3 and struckout 32.
- Tallied the D-backs fourth-longest scoreless streak (28.0 IP) in franchise history from (April 4 [final inning]-April 26).
LAST START: Took his fi rst loss since March 30 (second of season) on May 19 @ Pirates (5 ER in 3.2 IP).
VS. PHILLIES: Is 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA (4 ER in 18.2 IP) in 4 career starts… Won his last start on Aug. 30, 2022 (0 ER in 7.0 IP, 7 K).
NL RANKINGS: Ranks among NL leaders in wins (T-1st, 6), strikeout-to-walk ratio (1st, 6.00), starts (T-1st, 10), strikeouts (3rd, 72), WHIP (4th, 1.00), innings (5th, 61.0), walks (T5th, 12) and ERA (9th, 2.95).
EARLY RISER: Is 8-5 with a 2.80 ERA (46 ER in 147.2 IP), 0.98 WHIP, .197 opponent average and 160 strikeouts in 26 career day starts.
- Since 2022, his 1.76 ERA (17 ER in 87.0 IP) is the best in the Majors in day games.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #48 RECAP: The Phillies fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-3, at Citizens Bank Park in South Philly … Matt Strahm opened the game (ND, 2.0 IP, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 SO) but Dylan Covey came on in relief in his Pihllies debut and allowed only 1 run over 5.0 innings with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts … The Phillies have limitied the Diamondbacks to just 2 hits in 26 at bats with RISP through the first two games of this series (.154 AVG) but have lost both games.
ON THE DOORSTEP OF HISTORY: Right-hander Craig Kimbrel picked up his 399th career save in Sunday’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.
TAKE A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE: Craig Kimbrel’s first ever major league appearance came at Citizens Bank Park on 5/7/10 with ATL against the Phillies – the first batter he faced was Jayson Werth, who doubled … Kimbrel would then strike out Raul Ibanez (1st career strikeout) and Carlos Ruiz before getting Wilson Valdez to ground out to end the inning … Kimbrel’s 1st career save came on 9/19/10 at NYM – he struck out the side (Carlos Beltran, David Wright & Chris Carter) … Kimbrel’s 100th career save came on 5/9/13 at SF – through his first 100 career games with a save (not first 100 save opportunities), Kimbrel posted a 0.18 ERA (2 ER, 98.2 IP) with 172 strikeouts to 22 walks – for context, Mariano Rivera posted a 1.00 ERA (12 ER, 107.2 IP) through his first 100 career games with a save with 81 strikeouts to 18 walks … His 200th career save came on 6/8/15 at ATL (with SD) … His 300th career save came on 5/5/18 at TEX (with BOS).
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 2,677 batters and has struck out 1,076 of them (40.19%) … 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 23 games at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies are averaging 39,365 in attendance per game which ranks 3rd among all clubs in MLB behind only the Dodgers (47,873) and Cardinals (39,799) … Of Philadelphia’s first 23 games at home, 13 have been sellouts (57%) and 16 have been over 35,000 (70%) … Among all clubs in MLB, the Phillies have the largest year-to-year increase in attendance per game this season at +12,103 (up from 27,261 per game through 23 home games 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 +4,616 … The Phils have welcomed 905,388 fans to CBP so far this year – through 23 games last season, the Phillies had 627,010 in attendance (+278,378 in 2023).
GO NOLES: Phils starter Aaron Nola has gone at least 6.0 innings in each of his last seven starts (since 4/16) and eight of his last nine (since 4/5) … Nola has eight starts this season of at least 6.0 innings which ranks T-4th among all pitchers in MLB … Since 2018, Nola has gone 6.0 innings in 101 of his 153 total starts (66.0%) … His 101 games of at least 6.0 innings pitched since 2018 ranks 3rd among all pitchers in MLB – he trails only Gerrit Cole (115 such starts) and teammate Zack Wheeler (104 such starts) … Since 2018, the Phillies are 63-38 in those 101 games when Nola goes at least 6.0 innings (.624 win %) and when you add two runs or more of support in those games when Nola goes at least 6.0, the Phillies are 58-16 (.784 win %) … Since 2018, When Nola goes at least 6.0 innings at CBP and is provided at lest two runs of support, he is 32-1 and the Phillies are 36-6 (.857 win%).
HARP ON IT: Phils designated hitter Bryce Harper enters today’s game with 4,994 career at bats, six shy of reaching 5,000 … Harper has 614 extra-base hits and 890 walks in his career – in the modern era (since 1900), only 12 players have had as many extra-base hits and walks when reaching 5,000 career at bats as Harper … They are Babe Ruth (1928), Ted Williams (1951), Mike Schmidt (1982), Barry Bonds (1995), Mark McGwire (1998), Frank Thomas (2000), Jeff Bagwell (2000), Jim Thome (2003), Brian Giles (2006), Lance Berkman (2009), Adam Dunn (2011) and Mike Trout (2022).
YOU GOT THAT RIGHT: In 47 plate appearances against right-handers this year, Bryce Harper has reached base safely 27 times (18 H, 9 BB) … He is slashing .474/.574/.763 with a 1.338 OPS and more walks (9) than strikeouts (8).
LEGEND OF THE FALL: Last postseason, Ranger Suarez went 2-0 in 3 starts with a 1.35 ERA (2 ER, 13.1 IP) … In 2 relief appearances, Suarez was 1-for-1 in save opportunities and tossed 1.1 scoreless innings … All said, the Phillies went 5-0 in all 5 games Suarez pitched last postseason … He was summoned to close out Game 5 of the NLCS and helped secure the 8th pennant in club history.
TODAY’S STARTER – RANGER SUÁREZ • LHP #55
2023: 0-1, 10.50 ERA Career: 25-16, 3.25 ER
LAST START: 5/19 vs CHI: 2.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO … Suárez vs Stroman … The Phillies fell to the Chicago Cubs, 10-1, at a sold out Citizens Bank Park … The Phillies jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning but the Cubs scored 10 unanswered runs the rest of the night.
TODAY’S START:
- vs NL West: In every start against the NL West, Suarez has held his opponents to 3 or fewer earned runs. Against the division, Suarez has a 4.08 ERA (64.0 IP, 29 ER) and is averaging 7.45 SO/9.0 IP.
- Clear Skies: Suárez has never allowed a home run to a left-handed hitter at CBP (153 TBF) … In his career, at CBP, Suarez has limited left handers to a .180/.233/.223 slash line and only allowed six extra-base hits (all doubles)
- Just Glovely: Ranger was selected as the 2022 Fielding Bible Award winner at pitcher… Suárez’s 9 defensive runs saved in 2022 were the most by any Phillies pitcher since 2002, when Fangraphs can track back to and most by any pitcher in MLB in 2022 by 3 (Taijuan Walker had 6) … He did not make an error in a career-high 44 chances over 155.1 IP and did not allow a stolen base
- Start Your Engines: Since transitioning to a starter full time on 8/2/21, Suárez is 13-10 with a 3.21 ERA (81 ER, 227.0 IP) in 43 regular season starts … That ERA in that span is the 9th-lowest among all NL starters with at least 200.0 IP (best: Max Fried, 2.18)
HOME:
- 2023: 0-1, 18.00 ERA (2.0 IP, 4 ER) in 1 start
- 2022: 4-4, 4.27 ERA (31 ER, 65.1 IP) in 13 starts
- Career: 14-6, 3.08 ERA (56 ER, 163.2 IP) in 55 games (23 starts)
- 2022 Postseason: 2-0, SV, 0.84 ERA (1 ER, 10.2 IP) in 3 games (2 start)
