Snake Bytes 10/3: Conclusion

Arizona Diamondbacks 11, Colorado Rockies 2

[D’backs.com] Takeaways from D-backs’ rout of Rockies - The 2021 season was not an easy one for Gallen. He opened the season on the injured list with a fracture in his right forearm and he also spent significant time on the shelf later with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament. The two absences made it difficult for Gallen to get any kind of consistent rhythm going. As a result, he was unable to replicate the same level of success that he had in 2019 and 2020. However, after allowing just two runs over six innings Saturday night, Gallen finished the season with a 3.19 ERA over his final eight starts. “The biggest thing, just talking with the staff here, coaches, medical team, anytime you come back from an injury, especially something arm, shoulder, elbow, whatever it may be, the last thing that comes back is the feel [for pitches],” Gallen said. “You just concentrate on feeling healthy, making sure that that spot where you’re injured feels good and then after a while the rust starts to just come off and the feel starts to come back.”

[AZ Central] If other Diamondbacks were going to keep their jobs, it’s only right Torey Lovullo did too - This season was an organizational failure. To deliver cardboard packing boxes and tape to just one man in one office would have been scapegoating at its finest. Lovullo didn’t put together a wretched bullpen. It wasn’t his idea to emphasize “position flexibility” over putting a young player in one spot and letting him develop. It’s a process that proved only that Pavin Smith shouldn’t be in center field, Josh Rojas isn’t a shortstop and that Josh VanMeter isn’t the present or the future at third base. The goal was to give Lovullo more options in the lineup, but what it did was help rob the Diamondbacks of what they were best at early in Lovullo’s five-year tenure: doing the basic things right. Like playing good defense and running the bases intelligently. The Diamondbacks were awful at a lot of things this year, but those two were consistent problems throughout.

[Arizona Sports] D-backs name OF Thomas, P Nelson as minor leaguer’s of the year - Ahead of finishing the 2021 regular season this weekend, the Arizona Diamondbacks named outfielder Alek Thomas and pitcher Ryne Nelson as the organization’s Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year on Friday. Thomas, the No. 63 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Entry Draft, has had a stellar season at both Double-A Amarillo and Triple-A Reno. The 21-year-old is hitting .313 for the year that includes 18 home runs, 29 doubles and 12 triples while driving in 59 RBI and stealing 13 bases. In 34 games at Reno, Thomas has a .369 average.

Around the League

[Sporting News] MLB playoff clinching scenarios for Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Mariners in AL wild-card race - The last two open playoff spots in the majors. Boston and New York are in control at 91-70. Toronto and Seattle are chasing at 90-71. Two of these teams will meet in the wild-card game for the right to face the Rays in the ALDS, but so much can happen in the days leading up to it. If all four teams finish tied after Sunday — the Yankees and Red Sox would have to lose, and the Blue Jays and Mariners would have to win, for that to happen — MLB will hold a first-of-its-kind set of tiebreakers.

[The Athletic] Live updates, MLB scores and analysis as Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Mariners fight for spots - The final day of the 2021 Major League Baseball regular season comes with major implications for the American League wild-card race and for the National League West title. The Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Mariners are vying for the two spots with multiple tiebreaker scenarios very much in play while the Giants and Dodgers continue their divisional battle. The Athletic’s national writers and beat reporters will keep you connected to your favorite teams throughout the day Sunday — all games begin at about 3 p.m. ET — offering the latest news as well as their insights and analysis.

[MLB.com] Mitch mashes to keep Mariners alive in WC - For the Majors’ most resilient comeback team, the hero on this penultimate game had to be its most resilient comeback player. It just had to be. For all of Mitch Haniger’s heroics this season, those that he willed on Saturday rank at the top. Seattle’s veteran outfielder put the weight of his team and a city so starved for the playoffs on his shoulders, almost single-handedly lifting the Mariners to an epic 6-4 win over the Angels that will ensure Seattle takes its postseason aspirations to the final day of the regular season. Haniger drove in five runs, including a decisive, two-out, two-run, go-ahead single in a full count that ignited T-Mobile Park in a way that hasn’t been seen in nearly 20 years. He also crushed a booming two-run homer in the fifth inning that broke a 1-1 tie.

[MLB.com] Giants fall in 10; magic number remains 1 - The Giants came within five outs of securing the National League West title on Saturday afternoon, but a potential clinch celebration remained on ice following a stinging 3-2 loss to the Padres in 10 innings at Oracle Park. Jake Cronenworth delivered a two-out, go-ahead double off left-handed reliever Jarlín García to break a 2-2 tie in the top of the 10th and snap the Giants’ seven-game winning streak, keeping their magic number at one. The Dodgers beat the Brewers 8-3 on Saturday, meaning the battle for the NL West will stretch into the final game of the regular season, a fitting conclusion for one of the most tightly contested division races in recent memory.