D-backs Preview #31: 5/6 @ Marlins

Quick turnaround

In the top of the eighth inning on Tuesday, the D-backs would have been forgiven for feeling pretty good about themselves. They had rallied from 3-0 down to tie the game, and still had the bases loaded with nobody out. But three consecutive strikeouts wasted the opportunity, and the bullpen melted down in the bottom half. Since that point, Arizona has allowed 14 runs without crossing home plate themselves, and find themselves needing a win tonight to avoid dropping back down below .500. Yesterday was the team’s fourth experience of being shutout in thirty games; that only happened twice last year, in twice the number of contests. In 2019, the last full season, shutout #4 didn’t happen until August 10.

But on the other hand, there have already been 19 servings of free tacos (* with the purchase of a large drink, between 4-6 pm the next day, at participating outlets) so far this year. In 2020, there were only 23 such games - again, in twice as many contests. So it seems this offense has been feast or famine. And they need to be feasting in order to win. When there are NO free tacos, i.e. when they held to fewer than five runs, the Diamondbacks are 1-10 this year. Their sole such win was the 3-1 victory over the Padres at the end of the opening series in San Diego. But it’s no guarantee of victory, with five helpings of loss-flavored tacos this year as well.

Torey Lovullo notes

• Zac Gallen will start Friday, but Saturday and Sunday are still TBA. They have many balls in the air, and while not mentioned specifically it will clearly revolve around whether or not Merrill Kelly can be activated to make his start.
• Luke Weaver next steps: We’re right in the middle of that conversation as well. We’re trying to make the best decisions moving forward to help this team win baseball games every single night. We’ll finalize those conversations and like I said everybody every single night gets evaluated and there’s no exceptions.

Torey Lovullo audio [or link]