Snake Bytes, 10/9: Gallentine's Playoff Day

Team news

[AZ Central] Zac Gallen, Torey Lovullo: Diamondbacks playing with 'chip on shoulder' - “This team has a chip on its shoulder,” Lovullo said ahead of Monday’s NLDS Game 2. “We take it personal when we watch some of the comments on television or read some of the things where everybody wanted to re-seed this thing so the Braves can pick on the lowly Diamondbacks.” Minutes later, Zac Gallen replaced Lovullo in the media room and offered a similar message. “Other than the 26 guys, 28 guys in that clubhouse, I don’t know anyone else thinks that we should be here, thinks that we deserve to be here,” Gallen said.

[SI] Gabriel Moreno Has Become the D-backs Postseason X-Factor - After only hitting seven home runs in 111 regular season games, he's launched his two longest home runs of the year in the postseason. None were bigger than the one he launched off of Clayton Kershaw last night. After falling behind 0-2, Moreno worked the count full before getting a middle-middle slider on 3-2 and depositing it deep into the left field bleachers. "I was just looking for a pitch in the zone," said Moreno through interpreter Alex Arpiza. "It happened to be the slider and I was able to take advantage of it." The home run not only sent a statement to the Dodgers that the D-backs are ready to compete with them, but also some impressive personal achievements for the D-backs catcher.

[Reuters] Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen intent on halting struggles vs. Dodgers - Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen has a score to settle and will get his chance at some revenge, not to mention the opportunity Monday to give his club a commanding lead in the best-of-five National League Division Series. "I think going in with ease is definitely the wrong mindset, especially against the Dodgers, especially against that lineup," Gallen said when asked if the team's strong performance in the opener will change his approach. "They're going to come out firing. But I also don't think there's pressure."

[SI] Inside the Diamondbacks Connected Locker Room - Ketel Marte on why he and the rest of the team seems to be playing so loose: "I mean I've got almost nine years in this league. I'm not going to [feel] pressure. It's baseball, you know. You've got to go out there and have fun. Have fun with my team. Have fun with some guy on the Dodgers. I just try to fun every time. You don't need to have pressure out there... It’s not easy to play here man, I’ll tell you that. There’s a lot of fans here. We might get a lot of pressure, I don’t know. To compete with the Dodgers you’ve got to play nine innings. I think we’re good. We’ve got to continue to work hard and we’re going to be all right. We’ve got a lot of talent man. They can play."

[Dbacks.com] Lovullo next in line for extension as D-backs rise - Hazen indicated a new deal for Lovullo could follow this offseason. “Torey and I had a conversation when we extended [his contract] for a year,” Hazen said. “I said, look, we got to get through the rest of the season. And I said if good things happen and we get to the playoffs and we get where we need to go, that he and I will have another conversation. I said ‘I promise you that I will sit down with you and we will talk through this again at some point.’”

And, elsewhere..

Both games in the ALDS saw the underdogs win on Sunday, and the league-best Orioles now sit on the edge of elimination. Let's hope that's an omen for tonight... Fun fact from /r/baseball: Five teams won 92 or more games during the regular season (ATL, TB, MIL, LAD, BAL). Those teams are 0–8 in the postseason so far with all of the losses coming at home.

[ESPN] Orioles look to 'reset' against Rangers with season on the line - "Our backs are against the wall right now, and tonight wasn't our best night on the mound," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. "We haven't played our two best games here. We played well on the road all year, so hopefully we can play well on the road." The odds are against the Orioles mounting a series comeback. The Rangers are the 32nd team to win the first two games of a best-of-five series on the road; 28 of the previous 31 went on to win the series. "There is no tomorrow. I feel like that's how our team played all year, honestly," Hays said. "We're just going to play with our hair on fire and win three in a row."

[MLB.com] Farmer goes deep as first postseason hit fuels Twins’ early surge - Entering Sunday, Twins third baseman Kyle Farmer had played in eight postseason games over the past six years and he had never recorded a hit. But in Farmer’s first at-bat in Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Astros at Minute Maid Park, he realized it was well worth the wait. Farmer smacked a two-run homer into the left-field seats off Houston starter Framber Valdez to give Minnesota a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning.

[Forbes] MLB Attendance Surpasses 70 Million In 2023, Scoring Its Largest Increase Since 1998 - [Not new, but still quite interesting] It is the first time the league has exceeded 70 million in attendance since 2017 (72,670,423). If looking at league attendance by average attendance, the season came in at 29,295 per game, an increase of +9.1%. That ranks as the highest growth percentage in 30 years, not including COVID-impacted seasons, dating back to the 1993 expansion to 28 Clubs... All clubs, minus one surpassed the 1 million mark. The Oakland A’s, who have announced plans to move to Las Vegas, and fielded a league-worst 50-112, tying them with the 1952 Pirates for the eighth most losses in the modern era came in at just 832,352 in total attendance. What makes that all the more striking is they were up 44,450 from last season.