Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #40: 5/13 vs. Giants

A few health updates from the D-backs before today’s game. Jesse Friedman reports, “Torey Lovullo said that Kyle Lewis had a virus, but would not specify further... Lovullo added that Lewis is progressing well and that he would bet on Lewis being back sooner than Carson Kelly. No firm timetable at this point, though.” If it’s a virus, that rules out one theory about his protracted absence, since Valley Fever is a fungus. Mononucleosis would remain one possible explanation, as that is a virus, and the impact of it can linger significantly, for up to several months in some cases. Nobody knows though - and, to be honest, it doesn’t matter. We just hope he gets well soon.

Meanwhile Michael has some updates on Zach Davies and Carson Kelly as they recover from an oblique strain and broken forearm respectively. He says, “The team hasn’t decided yet which day Zach Davies will throw, but it will either be a simulated game on Sunday or he’ll face live competition at Extended Spring Training on Monday. Lovullo said Davies is progressing well and is according to Carson Kelly the stuff looks good. Speaking of Kelly, he’s picked up a bat starting to take some light swings and doing some underhanded flip drills in the batting cage.” Davies is clearly the one the team needs back most: our outfield and catchers have largely been doing well enough in the absence of Lewis and Kelly.

Zac Gallen starts for Arizona, and after a bumpy end to his scoreless streak against Texas, he looked much better against the Marlins on Monday night, holding them to one run over seven innings. Though he did walk a batter in that game, something he hadn’t done since April 10. That makes his season K:BB ratio 64:6. Only five qualifying pitchers in the history of the game have had a K:BB of better than ten over a full season, and one of those was in the 1875 National Association. The only NL pitcher to do it was Bret Saberhagen on the 1994 Mets, who struck out 143 batters while walking 13, a ratio of 11.0. Two K’s without a walk this afternoon, and Gallen will match that.