Snake Bytes 8/29: Not Exactly the Best Series Opener

Diamondbacks News

[Inside the Diamondbacks] Dodgers Club Four Homers Against Gallen in 7-4 D-backs Loss by Jack Sommers

Gabriel Moreno had one of the best nights of his young career, delivering a two-out RBI double in the 2nd inning to get Arizona on the board. After Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit an RBI double in the fourth inning, Moreno followed with an opposite field blast for a two-run homer and his 3rd RBI of the night to give the D-backs aa 4-3 lead.

[MLB] Gallen experiences a career first he’d rather not by Sarah Wexler

The sixth inning is where things truly unraveled. Arizona entered the frame up by a run, but former D-backs teammate David Peralta greeted Gallen with a single, followed by Jason Heyward and James Outman launching back-to-back homers. Suddenly, the D-backs found themselves trailing by two — and, as it turned out, down for good.

Baseball News

[MLB] Bobby Miller shows signs of an October surprise by Doug Padilla

Miller gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings but kept the Dodgers in the game long enough for the red-hot offense to rally against D-backs ace Zac Gallen. Miller gave up his runs over the first four innings then set down the last eight batters he faced while winning for the second time in his last six starts.

Most impressive of all is that Miller said his slider and fastball were far from their best and he managed to rely on his changeup late in the outing.

“That’s probably the worst my stuff has been all year but I was glad to fight through it and get a couple of zeros after that fourth [inning],” Miller said. “Like I always say, I want to keep [the relievers] fresh. I want to get through at least six every time to get them some rest.”

[MLB] Abbott labors through short start in key game vs. Giants by Sonja Chen

After a disheartening weekend series in Arizona and an ill-timed oblique strain for rookie Matt McLain, Cincinnati’s misfortunes of late continued in a 4-1 series-opening loss to San Francisco on Monday night.

Heading into the three-game set at Oracle Park, the Reds and Giants were in a virtual tie, both just outside the trio of National League Wild Card spots. Now, Cincinnati remains 1 1/2 games back of the third spot but must win the final two games of the series to hold the tiebreaker over San Francisco.

[MLB] Free agent rankings: Top 10 for this offseason ... plus a wild card by Mark Feinsand

6) Julio Urías, LHP

Urías emerged as one of the best young pitchers in the game between 2019-22, posting a 44-13 record with a 2.63 ERA in 111 games (81 starts), but a lackluster start to his season looked like it would hurt his free-agent prospects. A mid-May hamstring injury landed the lefty on the injured list for six weeks, but he’s looked like his old self since returning on July 1. Urías has had a pair of clunkers over his past nine starts, but the other seven were stellar, reminding us how good he can be. At age 27, Urías should command a hefty contract as one of the best starters on the market.

Potential fits: D-backs, Dodgers, Padres

Spencer’s Spicy Supplement: I’m not sure why Feinsand would connect Arizona to Urias and then not connect them to the rest of the pitchers lower on the list... But other potentials listed: Aaron Nola, Eduardo Rodriguez, Lucas Giolito, Jordan Montgomery & Yoshinobu Yamamoto

[MLBTR] Tony Gonsolin To Undergo Tommy John Surgery by Anthony Franco

The Dodgers announced that Tony Gonsolin will undergo Tommy John surgery. The procedure will be performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Friday.

Gonsolin was already known to be out for the remainder of the 2023 season. The club had announced his injury as forearm inflammation when first placing him on the IL last week. They transferred him to the 60-day IL yesterday to close the book on this year.

Now, it seems unlikely he’ll be a factor again until 2025. A Tommy John procedure typically comes with a recovery time pushing or exceeding 14 months. Perhaps he’d be able to make a return late next season, but the safer bet is that he’ll spend the entire ’24 campaign on the 60-day injured list.

Spencer’s Spicy Supplement: If any team can weather losing a starter like Gonsolin to TJS, it’s the Dodgers...