Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #151: 9/17 vs. Cubs

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:

• Recalled RHP Bryce Jarvis from Triple-A Reno.
• Placed RHP Scott McGough on the 15-day injured list (right shoulder inflammation).

It’s kinda disconcerting that the not unexpected roster move after last night’s marathon involves one of the two pitchers who did NOT appear in the game. But it’s clear there was a reason he wasn’t used, and here we go. The reality is, McGough has been terrible for a while. His ERA since the All-Star break is 8.63, allowing nine home-runs over 24 innings in that time. That two-year contract is no longer looking like the bargain it was in late June, when McGough was compiling a scoreless straek of 22.1 innings, striking out 32 batters during it. You naturally wonder whether physical issues may have played into his second-half struggles - and, if so, why it wasn’t caught earlier.

With regard to availability today, I imagine most of the A-bullpen will only be available in extremis, with the quartet of Ginkel, Seward, Thompson and Saalfrank all having thrown in both of the first two games. The team may end up having to use Kyle Nelson as well as Jarvis, and after the ninth inning on Friday, the former doesn’t fill me with confidence. We ma even end up seeing Miguel Castro in a high-leverage situation again. The good news is, the Cubs bullpen will be about as taxed. Saalfrank’s outing yesterday was his sixth to open his career, the longest streak since Jimmie/James Sherfy went 14 straight in 2017-18. Injury ended his career in 2021, but he did pop up on FOX 5 San Diego last week.

I’d better change topics before DbacksEurope sends a cease and desist for infringing on his territory! At 4:24, last night’s game was the longest by time of the 2,230 in the majors this season. How things have changed, between the Manfred Man and pitch-clock rules. In 2019, the last year before either rule-changed applied, there were fifty-two games which ran longer than that. Heck, the D-backs alone had three in less than six weeks, on March 29 (6:05), April 28 (5:36) and May 8 (4:39). As someone who recapped his share of monstrosities, I can’t say I mind their demise, though I wish there was a better way than the free base-runner. Maybe take a player off the field each extra inning instead!

With the late start, this does mean there won’t be as much need for scoreboard watching, since all the other games should be in the books before first pitch at Chase Field. There is already one big result in the books, with the Reds having been beaten by the Mets. However, the Marlins blew past the Braves again, so the pressure is definitely on the D-backs to complete the sweep - something they failed to do with the last game in Chicago. I’m hoping we don’t see another one of Torey’s patented Surrender Sunday line-ups, but you’ll know the answer to that from whatever I have plugged in further up the page! [Narrator: surprisingly, we did not] But here are the other games of relevance:

• Atlanta Braves 2 @ Miami Marlins 16
• Cincinnati Reds 4 @ New York Mets 8
• Washington Nationals 2 @ Milwaukee Brewers 1
• Philadelphia Phillies 5 @ St. Louis Cardinals 6
• San Francisco Giants @ Colorado Rockies 12:10 pm
• Chicago Cubs @ Arizona D’Backs: 4:10 pm