Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #139: 9/5 vs. Rockies

Last night’s win improved the Diamondbacks’ record against the Rockies this year to 9-2, with two left to play. If Arizona can prevail tonight and tomorrow afternoon at Chase Field, they’d tie an all-time franchise record. Because the resulting 11-2 season mark will equal the highest win percentage ever for a season by the D-backs, against any NL West rivals. The current mark, a win percentage of .818, is the highest there since 2008, when the team were 15-3 (.833 W%), also against the Rpckies; victory tonight will equal that mark. The all-time mark belongs to the 1999 Diamondbacks, who also went 11-2 against the Padres - that year, the schedule was more balanced, with three sets against each of the other NL clubs.

Those are the only three occasions on which Arizona has been better than .800 in a series against another West team. At the other end of the spectrum, there have also been three times where they have been below .200. You likely will not be surprised to learn that two of them were against Los Angeles, with Arizona struggling to a 3-16 record (.158) in both 2004 and 2021. But the all-time worst mark came in the all-time worst season of 2004, when the Diamondbacks faced the Giants on nineteen occasions, and won just twice, for a win percentage of .105. No team in the divisional era has been winless while playing more than 13 games against an opponent. The Rockies were 0-13 vs. the Braves in 1993.

One other point from last night’s game. Mr. Lopez mentioned it was unusual to see the team use only two relievers. It’s not rare: it’s the 37th time this year the D-backs have used only three pitchers in a game. But it has been uncommon of late. Let’s go back to August 18 - the Brandon Pfaadt one-hitter, where Miguel Castro crapped the bet and Joe Mantiply bailed him out. Over the fourteen games between that one and last night, the only time where Arizona did not use at least three relief pitchers was on August 28. There, Zac Gallen got bombed in Los Angeles and Bryce Jarvis mopped up the final eight outs. The last time AZ used two relievers in a win, and the only time in the month, was August 17.