Game of the Week: September 13: COL @ ARI

[Commissioner Erick]

Colorado Rockies (78-65) @ Arizona Diamondbacks (79-63)


COL: Michael Fulmer (9-8, 3.93)
ARI: Kevin Gausman (9-6, 3.93)


A year after the Arizona Diamondbacks produced a spirited playoff run that fell just short, the snakes are once again in the picture for a playoff berth.

To earn the spot, they'll have to fend off the team that held them off last year.

The Arizona Diamondbacks will face Colorado Rockies in the Game of the Week, with pivotal playoff implications hanging in the balance.

Arizona comes in as the second Wild Card team, 1.5 games over Colorado, and four behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. A series win over the Rockies would give Arizona a measure of breating room, especially considering they'll have four against the NL West leading Dodgers immediately following the contest with Colorado.

The Rockies, meanwhile, are reeling, having lost six of nine, including a series to Arizona earlier this month. Marco Gonzalez pitched a gem to give the Diamondbacks the first game of that series, while Trevor Oaks shut Colorado down until Arizona could break through against Sam Moll in extra innings.

Colorado's pitching has been dreadful this month. Since August 28, Colorado has allowed at least five runs in 14 of 16 games. Normally reliable pitchers like the aforementioned Moll have worked to a 13.50 ERA in four games, while youngsters have been bombed, like Rony Garcia and his 14.09 ERA in 7.2 innings.

Fortunately Colorado has a stablizing presence taking the mound in Michael Fulmer. The two-time All-Star has faced Arizona twice this season, allowing one run in 7 innings in the finale of the series Arizona took in early September. Fulmer's other start was the opening game of the year, where he allowed three runs in 7.1 innings in a Rockies win. Against Fulmer, Arizona hitters haven't drawn a walk and have fanned 13 times in 14.1 innings as Fulmer's really befuddled them.

Arizona will counter with one of the year's surprise success stories, Kevin Gausman. After a season with a 6.07 ERA in Baltimore, Arizona signed him to minor league deal the offseason before 2020. He produced a 3.66 ERA that year, and was an all-Star this year. He has the best strikeout, walk, and home run numbers of his career, despite pitching in Arizona, a hitter's park. Granted his ERA is about a run better on the road compared to at home, but he's still pitching in Arizona half the time.

Gausman credits Chris Gissell, Arizona's pitching coach, for a lot of the improvements. Almost immediately after signing, Gausman saw his changeup and splitter get more movement, while Gausman's fastball became more effective. Strangely, the results have seen Gausman improve his performance against right-handed hitters, while he's still the same pitcher against lefties. The hypothesis is that Gausman's improved fastball is what's driving the success.

They'll need him to come up big, as Hansel Robles has fallen short against the Rockies this year. He's 1-2 with a 7.20 ERA against Colorado, including some high-profile poor performances. The opening game of the year, Robles pitched in the sixth inning and allowed Charlie Blackmon and Carlos Santana singles to plate both inherited runners left from starter Marco Gonzalez. Though he didn't allow a run that outing, it was nonetheless a disappointing performance.

On June 27, Robles threw three pitches, the last of which Santana deposited over the fence for a walk-off home run. On September 4, Robles walked two guys before allowing Raimel Tapia's double off the wall to plate two Rockies in an 8-7 defeat. The next day, he allowed the first two runners to reach in a tie game in the ninth, but was bailed out by a nice throw from Christian Yelich to retire one of those hitters. Robles allowed a run in the tenth after Arizona grabbed a four-run lead.

If history is any teacher, the Diamondbacks may want to build out a nice lead so they won't need to rely on Robles late.


Questions for the GM's:


For Erick Blasco, any changes to your starting lineup today?

Outside of Greg Holland, your bullpen has been much more shaky this year compared to prior years. What has been the cause of that?

How pivotal has it been to see Raimel Tapia bounce back after a lost 2020?

For Ben Nuzzo, you got a lot of talent back when you traded Jasrado Chisholm to Colorado. How has that deal worked out for you from your perspective?

You gave up a lot to get Isan Diaz. Has he taken your team to another level?

Back in 2019, you traded Jimmie Sherfy for Ryan Johnson. Sherfy has gone on to be an All-Star closer for the White Sox, while Hansel Robles has struggled. Would you do that deal again?


TRIVIA: Who has the most games pitched in Arizona history?

[dbackhon]

To Answer your questions:

you got a lot of talent back when you traded Jasrado Chisholm to Colorado. How has that deal worked out for you from your perspective?

It remains to be seen what a lot of the players I got back can do at the major league level, so how well the deal worked out remains to be seen. That being said, Chisholm was very much the odd man out when that trade was made. We had already acquired Isan Diaz from Cincinnati and our front office were sure that Yunior Severino was going to spend the season in the major leagues and would be able to play SS in the event that Diaz was hurt, and Juni Querecuto could also fill in. Brayan Hernandez has had a pretty good year in AAA, and reminds me a bit of what we saw in Greg Allen when we acquired him from Cleveland in 2019. The other acquisitions are in the low minors or are draft picks so we hope that they pan out and live up to their fullest potential.

You gave up a lot to get Isan Diaz. Has he taken your team to another level?

Certainly the defensive ability that he brings to the table has been a massive upgrade. For most of the year we have been 6th in the NL defensive efficiency (though not currently), up from about 12th last year. The only change that we made from in the defensive lineup is the addition of Diaz. I think offensively he has also been very, very good after a slow start to the year and gives us yet another high OBP bat with plus-power. Yes, we gave up a lot to get him but he is a big part of our plan not just this year but for the future as well. He certainly is an all-star caliber player.

Back in 2019, you traded Jimmie Sherfy for Ryan Johnson. Sherfy has gone on to be an All-Star closer for the White Sox, while Hansel Robles has struggled. Would you do that deal again?

I would, for a number of reasons. Firstly, we knew that Sherfy was a quality closer but when we made that deal in 2019 we knew that Chicago could value an All-star closer more than we would and we would value a talented right fielder that was major league ready. Secondly, in the deal we got to unload Yasmany Thomas' contract which helped out financial flexibility going into the 2020 season which was an underrated aspect of our ability to compete down to the very end that year. Finally, Ryan Johnson is a hell of a ball player. He's proven to be a 25+HR a year guy, he's rated by OSA as one of the top 10 RF in the PBA and he is beloved by fans and players alike.

[dbackhon]

Also for the Trivia, I waiting on posting the answer since it is my own team... but the answer is RP Silvino Bracho.

[Commissioner Erick]

Jul 1, 2019 13:06:10 GMT -5 dbackhon said:

Also for the Trivia, I waiting on posting the answer since it is my own team... but the answer is RP Silvino Bracho.

DING DING DING

[Commissioner Erick]

For Erick Blasco, any changes to your starting lineup today?

Not today. We bench players a decent amount during the season, but we can't afford to anymore. There may be some games we sit Josh Ockimey against righties, and it's possible Nolan Arenado will need another game off. Outside of that, and resting Tom Murphy twice a week, our starting lineup tonight will be the same every game. That lineup is:

Blackmon
Santana
Dahl
Arenado
Ockimey
Story
Tapia
Murphy
Chisholm

Outside of Greg Holland, your bullpen has been much more shaky this year compared to prior years. What has been the cause of that?

I really blame our manager bot for not getting the platoon advantage in the middle innings. Sam Moll has basically faced the same number of lefties as righties this year, while Adam Ottavino has faced 154 lefties and 121 righties. If those guys had been used properly, they'd pitch better and we'd be strong in the late innings. The middle innings are my fault. I didn't improve the middle innings and lost David Robertson. Brandon Kintzler was bad and was released, and Rony Garcia is pitching like a Rule V pickup. I didn't solidify the pen and it's showing.

How pivotal has it been to see Raimel Tapia bounce back after a lost 2020?

It's been great and I'm so happy for him. We've really needed him with Carlos Gonzalez' injury. He's been an every day starter against righties and produced, plus he's been strong against lefties. He's going to get a lot of bats against lefties going forward, graduating from a platoon bat. Next year we may not need to find a right-handed hitting outfielder now that Tapia has demonstrated this skill. He could barely get on the field in 2020 and was terrible when he could and now he's a player with an OPS of .818, 22 steals, and 18 home runs, and a full time player.

[Commissioner Erick]

Diamondbacks 6 - Rockies 5


WP: H. Robles (5-6)
LP: P. Corbin (4-2)


Arizona blew two late leads and watched its closer fail in yet another key spot against Colorado.

If they make the postseason, they'll be able to point to how the team came back.

The Arizona Diamondbacks scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, walking off on an Isan Diaz double, to pick up a critical win 6-5 win over the Colorado Rockies in the NL postseason picture.

Marco Gonzales got the surprise start for Arizona and gave the Diamondbacks 5.0 key innings. Michael Fulmer went 6 innings allowing just a pair of runs, meaning the action was decided late and against the bullpens.

Colorado came back down a run in the eighth. With two out, Trevor Story single, and advanced to third on a double by Steve Souza Jr. Tom Murphy banged a single through the left side to make it 3-2 Rockies. Travis Demeritte, starting against the lefty, wasn't pinch hit for when Arizona brought in righty Silvino Bracho. Bracho, who came off the DL that day, struck out Demeritte to keep the game close.

Adam Ottavino curiously was brought on board to face a lefty and a switch-hitter. Ottavino gave up a single to Christian Yelich, allowed Yelich to steal second, then walked Yuniel Severino. Just as strange, Ottavino was pulled from facing the righty Andy Ibanez in favor of Tyler Anderson. Severino was immediately caught trying to steal second, but Ibanez banged a double over David Dahl's head to tie the game. Anderson stayed on to face the lefties Joey Gallo and Ryan Johnson retiring both on grounders to end the inning.

Colorado jumped back in front in the ninth. Hansel Robles, the subject of much frustration in Arizona, continued to disappoint against Arizona's chief rival for the Wild Card. He allowed a double to Jasrado Chisholm to begin the frame, then struck out Charlie Blackmon and got Carlos Santana to fly out to get close to escaping the inning. David Dahl deposited a 3-2 outside fastball over the wall near the left field foul line to give Colorado a dramatic 5-3 lead.

It would be short lived. Greg Holand entered and walked Oscar Hernandez and Brandon Drury, not being particularly close on any pitch save one called strike. Colorado's manager bot replaced Holland with Patrick Corbin with the switch-hitting Greg Allen, and lefty Diaz to follow. Corbin threw away Allen's weak ground ball and instead of two men on with one out, Arizona inched a run close and put the winning runs on base with nobody out. Corbin fell behind Isan Diaz 2-1 and Diaz an elevated fastball over David Dahl's head for a walk-off, two-run double.

The win put Arizona 2.5 back of Colorado in the wild card hunt, and pulled them to 3.5 back of Los Angeles in the division. With fewer than three weeks to play, that's a significant margin in the Wild Card race, and they have Isan Diaz to thank.


Questions for the GM's:


For Erick Blasco, you talked about platoon advantages in the preview. Are you happy with how your relievers were deployed last night?

You gave Demeritte the start against the lefty. How did he look?

David Dahl had a huge game. Should be an MVP this year?

For Ben Nuzzo, Greg Allen is a pretty fast runner. How huge was his speed in this game, particularly the pressure he put on Corbin in the ninth?

Hansel Robles almost blew it for you. How confident are you in him down the stretch here?

Isan Diaz could be a superstar. How impressive was it for you to see him come through with that big hit in the ninth for his second walk-off hit of his major league career?


TRIVIA: What pitcher has the most saves in playoff history?

[dbackhon]

Greg Allen is a pretty fast runner. How huge was his speed in this game, particularly the pressure he put on Corbin in the ninth?

Greg's speed has really been a boon to this team all year long and especially in this game. I dont know if we would have won the game without him putting the screws on Corbin in the ninth... Maybe we would have but he certainly helped a great deal with that comeback.

Hansel Robles almost blew it for you. How confident are you in him down the stretch here?

We've used a few closers this year, trying to ride the hot hand and switch up when they go cold... With two weeks left to go and a slim lead in the WC race, and 3 games back in the division we can't afford to blow any more leads this year. With that in mind Alex Cora and I have decided to give the closer position to Silvino Bracho for the time being.

Isan Diaz could be a superstar. How impressive was it for you to see him come through with that big hit in the ninth for his second walk-off hit of his major league career?

Isan is really poised, that was a big moment and really underscores why the organization was willing to part with a lot of good pieces to acquire him from Cincy. We'd like to see him take more walks and raise his average a bit, but in the clutch he has come through for us time after time. It's a good thing we have him down the stretch. 

[Commissioner Erick]

For Erick Blasco, you talked about platoon advantages in the preview. Are you happy with how your relievers were deployed last night?

I'm so fucking mad at our manager bot. I just don't know why it does what it does some times, and I curse the deal we made to get robots calling balls and strikes and also acting as team managers. First Xavier Cedeno gets called upon in the seventh. It makes sense as Fulmer gave up runs the past two innings and a lefty is leading off. Cedeno allows a hit to Ryan Johnson, and a righty, Oscar Hernandez follows. What does manager bot do? Brings in another lefty? Thankfully Sam Moll is able to get through three righties before retiring Isan Diaz, but why not go to Ottavino in that situation? It screwed up the rest of the game's patterning. Ottavino came on in the eighth and had to face a pair of lefties. He didn't retire any of them, and we needed to call Tyler Anderson to bail the team out. Why not use Ottavino in the seventh? You can then use Moll in the eighth and maybe not give up the tying run. We have platoon advantage set to max, but manager bot just doesn't listen.

Anybody who thinks humanity should be afraid of robots wouldn't be if they saw how my manager bot handled my bullpen.

You gave Demeritte the start against the lefty. How did he look?

I thought defensively he looked adequate. A lot of tough grounders got through that he didn't make a difference on, though he did make a nice play grabbing and throwing on the run to retire Greg Allen.

At the plate he rolled over a Gonzales pitch in his first at bat, but poked a hit the other way his next time up. We don't usually see him taking that approach, though with two outs and a lefty in Chisholm on deck, maybe we would have wanted to see him sell out for power a bit more. He came up with men in scoring position against righties in the later innings and he failed each time. We really want him to be pulled against righties as much as possible, but it's just not something our manager bot listens to.

David Dahl had a huge game. Should be an MVP this year?

I really with Mike Trout weren't in the National League. Dahl has been absolutely spectacular this season, leading the league in average, swiping 24 bags, playing terrific center field defense, and clubbing over 40 home runs. His 7.8 WAR is second to Trout. One could argue that with Trout and Harper on the same team, each of those players can't be as valuable to the Nationals as Dahl has been in carrying the Rockies. If he's close in WAR to Trout in two weeks, I say he deserves the edge. If not, Trout is doing special things this year.