After comfortably winning the first two games of this weekend’s series, the Diamondbacks will go for the three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox. At this point in the season, they need to bank as many wins as they can as they’re closing in on the Dodgers. They enter play on August 24 three games back of Los Angeles in the National League West division and 1.5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres for the top NL Wild Card spot.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The two things the Diamondbacks will have to worry about are their complacency, having won five straight games after dropping the first three games of the road trip, and a Boston team looking to redeem themselves after two ugly losses. The Red Sox are slipping out of the American League Wild Card race, 4.5 games behind both the Kansas City Royals and Twins. A win by the Diamondbacks could serve as the kill shot for their opponent’s postseason chances.
Diamondbacks Starting Pitcher: RHP Merrill Kelly (6 GS, 3-0, 3.63 ERA)
Merrill Kelly is coming off an ugly start against the Tampa Bay Rays one week ago. In his second start since coming off the injured list with a teres major strain in his right shoulder, Kelly allowed six runs in five-plus innings on eight hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. While the Diamondbacks came back to force extra innings, the start put them in a tough position.
The more troubling part than the results was Kelly’s fastball velocity. His four-seamer averaged a career-low 90.3 MPH, which certainly drew a lot of attention. It’s difficult to pin down why that’s the case, as the injury or a disruption in routine could both in play. For the second time in as many starts, he’ll pitch on six days’ rest due to the six-man rotation plus the off day on Thursday. The hope is the velocity will come up with another start under his belt.
Even if Kelly’s velocity doesn’t trend back up, he still has weapons to go after the Red Sox, a team notorious for crushing non-fastballs. Boston ranks fourth in batting average (.240), fifth in slugging (.398), and sixth in wOBA (.296) against breaking balls and offspeed pitches. The Diamondbacks have found success in this series by attacking them with fastballs, as Ryne Nelson and Zac Gallen have allowed two runs in 12 innings while leading with their four-seam fastballs. Kelly utilized a similar approach last season to beat Boston with a career-high 12 strikeouts.
Like with Gallen, the Diamondbacks need Merrill Kelly to get back into form quickly. He is their No. 2 starter come postseason and is on track to start seven more games this season, including a critical series against San Diego at the end of the season.
Starting Lineups
Starting Lineups for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox on August 25, 2024 at Fenway Park.
Adrian Del Castillo returns to the lineup after sitting out Saturday’s contest, a day game after a night game. Pavin Smith will get the start in left field, a worrisome situation given his relative inexperience at the position and the challenges of playing the Green Monster. With the need to make sure Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s legs stay rested and get the platoon matchup against Tanner Houck, he’s been tabbed with the responsibility.
Tyler O’Neill returns to the Red Sox lineup after a two-day absence. Rob Refsnyder has had a solid series, scoring two of Boston’s three runs in the series. Slick-fielding second baseman David Hamilton is back in the lineup as well.
Diamondbacks Bullpen Situation
Most of Arizona’s bullpen is in relatively solid shape, helped by the off day on Monday. Outside of Jordan Montgomery, who threw 89 pitches on Wednesday in his final start of the season, the bullpen should be fully gassed up to go. No pitcher has thrown in both games of the series, although Justin Martinez was likely one batter away from having to come into the game.
It’s unclear how the Diamondbacks will handle the ninth inning. Manager Torey Lovullo has been steadfast in his support of Paul Sewald being their closer when he’s right, but Martinez has made a late charge at the role. Sewald has allowed runs in back-to-back appearances after going scoreless in his first six since being removed from the closer role.
Pregame Notes
- Corbin Carroll extended his streak of consecutive starts of reaching base to 33, with a hit-by-pitch and a walk. However, his franchise-record streak of consecutive starts with a run scored was snapped at 14 games in Saturday’s win. The previous record was 12 by Ketel Marte last season.
- Luis Guillorme has been a surprising contributor at the plate for the Diamondbacks. In three games, he’s 2-for-10 with four walks, keeping the line moving at the bottom of the order. He’s also been as good as advertised defensively, including a Superman dive that robbed Masataka Yoshida of a hit in the seventh inning of Saturday’s game.
- The Diamondbacks had only one series sweep entering July. Since then they’ve pulled off series sweeps over the Washington Nationals, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, and Miami Marlins.
- Arizona’s season-high winning streak was six games, from August 9-14. They’ll look to tie that mark if they pull off a sweep of the Red Sox.
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, exclusive content, and access to our seasonal magazines! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*
Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
