Zac Gallen Leads Arizona Diamondbacks Over New York Mets. Dbacks vs Phillies Newest Rivalry?

Zac Gallen Leads Arizona Diamondbacks Over New York Mets. Dbacks vs Phillies Newest Rivalry?

What are we discussing on today’s Locked on Diamondbacks podcast? Do the Mets or Yankees need to sign Zack Allen this off season after another dazzling performance in New York? And answering your guys’ questions on today’s mailbag [Music] Friday. You are Locked on Diamondbacks, your daily Arizona Diamondbacks podcast. Part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. All right, now let’s get into the Locked on Diamondbacks podcast and let’s talk about that series verse the New York Mets because the Mets were one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball. It felt like the Dbacks were actually outplayed in this series against the Mets. We look at the final results and it’s the Dbacks taking two out of three. huge series for the rest of the season. When you talk about winning games early in the year, some people have a nonchalant attitude. I don’t understand why so many baseball fans tell me, “Man, you’re looking at a record. You care about wins and losses in April.” Yes, I do. Because I watched the Dbacks in 2024 set themselves back the rest of the season because of early season losses in April. And so I thought this was a huge series to get revenge for what happened in 2024 for the shenanigans in the series finale, but also to set yourself up for the rest of 2025. And this ended up being the Dback’s first series first series win at City Field since 2017. Just think about how long it’s been since the Dbacks have played well in New York, at least well in New York against the New York Mets because we’ve seen the Dbacks win a series in New York already. Actually, the Bbacks are a very good team in New York, taking down both the New York Yankees and the New York Mets this season. And so, this was a huge series win by the Dbacks, especially when you consider this was not even the best version of the Dbacks, right? Like, the Mets were already one of the hottest teams in baseball, already one of the best teams in the sport at defending their home turf. and the Dbacks went in there and just battled gutsy win after gutsy win the back uh the the last two days. A lot of resilience by this Dbacks team and that’s been the philosophy and the calling card and the identity of this Dbacks team in 2025. You’re able to win this series without Corbin Carroll really doing anything. One hit this entire series. His first hit came in the first inning of the finale. No Ketel Marte either this series. So you had to get contributions from other people in your lineup. I thought this was a very gutty series win by the Dbacks. One where I thought they got outplayed honestly, but yet they’re the ones walking away with the series win. And when you look at that series finale, I mean, one of these New York teams need to sign Zack Gallon this off season because that first performance, it was what, like 6.2 2 innings pitch, 13 strikeouts against the New York Yankees. Today’s game, another dominant start by Gallon. Six innings, two hits allowed, eight strikeouts, one earned run. The biggest blemish was probably the three walks allowed, but the the command did not look like an issue for Gallon today. Yes, he had a couple walks, but he was dotting up the strike zone. He felt like he had great command of his location today. And I thought this was probably his second best start of the season after that performance against the New York Yankees. Had a mistake pitch against Juan Sto where the pitch before it you’re like, man, that was because if you go back and look at that Juan Sto at bat, the pitch right before the home run, it’s like 89 just sitting in the upper upper part of the strike zone. You’re like, he kind of got away with that one, but if he throws that one again, it could be trouble. Like that’s what I thought to myself in that moment. And then he throws the exact same pitch in the same location and Sodto just tease off on it. Probably the only mistake Zack Allen made all day today. He did have a mistake probably earlier in the game, but Alec Thomas player because he had that great catch in center field running toward the alley in right field. And if he’s not playing today, that is probably a runscoring double off Zack Allen. But Thomas, great defense today. Also, great offense. A twoway performance by Thomas because it was kind of fun to see him make that great defensive play. Then follows it up by getting a hit in the next inning. I kind of feel like that’s the MLB version of a fast break. Like when you see a guy get a block on defense and then he runs down and then scores the layup. That’s kind of what Alec Thomas did. Big diving play in center field and then you come up next to bat and you get a hit. I thought it was just a very fun moment in the ball game. Josh Naylor, he should have had a home run. I mean, it hit the top of the wall. It was two inches away from going over um past it, but it’s like one of those things where if it’s above the line, it should be a home run, right? Like when you look at Chase Field, you have that line where anything above it’s a home run. Well, this thing was above the wall. Hit the top of the wall, then came back into play. I feel like that should be a home run, but I guess I’m wrong because they reviewed it. Domo looks to have his groove back after getting the go-ahead run in the game two against the Mets. He had a home run in today’s game. Love to see that. We need Domo to get his back going because he was in a cold stretch prior to this Mets series. So, good to see his offense finally coming back around. Tim Tawa needs to stay in this Dback’s team once Kel Marte comes back. I still want Tim Tawa on the bench because as a pinch hitter with some real power, I think Tawa deserves a spot on this Dback’s team as a thumper, pinch hitting situations, potential DH. I still like Tawa. Um, and he’s still versatile defensively. Even though he hasn’t been great defensively, at least he’s still versatile. So, I would keep him over Garrett Hamson for a infield bench option. back-to-back nights. Ryan Thompson critical for the Dbacks coming out the seventh inning. He was fantastic today. What I didn’t like though from this game, if I have to give my critique, back-to back nights where Kevin Gle comes out. Genko hasn’t pitched all season coming off the injured list. And this felt like another game where we were just going to leave the reliever way too long in the game. It was already risky throwing GKL out in back-to-back games of like high lever situations. And listen, I’m the guy that has been begging for the Thompson, Ginkle, Shelby, 789 with Jar and Puck out, but to do it in backtoback days when you know Ginkle is trying to work his way back into form, it just felt risky. And then you just never had anybody warming up. you never had like a a contingency plan if things went sideways because it started to go sideways for Kevin Ginkle. And that’s like my biggest frustration a lot of times when it comes to this Dback’s bullpen. Yeah, sometimes a guy comes out and they don’t perform. But also when you clearly see your guy doesn’t have it. Genko was struggling. He was walking guys. He was giving up hits. Why don’t we pull him? Why don’t we have someone else warming up just in case? I felt like in that moment, thankfully, Genko clutched it out, but I thought he should have been pulled. It felt like the same situation with Jaylen Beaks a couple weeks ago against the Rays. Same with Ryan Nelson recently when we tried to throw out throw him out there in the ninth inning. Like, there’s just too many games where we just put these relievers out in games way too long where you’re watching them unravel and we’re just doing nothing about it. So, we need a quicker hook when it comes to these Dbacks relievers. And you can see that they’re struggling. Umpire also tried to screw both teams in the ninth inning. Didn’t realize it was a catcher interference against the Dbacks. Um, Phillies against the Dbacks and then didn’t realize that AU Suarez fell tipping into the glove for strike three. So, bad job by the ump. But regardless, with all that being said, great series by the Dbacks. Gutty series by the Dbacks. Resilient series by the Dbacks. felt like they were outplayed, but you look up at the end of the day, Dbacks take two out of three from the Mets. They survive the series. The bullpen survives the series as well. But now we’ll talk about one of the hottest new rivalries, I believe, in Major League Baseball in the Dbacks and Philadelphia Phillies in segment number back here on the lock on Diamondbacks podcast and now I want to discuss are the Dbacks and Phillies one of baseball’s newest rivalries. You guys could drop down in the YouTube section if you believe this is a rivalry at all. Maybe I’m completely off base, but I feel like there’s something brewing between these two teams. Again, it’s definitely not the level of Yankees, Red Sox, not on the level of some newer rivalries we’ve seen recently like the Dodgers and Padres’s. So, it doesn’t have the historical value. Probably doesn’t have some of the more recent value as well when you’ve seen some of the big sparks between some of these matchups, you know, with like the Dodgers and Padres’s across Major League Baseball. So, I wouldn’t say it’s on those levels of rivalries, but I still feel like after that 2023 NLCS matchup, it had just left a taste in every fan’s mouth where you’re just like they’re just a little bit more anticipation now for these series. Just a little bit more drama filled when you look at Dbacks verse Phillies. I just feel like there’s a little bit of a little angst, a little tension now. I just feel like there’s something there between the Dbacks and Phillies that we really didn’t see prior to 2023. And also prior to 2023, Dbacks and Phillies weren’t very good. Dbacks weren’t going to the playoffs. Phillies had that long drought of not going to the playoffs. Like those two teams, not a lot of overlap of being competitive at the same time, but now they are. We saw them matched up in the postseason a couple years ago and it was instantly fireworks, sparks, and I think a really intense and a really fun series. Got chippy on both sides. The Philly fans, I got to say, were fantastic. When they came down to Arizona, the bars were filled with Philly fans. I went to Four Peaks. There were a lot of Philly fans there. I went to the NLCS game where Alec Thomas had that big home run. There were still a lot of Philly fans there. Like coming from the East Coast, they traveled well. One of the strongest fan bases in Major League Baseball. And I thought it just made the series so much more fun because I did not think there could be another team that could really challenge like the rivalry and like the emotions I feel when we go against the Dodgers. And still not on that level, but for that series, I was as emotionally invested. I felt as much like hatred toward the Phillies as I’ve ever had against any major league team franchise. And in that moment, I want to kill the Phillies as much as I’ve wanted to kill any opponent in a playoff matchup. I want to shut down that Phillies fan base, that loud, boisterous crowd. Like, I was so happy to see what Brandon F could do in that game seven on the road, silencing that Philly’s crowd. And so I think this has become one of the most organic rivalries in Major League Baseball that I hope can grow over time as these two teams can hopefully remain competitive. The Dbacks a young team, they’ve been locking up their stars, right? Carol’s not going anywhere. Fox Jart, imagine guys like Jordan Lawler, if he plays well, you know, for a month he’s going to get a big contract. If Gabrielle Moreno can ever turn it on, he’s going to get extended to like I expect this Dbacks team core of young players to not go anywhere and they seem to be content on spending a little money as well. So I would expect the Dbacks to continue to be competitive going forward. Meanwhile, the Phillies, yes, they’re a little bit older. Regression is probably going to come for them faster, but they still have their best players locked up. They’re still a big market team that’s not afraid to spend money. So, I hope these are two teams that could stay competitive and face off again and maybe it can happen in 2025 in the postseason. But to do that, the Dbacks are going to need to continue to stack up wins. But my biggest concern for these two teams facing off in the postseason is one, I don’t know if these two teams are going to win their division. The Dbacks are definitely not. And if the Phillies are not going to win their division, they lose it to the New York Mets. Now we’re fighting for the wild card. And we know how tight the wild card race is. When you look at the Padres’s, the Giants, the Dbacks, the Phillies, got the Braves, the Reds, like it’s going to be a tight race. And so we might only have one of these two teams in the postseason. That’s why this early season series is so important. I keep reiterating it. I keep hammering the point. You have to win these early season series, especially going against teams that are going to be fighting you for a wildcard and playoff spot. And I think the Dbacks do have a good chance of beating the Phillies in this series. Yes, it’s going to be tough. The Phillies are a nasty team. They’re a big payroll. They got an elite lineup. They have an elite rotation as well. But I really like how the first two games of the series stack up for the Dbacks because you got Mel Kelly, got Brandon F both on the mound to give the Dbacks a really good opportunity to start the series with two victories off the bat. Then you see what I could do in the finale. But both of those guys, F and Kelly, coming off six innings pitch, two earn run performances. Both of them have been in their bag recently. the two best starters in my opinion for the Dbacks right now. Plus, you don’t have to face Zack Wheeler in this series either, who has historically shut down the Dbacks. Still have to face Nola. Still have to face Jesus Lozardo. And then you do get the season debut of Ranger Suarez, it looks like, in the finale against Rod. So, I think that’s perfect. Just a wildcard finale with Rod and Ranger Suarez on the mound. the Dbacks, they could really use a huge series from Corbin Carroll because he did not do much against the Mets. He’s five for his last 32. So, we could use a big series for him because the speedster in Trey Turner for the Phillies, he’s going to be the guy to watch because he’s currently batting around 400 in his last six games. And against the Dback starters in this series, Rod F, and Kelly, he is 14 for 38 in his career, a 368 average against those three guys. And so he is the dude we need to slow down. And we know heading into this weekend series in Philadelphia, that ballpark is going to be loud. They’re going to be rambunctious. But we’ve seen the Dbacks handle that atmosphere before. And let’s hope they could do it again this weekend. Now, let’s talk about your questions and answer them on this Mailbag Friday in segment number three. Welcome back here on the Locked on Diamondbacks podcast. Now, let’s answer your guys’ questions on today’s mailbag Friday. Again, remember to send in your questions all week long as we answer them every Friday here on the Locked on Diamondbacks podcast. First question is from Dbacks993. He said, “Do you believe or she said, again, let me not assume, “Do you believe the Dbacks bullpen can hold the fort with Jarth and AJ Puck out?” Great question because it is going to be tough, but I do believe the Dbacks can do it. Obviously, your two biggest flamethrowers are currently out for the Dbacks and Jar and Puck, which is very tough. Those two guys came into the season and we were raving about them. Jar is the closer. Puck is the eighth inning guy we thought was the best 89 combination the Dbacks have had maybe ever. When you look at their arsenal, their repertoire, their skill set, guys that could average 99 to like 102 on their fast balls, like insanely talented pitchers and they’re both now out for the Dbacks. But I do think in this series finale against the Mets, we saw the formula that the Dbacks should use going forward. The only difference is maybe in the seventh inning maybe switch out like Ryan Thompson for Jaylen Beaks at times. But I do think the combination is going to be Thompson Jaylen Beaks, you know, Thompson/Jaylen Beaks I should say in the seventh inning, Ginko in the eighth inning, Shelby Miller in the ninth inning. Like that is your 789 combination with Jay Mart and AJ Puck out. And again, with those two guys out, what Tory Lavell really needs to do is define roles for the pen. I think that’s the easiest way to hold the fort down if you’re this if you’re this Dback’s bullpen is to define roles so these guys know what they have to do every single day. I think the injuries that we see to Puck and Jart are helping define roles for the rest of the guys because now we know what they have to do with those two guys out. I still think this bullpen, even without AJ Puck and Jay Mart out, I still think it’s talented. Like, I do like the depth of this Dbacks bullpen more than ever. Definitely more than I’ve ever, you know, more than any other point I’ve taken over, you know, the locked on Dbacks podcast. This is definitely the deepest the Dbacks bullpen has been. Like, I still like Guan Mario. I still like Ryan Nelson. Mario I still think has major potential as a backend high leverage reliever. Averages 99 on his fast ball and sinker. Like what I’ve seen from him so far in 2025, like that guy does have a future as a potential back-end reliever for the Dbacks or somebody else. I want to keep him around. Ryan Nelson, I still like multi-ining guy. He crushes potential starter. I just don’t like it when we try to overextend him and try to make him close out games and get the save. that is not when I’m a fan of Ryan Nelson. So, outside of the biggest health concerns for me when it comes to this Dbacks bullpen, I I still like who we have, I still think the depth is pretty good. The biggest issue for me outside of the health, there’s two things that well the the the health is the biggest concern for me, but the other thing that concerns me when it comes to this Dbacks bullpen is this scenario. You’re in a close game. It’s like the sixth or seventh inning and three of your top four guys, they’re spent. They’ve been used the last couple days. They’re not going today. You need to keep the game close. And you’re looking at your pen and it’s either Scott McGuff or Jose Castillo. They need to come in and keep the game close. That is what makes me worried because both of those guys are in the Dbacks bullpen right now. We know what Scott McGuff is. I don’t think it makes any sense for him to be on this DAX roster. He’s been terrible for Arizona. I’m not excited. I do not want to see him at all. We still got Dre Jameson, Yilbert Diaz, Bryce Jarvis, JP Firestein. Like, I know all of them have had their lows this season, but their lows are still Scott McGuff’s best. And so, I just don’t understand why they’re not on this roster, why it’s Scott McGuff on this roster. Jose Castillo, I will give a little bit more grace. We haven’t seen him pitch for the Dbacks. He can throw in the mid 90s. And he is someone that is intriguing because he only has two innings pitch on the big league level since 2018 due to injuries and other factors. But he did look good his first season with the Padres’s in 2018. So if we could get that guy back, he he could be something potentially. But I just don’t know. I think this bullpen still has a lot of talent and enough pieces to hold down the fort. Still have reinforcements coming back like Kendall Graveman which should help out until we get Jar and Puck back. But I think the biggest thing that the Dbacks need to do is just define roles for everyone. Keep Scott McGuff far away from close games and don’t be afraid to pull the trigger on a reliever deal if it does break the bank. Um, so that is what the Dback should do with Jar and AJ Puck out because I do believe this bullpen is talented enough currently to hold down the fort with your two flamethrowers currently on the IIL. Then the final question we’ll answer before we wrap up today’s podcast. Are the Dbacks cursed when it comes to signing starters? Certainly seems like it. The first year of Zack Grankkey didn’t go well. Mad Bum was a bust. Monty was a bust. Rod’s been a bust. Corbin Burns, I mean, the numbers would tell you he hasn’t been a bust. I mean, a three, fiveyear ray, he’s got like three or four quality starts, but I haven’t felt good with Corbin Burns. I don’t know what it is. Whether it’s the Dbacks scouting, whether it’s the Dback’s development, because I feel like has to do I feel like it has to do with Arizona, why these guys are coming in and not performing to the level that they should. when when multiple guys come in, they don’t look right, and then also some of them go someplace else and immediately look good again. I think that’s when you have to look internally because I don’t even think it’s just the guys we sign. Like I talked about on yesterday’s podcast. It’s also the guys like Robbie Ray who come in, start off hot, have a great couple seasons, and then just unravel the longer they stay in Arizona. Grankkey was actually very good for the Dbacks after his first season in Arizona, but he definitely got better after he left Arizona and went to teams like uh the Houston Astros or whatever. Mad Bum, he was clearly in the decline when he got to a but not to the level that he was at once he got here. Like he was still a solid mid-rotation guy and then fell apart once he got here. Jordan Montgomery was literally winning the World Series and then looking like the worst starter in baseball. A-Rod was coming off like an all-star level season and then he hasn’t looked that good either. Like Corbin Burns finished like top three in Sai Young voting last year. Now he looks like a pretty shaky starter. Like I do think that’s on Arizona, their coaching, their development. Like if it’s multiple guys every other year that you’re signing and it’s just like, huh, why is it another starter that’s a bust for the Dbacks? I think at some point you have to stop blaming the players and start looking internally. So are the Dbacks cursed? No. They’re just not good at making sure these starters are up to the level they up to the level that they need to be when it comes to the expectation that we have for them. When it comes to their own skill level, like the Dbacks are just not extracting the most juice out of their players at times. And it seems like when it comes to their pitchers mostly, the Dbacks don’t extract the most juice. So, they need to get better in that area because I’m tired of paying so much money for these pitchers on the open market and then they come to Arizona and are immediately bust. So, let’s pray that the Dbacks and guys like Corbin Burns can turn it around because 35 a year for Burns for the next few years, he’s not going anywhere. So, let’s make sure it gets better than this in year two and going forward. Now that’s it for this edition of the Locked on Diamondbacks podcast. Come back next week for more Diamondbacks news coverage and insight. And as always, stay safe, stay healthy.

The Arizona Diamondbacks didn’t play their best baseball but were still able to get a series win over one of the hottest teams in the New York Mets. Millard Thomas discusses how the Dbacks were able to hang on and win, if Dbacks vs Philadelphia Phillies is an underrated rivalry, and answering your questions on today’s mailbag Friday like, “are the Dbacks cursed when it comes to signing starting pitchers?”

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