The Arizona Diamondbacks wrap up a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, Aug. 10, with RHP Brandon Pfaadt aiming for his team-high 12th win of the season.
Then it’s on to Arlington, Texas, to continue a run of 13 games in 13 days for the Diamondbacks.
The Rangers series features a possible reunion with an old friend Aug. 13. That’s when Merrill Kelly, the longtime Diamondbacks right-hander, is scheduled to start for the Texas Rangers, to whom Kelly was traded at the July 31 MLB trade deadline.
Kelly is in line to face his former team barely two weeks after the deal that returned three pitching prospects.
The Diamondbacks open a three-game series at Globe Life Field on Aug. 11. After the series finale on the 13th, it’s on to Denver for a four-game series against the Rockies.
The Rangers are right in the thick of the American League wild-card race, and still in contention for the AL West title.
Texas isn’t exactly the same team it was when it defeated the Diamondbacks in the 2023 World Series, but veteran shortstop Corey Seager remains, as do several players from that season. The starting rotation is led by Nathan Eovaldi, a 2023 World Series hero for the Rangers, and Jacob deGrom.
One of Kelly’s former Diamondbacks teammates, left-handed starter Patrick Corbin, has quietly put together a solid season.
Another former member of the Diamondbacks who was on Arizona’s World Series team that faced the Rangers, Joc Pederson, is now with Texas.
The Rockies have baseball’s worst record, which should be the case at season’s end unless the Washington Nationals or Chicago White Sox absolutely collapse while Colorado goes on a long winning streak.