[Ed. Note, this was supposed to publish yesterday, but I seem to have messed that up some how. Hope Game 1 went well! lol
The Diamondbacks were so close to being the first team in baseball to sweep the Reds. They were leading up until the fifth inning of the final game, and they were tied until the eighth when the bullpen once again imploded for five runs sealing a Cincinnati win. The loss also ended a four game Diamondback losing streak and wasted an opportunity to make up ground against the Mets in their attempt at an improbable run to the playoffs, the odds of which seem more and more miniscule daily. It speaks to the quality of the bones of this team, however, that they are even close to being in the chase for it. A team that is a decent sized handful of teams and nine games behind a playoff spot fighting their way back to just five and a half games and only two teams back is impressive in and of itself. Regardless of the final results, it will be interesting to see how much fight this team has in them until the very end, and if nothing else, they could act as very effective spoilers and kingsmakers in the playoff races as they come down to the wire. It also makes for a very promising 2026.
If you had told me that the Brewers were going to be the best team in baseball going into the last thirty some odd games of the season, I don’t think I would have believed you. There was just too much competition for that position, and the Brewers just didn’t seem to stack up well enough against them. But between their great play and some of those other teams not living up to expectations, there they sit. They were the first team to eighty wins, they are currently the only team with a winning percentage higher than .600, and they are cruising to an NL Central division title. They have the fewest runs allowed of any division leader, and they have the second most runs scored. They’ll get you with their pitching; they’ll get you with their hitting. It’s the most basic recipe for success out there.
Game 1 — 8/25, 4:40 PM — Eduardo Rodriguez (5-7, 5.40 ERA, 81 ERA, 1.61 WHIP) vs. Brandon Woodruff (4-1, 2.47 ERA, 189 ERA+, 0.82 WHIP)
After losing five straight Eduardo Rodriguez starts, the Diamondbacks have now won his last four. That is primarily because of the Diamondbacks offense, though, as they have scored six or more runs in all of them. Not to say he hasn’t had decent performances. He held the Athletics to two runs, and the Rockies to one. On the one hand, those teams suck, but on the other, the A’s had been on a pretty decent run when he faced them, and the Rockies game was in Coors, so… ehhh. Last start, he faced the Guardians and had a start much more to be expected of him where he went 6 2/3 innings and gave up four runs. I can’t say I’m looking forward to him facing the Brewers.
Brandon Woodruff will be making his ninth start of the season. He missed all of 2024 and a good chunk of 2025 after needing shoulder surgery following the ‘23 season. That rehab had a few bumps and pushed his return to June of this year, but he has been a huge asset for the team since his return. He has only given up more than two runs once, which was in his most recent start against the Cubs where he gave up three. The biggest issues have been that the length has been inconsistent and, especially his more recent starts, his walks have been on the higher side. Like most of this series, this will be a tough game for the Diamondbacks, but if they can force a few walks, they might give themselves some much needed opportunities.
Game 2 — 8/26, 4:40 PM — Brandon Pfaadt (12-8, 4.95 ERA, 88 ERA+, 1.33 WHIP) vs. Jacob Misiorowski (4-2, 4.19 ERA, 98 ERA+, 1.11 WHIP)
In his last start, Pfaadt went seven innings and gave up two runs. Pfaadt has been reasonably effective in August, pitching to a 4.18 ERA for the month, but more impressive is his FIP, which is almost a run lower at 3.28, suggesting that luck has been holding Pfaadt back from being even more successful. He’ll need to continue that trend here against a Milwaukee team that is anything but forgiving.
Misiorowski will be making the tenth start of his MLB career Tuesday night. He started off very strong, giving up only eight runs in his first six games, five of which came in one loss to the Mets. However, in his most recent three starts, he’s given up 11. including a 1 1/3 inning, five run start against the Reds on 8/15. He’s given up even more walks than Woodruff, though, averaging 4.7 walks per nine. It’s a huge opportunity for the Diamondbacks to get runners on and create some chaos, like they seem to have remembered how to do recently.
Game 3 — 8/27, 4:40 PM — Ryne Nelson (6-3, 3.63 ERA, 120 ERA+, 1.06 WHIP) vs. Quinn Priester (11-2, 3.44 ERA, 119 ERA+, 1.26 WHIP)
August has not been particularly kind to Nelson. It would be the first full month where he has not had a single start where he gave up one or fewer runs. His ERA of 5.40 is the highest he’s had for a full month this season by almost two runs, and perhaps the most telling, his BABiP is .100 points higher than the next highest month. The batters he is facing just are quite simply hitting them where they ain’t. The good news is, that tends to balance itself out. The bad news is, the Brewers are the wrong team to be hoping that happens with.
Game 4 — 8/28, 11:10 — Nabil Crismatt (1-0, 1.00 ERA, 450 ERA+, 1.22 WHIP) vs. Jose Quintana (10-4, 3.32 ERA, 123 ERA+, 1.25 WHIP)
In his last appearance, which was technically not a start due to Jalen Beeks opening, Crismatt went four innings and held the Reds scoreless. It was a great follow up to his previous start, and Crismatt seems to be planning to take full advantage of the opportunity he has in a depleted Diamondbacks rotation, and given those staffing woes will extended to the start of next season, one has to imagine he has the chance to make a push for 2026 as well with continued performance.
Quintana has been around forever at this point, having made his debut with the White Sox back in 2013, and he’s only had two seasons where he was below league average by ERA+. His walks are up and his strikeouts are down compared to his career norms, but it doesn’t seem to be effecting him much, as this is his third best season by ERA+ up to this point. He’s a good veteran and the Diamondbacks are going to have their hands full with him.
There’s no way to cut this where this won’t be a hard series for the Diamondbacks, but at the same time, it’s hard to know what to expect. This is the team that lost three out of four to the Rockies a week ago, but took consecutive series against playoff contenders since then. It all depends on what version of the Dbacks show up. Maybe the Marte drama truly is behind them, and they’re focused on baseball again. If so, hooray. Maybe, and perhaps more likely, this is just an incredibly inconsistent team and we won’t know what we’re going to get from them until a final score is logged on the scoreboard. I think they split and keep themselves right where they started.