Wild-card contenders Diamondbacks, Padres clash in desert

The Arizona Diamondbacks were in danger of falling into a deeper hole when they faced the San Diego Padres before the All-Star break. How things have changed.

After salvaging a split in the finale of a four-game set in San Diego on July 9, the Diamondbacks have the best record in the National League since that date and are tied with Philadelphia for the final two NL wild-card spots as they open a four-game series against the Padres on Monday.

Arizona is 14-6 since July 9 and leads the major leagues with 118 runs.

“It’s my favorite month of baseball,” said Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, whose team completed a 6-4 road trip as the calendar turned to August.

“I think the season starts to take shape. The contenders and pretenders start to separate. So I think the real teams, and the ones that are capable of carrying on for the next two months, start to separate themselves, and it’s the purest form of baseball.”

The Padres have been nearly as good in that span, going 12-8 with 110 runs, the third-most in the majors. They are one game behind the Diamondbacks and Phillies after a 5-1 homestand.

“How we’re playing right now, I think, is the true identity of this club,” said Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth, whose walk-off single beat the Giants 6-5 on Saturday.

Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt (5-1, 4.00 ERA) will seek to continue his recent dominance in the opener against fellow right-hander Michael King (6-7, 3.38), who was pushed back from a scheduled Sunday start against San Francisco for this matchup.

“We’re chasing them,” San Diego manager Craig Stammen said. “He’s our best pitcher. It would be nice to have our best pitcher pitching against them. He would miss them otherwise.”

King is 3-0 with a 1.05 ERA in five career starts against Arizona.

Pfaadt is 5-0 with a 1.85 ERA since his June 30 return from Triple-A Reno, where he was dispatched after early-season ineffectiveness. Injuries to right-handers Ryne Nelson and Michael Soroka provided a rotation opening.

After tweaking his mechanics, Pfaadt has taken advantage. He shortened his windup and moved to the first-base side of the rubber. He had been going back and forth with his starting point.

“More simple and more consistent,” Pfaadt said. “I think when you move and change so many things over a long period of time, stuff becomes inconsistent. Just making that as consistent as possible.”

Pfaadt threw five scoreless innings in an 8-0 victory over the Padres in his second start back July 6, He gave up six hits in seven scoreless innings in his last appearance, an 8-7 no-decision at Pittsburgh last Tuesday.

“There’s just confidence with everything that he’s doing,” Lovullo said. “His timing’s great. His delivery looks great, and he’s executing.”

Pfaadt is 4-3 with a 4.25 ERA in 11 career appearances (10 starts) against San Diego. Cronenworth is 11-for-24 with three RBIs against Pfaadt, Manny Machado is 7-for-21 with a homer and Ty France is 3-for-9 with a homer.

King was 1-0 with 2.79 ERA in five July starts. He gave up a combined three runs in 12 innings in a win and a no-decision against Arizona this season. Against King, Gabriel Moreno is 4-for-8 and Corbin Carroll is 1-for-9.

–Field Level Media