Diamondbacks continue their fight as Braves head to Chase Field

The Arizona Diamondbacks (45-45) return home to Chase Field to face the Atlanta Braves (49-39) in a four-game series, starting Monday night.

The D-backs are coming off a thrilling and successful six-game road trip to Los Angeles and San Diego, going 4-2 and back to .500. They are currently two games behind the Padres for the third wild-card spot in the National League, and 9.5 games behind the Dodgers.

The Braves are coming off a four-game series against the Phillies at home, in which they lost the first two games but came back to win the last two and split the series. That leaves the Braves eight games behind the Phillies in the NL East, but still in first place in the Wild Card, 2.5 games ahead of the Cardinals.

The D-backs’ 4.93 runs scored per game ranks second in the National League. Their 4.84 runs allowed per game ranks 13th in the league. That’s due to a series of injuries to their starting rotation and the fact that most of their young pitchers who fill in the gaps are inconsistent.

Despite losing Spencer Strider for the year, the Braves allowed a league-best 3.64 runs per bat. Surprisingly, it was the offense that kept the Braves from catching the Phillies. Their 4.31 ERA was below the league average of 4.42 and ranked 8th. One of the main reasons was Ronald Acuna Jr. suffered a season-ending knee injury.

While they had planned to start Chris Sale, the Braves ultimately decided to call up right-hander Bryce Elder at the last minute and start him in Sale’s place. Elder struggled mightily in May and, with a 5.76 ERA on June 27, was sent down to Triple-A, albeit after just six starts.

He pitched to a 4.35 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings with the Gwinnett Stripers, and will return to the major leagues to face the D-backs. Elder sports a low-90s sinker and four seams, with a slider and changeup to boot.

Yilber Diaz makes his major league debut. (Stats in the chart above are from AA and AAA combined.) He began the year in Amarillo and was promoted to Reno a month ago. In his last outing, he pitched six scoreless innings while striking out 13 batters. You can read more about that outing and his season here.

Chris Sale is finally healthy and is once again a leading Cy Young candidate. From 2013 to 2018, Sale finished in the top five in CY voting every year. But from 2019 to 2023, he made just 56 starts with a mediocre 4.16 ERA. With Elder back to start Monday, Sale will be pushed to face Zac Gallen on Tuesday.

Now fully healthy, Sale, 35, is second in the league in earned run average and first in independent pitching fielding. His 11 wins also put him in the league lead. His 4-seam and 2-seam fastballs are still averaging 95% and his slider is first in MLB in run value. Oh, and his changeup is ranked third. Good luck.

Zac Gallen He struggled to control his ball in his July 4 outing in Los Angeles, walking three batters in just four innings of work. Although he set personal bests in fastball velocity, hitting 98 on several occasions and averaging 96, he struggled to control the increased velocity.

Gallen missed a month with a hamstring injury, but he appears poised for a strong second half of the season. He pitched a career-high 242 innings last year, including the playoffs. The fact that he has pitched just 68 innings so far this year could be a blessing in disguise. If he maintains a fastball average over 95 MPH and locates it, he will be nearly impossible for hitters to handle.

40 years Charlie Morton He continues to roll. With 16 starts, he is on pace to reach 30 games started in each of the last six full major league seasons. Since his age-33 season, he is 89-47 with a .654 winning percentage and a 3.58 ERA. This year, however, his 3.96 ERA is right around league average due to some inconsistency.

Morton has allowed two runs or fewer in nine outings, but has allowed four runs or more in seven of his starts. His fastball velocity is down slightly, but it still averages 94. It’s the big curve that remains his trademark, though. He throws the curveball at 40 percent, and that generates a lot of swings, misses and soft contact.

Wednesday’s starter is currently listed as To be determined for Arizona. It would be Slade Cecconi Cecconi last played against the Padres on July 5.

Cecconi, who usually dominates the first and second innings, couldn’t get through the fourth inning without getting hit. At just 25 years old and with just 89 innings under his belt, it’s far from too late to fix that problem. But the team may be hesitant to play him now, in the thick of the wild-card race.

Max Fried is having another very good season. 38 pitchers have made at least 100 starts since 2020. Fried’s 2.75 ERA over that span is the lowest of all. Corbin Burnes is second at 2.78, Zac Gallen is 6th at 3.24.

He was roughed up by the Phillies in his last outing, though, allowing 11 hits and five runs in six innings. That bumped his ERA up from 2.91 to 3.18. His fastball velocity is around 94 and he’s another Braves pitcher with a big curveball, earning him a 33% WHIFF rate.

Brandon Pfaadt was hit in the ankle on a 98-mph rebound from Luis Arraez in the fifth inning of his start Saturday at San Diego. X-rays were negative and the Diamondbacks said it was a contusion.

Torey Lovullo and Pfaadt have both said they are very confident in his ability to make his next start, but as of this writing, that is still listed as TBD by the team.