For the first month of the season there was no more disappointing team than the Arizona Diamondbacks. The calendar has turned to May and now the Diamondbacks are playing like the team they were expected to be. It might be too little too late as the San Francisco Giants have built a ten game lead over them in the division, but there is still time to save manager Kirk Gibson’s job and save face for this team.
In the month of May and the Opening Series in Australia the D-Backs played in 10 series and lost all but two, one win and one series tie. The offense struggled outside of Paul Goldschmidt and Mark Trumbo and the starting pitching was the worst in the league. The horrible starting pitching was led by the recent acquisition of Bronson Arroyo, former all-star Trevor Cahill and veteran Brandon McCarthy who combined for one of the worst starts of any three starting pitchers in recent memory. With the month of May that has all turned around.
Over the last 14 days the D-Backs hitters have turned it around as Miguel Montero, Gerardo Parra, Aaron Hill and A.J. Pollock have all stepped their offensive games. Montero has driven in a team leading nine runs, tied with Goldschmidt, to go along with three home runs and a batting average of .295 over those 14 games.
Parra and Hill have been all-around good over those games scoring and diving in 11 runs combined with a combined batting average of .274. Pollock, though, may have been the spark plug that has turned this offense around as he has contributed big time in every major statistical category with five runs scored, one home run, four runs batted in, five stolen bases and batting a whopping .370.
This offensive turnaround have been huge for the D-Backs and if they can continue to produce when Trumbo returns from the disabled list the ten game lead the Giants built may not be safe.
While the offensive turnaround is important, the pitching has improved as well over the last 14 days and pitching wins. The turnaround has been led by Arroyo who has looked less like a major disappointment and more like the man that the D-Backs expected when they gave him $23.5 million in the offseason. Over the last two weeks Arroyo has pitched in three games, all wins, with an ERA of only .39 over that span capping it off with a complete game win matched up head-to-head with Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg.
Arroyo has been the lead in the turnaround but he hasn’t been alone. McCarthy has had two starts over the last 14 days, one forgettable and one memorable. While one was horrible and didn’t help his already inflated ERA, the other was a magnificent seven shutout inning performance that built off of a performance where he also pitched seven allowing two earned runs and striking out 12. Wade Miley had been the most consistent starter all season long, and over these last 14 he has continued his solid season with an ERA of 3.21 and two quality starts in his two starts in the month of May.
The starting pitching has turned around and the bullpen that wasn’t horrible over the tough stretch has found a new addition as Cahill has been surprisingly good since he was moved from the rotation to the bullpen. Closer Addison Reed’s ERA hasn’t been fabulous over the last 14, but he has a win and five saves and his set-up man Brad Ziegler has been immaculate with zero earned runs over 6.2 innings pitched.
With the bullpen in order, the starting pitching turned around and the offense clicking this team could be dangerous. It’s going to be hard for them to catch the Giants, but they have won one of their series with the Giants so far this season and have four more series left against them including two in September. The lead may be big, but they have the opportunity to make a move and if they are close in the final month they may not only make a move, but save Gibson’s job after things looked so bleak after April.