Best Month: August (16-12)
The end of the season was a roller coaster ride for Arizona. They played some of their best and worst baseball as the season was winding down. In the month of August, the D-Backs offense got scorching hot. Arizona’s offense averaged 5.2 runs per game which was top 5 in all of baseball. Equally impressive, the D-Backs won 16 games in August despite ranking 25th in team ERA that month (4.58). Sometimes not even bad pitching can deter a lineup that is on fire…
The Diamondbacks offense was a well-oiled machine last August; everyone seemed to be contributing. But leading the charge was none other than, Christian Walker. The veteran first basemen had a month he won’t soon forget. In the month of dog days, Walker hit 7 home runs and finished with 21 RBIs in 28 games. He also slashed.346/.417/.615; bringing his OPS to 1.032! Doesn’t get much better than that for a month of baseball; let’s hope Walker and the offense as a whole can start the season off this hot…
A team ERA of 4.58 for a month is definitely a rough number to look at. But that doesn't mean every D-Backs pitcher was bad. In August, Zac Gallen was on another planet. In 6 starts, Gallen pitched 40 innings and posted a 5-0 record with an ERA of 0.68. Wow, I am running out of things to say about Zac Gallen…
Worst Month: September (11-17)
As I said above, the end of the season was a roller coaster ride for Arizona. They played some of their best and worst baseball as the season was winding down; the month of September was a rough one for Arizona. Coming off their best month of the season, the team struggled. The offense regressed; as far as runs per game, they were still in the top half of the league, but they dropped from the top 5 to the top 15. Pitching remained a problem, although improving from the previous month, the D-Backs were still bottom 10 in team ERA. The past is in the past right? Let’s hope the Diamondbacks learned from what they did wrong in September…
It is always good to find the light in the darkness. Despite a terrible month in the win-loss column, some players were impressive. One player that shined brightly was outfielder Jake McCarthy. In 23 games, McCarthy recorded 2 home runs and 10 RBIs while slashing .299/.365/.402; bringing his OPS to .767. He also stole 10 bases and scored 12 times. The future is bright for McCarthy…
Another bright spot for the Diamondbacks was pitcher Drey Jameson. In 3 September starts, Jameson pitched 18.1 innings, posted a 2-0 record, and kept his ERA under 1 (0.98). Like Corbin Carroll, Jameson was very impressive in his brief debut stint with Arizona at the end of last season. With the success Drey Jameson showcased in 22’, I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes the starting rotation to begin the season, which would be a blessing for this team’s ERA and overall record…