Pavin Smith’s THREE DINGER DAY Powers Diamondbacks To Win Over Astros In Series Finale

Intro paven Smith has become the greatest baseball player of all time we have more on his performance yesterday and of course everything else with this wild card race in 30 seconds don't go anywhere [Music] [Music] [Music] Happy Archie Monday [Music] and welcome in to another edition of the phnx dags podcast brought to you by our friends at bet 365 Go download the BET 36 5 app right now choose your offer use arod PMX 365 when you do and find out why it is never ordinary at bet 365 of course welcome in to the PHX zbx podcast my name is Derek montea occasionally known as your mayor of this joint this man next to me uh he's a Trader it's the one and only Jesse fredman but he why TR you you switch sides way too much I've seen you flip-flopping a lot when it comes to this election wer here last week and that's my future vice mayor over there one and only Archie Bradley uh of course the Diamondbacks had a rough Series in Houston uh but they did manage to win the finale finale in big fashion here uh with paven Smith having the game of his life but uh the Diamondbacks do win that series finale 12 to six they lose the series two games to one uh but they continue to lead Major League Baseball with 18 games where they've scored 10 runs or more and they are still the most potent offense in all major league baseball not a bad day for paven Smith huh Arie no not a bad day at all and even even the last stretch of games look we were the hottest team in baseball we had to cool down at some point still hold a playoff spot Don't Panic everyone we still control our future here right and I think that's the thing is is that it does feel uh it it it does feel like you should Panic a little bit because of the fact that like these teams are closing in on you but you know if you look at it from obviously the the advantage where the Diamondbacks are are the one with the spot right now like the other teams have to continue winning in order to make up that ground whereas the Diamondbacks right now I mean obviously they also have to continue winning but they're not in that se in that place of trying to make up that ground correct it's always better to have people catching you knowing you control your destiny then vice versa trying to make things happen and hoping things roll your way yeah well Jesse like you said paven Smith absolute Diamond legest the paven Smith game right yeah I mean Sunday night baseball too like the Diamondbacks don't generally play a whole lot of games with that kind of Spotlight I know they had one game in similar Fashions where the the end of last year against the Chicago Cubs that was I guess flexed is the word uh to Sunday Night Baseball uh that was the the case yesterday with with the Astros game but yeah and for it not just to be a three- Homer day but for two of those home runs to come against Justin Verlander a guy who is an obvious no doubt slam dunk Hall of Famer uh obviously Verlander is maybe not quite what he once was but uh paven Smith had seven RBI against Verlander within the first three Innings of that game uh that's that's just in stuff and I also thought it was very funny if you listen back to the Houston Astros radio broadcast uh in the seventh inning when aeno Suarez singled and paven had an opportunity to not just have a four Homer game but to have the first home run uh cycle in MLB history something that has never happened once no major leager had ever done that league softball stuff does happen it's like there's there's I mean just even to have the opportunity to hit a grand slam a three- run a two-run shot and a solo shot in the same game much less to actually execute that like the odds of that happening are astronomically low but Gino gave paven a shot and I believe it was the seventh inning by singling to start that inning paven comes up and in very anticlimactic fashion he strikes out on three pitches uh Hector nerys had a had a nice splitter going and that at bat uh but once that happened uh the Houston Astros radio broadcast said finally Babe Ruth is retired that was those those were their exact words and I thought that was amazing oh prime time paven is born right but uh interesting you bring up the radio broadcast because I know there's a lot of Diamondbacks fans here locally that were angry about the fact that you either had the Dbacks package and due to the flexing the Sunday night uh baseball it was blacked out or because of the ongoing dispute between Direct TV and Disney you didn't have ESPN to watch this game and I am in that camp with you guys so I completely understand your frustrations and I mean it's just crazy that uh you know like so many people missed out on such a wonderful game for paven Smith and and I'm I mean I imagine from a players perspective you guys are like this is crazy why are not there there people have fake hearts there's stuff on the moon and Mars and we can't like they're still black out games I just don't get that especially when you're paying for the whole package and you were going to get this game but then they decided to move it to Sunday Night Baseball you would think you should get that for free we were talking about September baseball here and again I'm always for the fans when you can't when your fans can't watch games that's we got to clean that up right right I completely agree but I mean what a game for paven and honestly it's not just this game paven has been uh very good for this team this season I mean he doesn't really get the credit I believe he deserves at times I know we went crazy for him at our takeover when we were in the pool area over there but like it's it's for good reason I mean paven Smith is now hitting 270 343 562 this season with seven home runs three of which came in that one game uh 2 six RBI five doubles and 102 plate appearances could be a spark and I've always said you know that's a moment outside of what's going on for the team that you personally like you cherish that moment like you just said man three Homer game doesn't happen very often off of first ballot cheer thing Hall of Famer and a game that really you you get swept there you come home with you know winning a game even though you still lost series winning getaway day to come home sneak in a win out it's like okay let's go home and regroup but that's a big big moment for pavement hopefully it continues you see some momentum built off of it and like you said swinging the bat better hopefully continues what do we have 18 games left 18 games left 18 yeah what I I have to ask Archie of course yesterday's game reminded me of the day that JD Martinez hit four home runs uh that was at Dodgers Stadium Dodgers not I don't think it was on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball but it was still sort of a big moment for the team what do you remember from that that glorious day I just remember well it honestly gives me two memories really bad memories and good memories cuz I for sure thought we were going to beat the Dodgers in the nlds just cuz how we had played going into September but that was the first time like leaving that series I think it was Sunday night baseball too or a Sunday night game whatever DJ JD hit four and I remember coming back home and it wasn't like I think we have a chance it's like we're better than them I know we ended up losing to the Dodgers but it was that confidence of like we have JD he's protecting Goldie we have the pitching we have the defense like we're a we're a good baseball team yeah well and I mean that's it's hard not to feel that way with this way this diamond Diamondback's team has been been playing but it's once against the Houston Astros last year the Diamondbacks needed to win in a very important series against the Astros in order to clinch their own you know spot in the playoffs and they did not do that they had to have some help in order for them to get in uh but this is just the Astros right even in a game where the Diamondbacks were up uh by a considerable amount you still felt like that the Astros could come back and make this a baseball game and I mean for a brief moment that felt like they they they actually did yeah they kind of did I mean it it went from 8 to nothing and then it was 9-2 and then it was 9 to5 the Astros sort of started chipping away Ryan Nelson looked a little bit human in the fifth inning which is not something that we've seen lately he's just been so so good um but yeah it was an interesting outing for Nelson he came out throwing extremely hard I think he threw the hardest pitch of his career in the first inning to yordon Alvarez 99.1 miles an hour um so you get the sense that like on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball the thing I think he was pretty amped up going into that game and I wonder if maybe that did him a disservice when all was said and done that he just sort of not emptied the tank but uh maybe the tank was only about half full or so after the first couple of innings uh and and down the stretch of the game it seemed like his command wasn't quite as sharp the V dropped off a little bit as he would have expected so uh yeah an uncharacteristically not great day for Ryan Nelson still a win though and I think it's something you learn like we forget that's proba probably his first start on Sunday Night Baseball I remember I got to make a start on Sunday Night Baseball in San Fran against bumgardner oh wow and you forget those emotions they do get to you and you get to the fourth or fifth and you're like man I don't I'm more tired I haven't done anything extra but I think it's something you you know coming up in these bigger games you channel that you remember that and it's like I hate to say every game is the same because that's so cliche but there is a time where you're just like hey this is another game like it comes down to me executing and any extra effort or momentum wasted towards the hype of this is going to deter me later on in the game yeah I mean it it really is like as you go through the season like the the hype might be there right it might be the opponent it might be you know who you as a starter might be facing on the other side of the mound but it's still uh it's still like a same game every single night that you go out there we've heard about Brandon F kind of being able to maintain that like even kill nature I mean we've even seen it a little bit he he listens to some very uh soothing music before the game he's definitely not getting himself too amped up or anything but I mean with you personally did you ever have a time where you're like your velocity was up and you were kind of like you kind of knew you were pumped and like oh maybe needed to settle down I mean especially out of the pen and those roles I was throwing late it was always like that it was always like you've seen me throw I've always been a hype excited guy so that's always been um a challenge for me is like bringing hype and excitement but also being able to channel it calm down and like I think the toughest thing in those moments is like making logical reasonable decisions when you're throwing pitches like you get so excited sometimes like you see it all the time this guy throws 102 and he gives up a homer gets whacked and it's like you just get so excited that you don't even really think about execution you're just like oh let's let's rip it and you get hit and you're like oh man that was kind of Reckless there you know so it's it's you do get a more journaling from it you do get an excitement but you have to find a way to channel it and like you said understand that I need to channel this and and and last in this game yeah yeah well I mean Ryan Nelson has been excellent for this team so of course you know it's it's a little concerning when people see in a in a series like this the starting pitching give up uh the runs that they did the Diamondbacks did not have great starting pitching in this series four and two-thirds Innings pitched with four earn runs four Innings with four earn runs four and two thirs innings with five earn runs so like not a great not a great outing from the starting pitching in the series and you got to tip your cap because that Astros team is very good and they were also hitting some pretty good pitches like it's not like there were a lot of mistakes made but uh if you make a mistake to that team they'll make you pay for it of course our king snake is Ryan Nelson no I'm joking it's paven Smith let's throw that up there paven Smith for his three home run night eight RBI uh he's just been absolutely Sensational or he was Sensational yesterday and I I just don't know where that comes from like I mean I guess like you said though right like you're pumped as a hitter right that you're on Sunday Night Baseball and you're getting that National exposure and stuff too a little bit yeah of course and again personally I don't care we all grew up fans of guys I mean paven was probably an elementary school and Verlander was first you know like and you can't help but like you always want to get someone especially a guy like that so like I mean I think about the first one you hit the first one then you hit the second one and you're just I mean you could ask guys you could come up to a guy in a round of BP and be like hey hit four straight homers hit three straight homers yeah they might struggle to do it so like every time doing a game man and like it's almost like a not as big of a deal as a no hitter I'm not saying it's not but I mean in terms of talking about it like I don't know if that's a big deal like oh he's got three do we talk about him hitting four yeah um do we do do you bring it up to him in the Dugout no I don't I've never really discussed that situation because you're not a part of of very many of them but um either way like I said that's something I hope he I hope I don't know if he has all those baseballs that's something he needs to get framed and like that's when you put in your personal your trophy case thing you know what I mean especially off erlander man I me that's yeah you you date that one and you keep that one in a special place for sure well this is the paven Smith game uh forever known as for how he did and like you said uh you brought up the JD JD game right same thing man like I always think of that performance that solidified him in the very short amount of time he was with this team as like a legend for the Diamondbacks you know it's got I mean I'm biased that's top two three best Dbacks trade yeah oh yeah oh yeah it's up there for sure I mean he because he he was not only not only did he perform at the level he was performing before he came over here but it's like he got better when he got here he got better it was the first time at least in my time here that we had someone actually behind Goldie with a presence or it's like you can't just pitch around Goldie um it did it solidified our offense and gave us depth throughout our lineup yeah it was awesome JD just dingers baby that was sick paven was eight years old when Jus made made his debut I just I had to I had to look that up that's perfect I'm not trying to make you feel old J good for you still throwing that thing you know what I mean like yeah few few I mean that's what we talked about greats in this in this game right like it's you can be good at baseball and you could be good for years but like the greats find a way to be elite for the majority of their career and and have that 10year career that guys like gritch and some of these other guys on the team have hit which I think that's like what I see from this Dbacks team going forward in this stretch and I know there's been some articles about it but some of these guys are understanding their roles we talked about that but I think that's where like gritch these guys coming back man you're going to have some very played appearances some defensive Subs some late ining things that you know some of these guys are used to be everyday players but this is where like I've talked about what I see with this team is this Allin and we are every game is a playoff game right now the way this team needs to play and fight off and hold this wild card spot because I mean technically you could still win the division but that's pretty much out of out of sight unless the dog just completely blow up the Padre's are ahead now but again control your destiny 18 games it's exciting it is exciting and again it's I think it's you know the Diamondbacks fans have kind of had that you know experience of of watching it slip away we watch July 2018 wasn't it wasn't it wasn't great wasn't The Count for Astros series great [ __ ] say that one right they still remember that but let's take a look at the count presented by desert Financial Credit Union for this series uh Diamondbacks get outscored by the Houston Astros 25 to 17 they get out hit by the Astros 37 to 27 this is kind of remarkable to me the Astros had 38 opportun ities with runners in scoring position in three games which is just freaking wild uh 14 for 38 Diamondbacks were six for 22 and then the numbers for the pitching not really great for either side but the Diamondbacks numbers look especially bad starting pitching ra 8.78 relief pitching ra 8.48 to the Astros 6.75 for their starters and 4.09 for the bullpen so uh overall not a great series for the Diamondbacks but again it's good to at least get that series finale win and you know have something to kind of build on from here right like the the Astros I mean they're they're fighting for their lives too so these games are critical for for both of these teams as far as playoff implications it did yeah the series didn't inspire a ton of confidence with the starting pitching in particular uh that's obviously been a topic of discussion here for a while where this Diamondback starting rotation is 27th in baseball and ra they have a 4.80 team ra I think it's the Angels the Rockies and the the white socks something like that are the only teams behind them so this starting rotation has really struggled all year and you figured that once you got Merl Kelly back from the injured list and Eduardo Rodriguez that things would start to turn and that just hasn't really been the case all three starters in this series in particular struggled with rrod and uh and Brandon fought and then Ryan Nelson yesterday I guess the Silver Lining is that Zack gon and Merl Kelly looked much better and their starts against the San Francisco Giants so you feel like those guys might be moving uh in the right direction but yeah I wrote about it earlier today one of the biggest questions facing this team in these last three weeks is what is this starting pitching going to look like are they going to be able to find some semblance of a rhythm are they going to give you some confidence going into the playoffs that you've got four starters in a playoff series that you feel good about right now it's it's hard to to really feel that way with with what we've seen recently well let's take a look at the Major League Baseball standings to see where the Diamondbacks are at currently obviously uh they're National League Wild Card standings still in in a good spot right and Jesse and I been kind of joke maybe just let the Braves and Mets kind of take over that second spot and fight for that spot and we'll just stay right there at number three and take on the Brewers when the playoffs come around but uh this things are very close even the teams you know that obviously are out of it are still close right there you got the Cubs and the Cardinals and the hunt 7370 and 72 and 71 respectively they're not mathematically eliminated not mathematically eliminated the chance yeah crazy things has happen with 18 games left right yeah the the odds aren't in their favor but again it it all depends on matchups I know the bretts uh Braves and the Mets play each other uh here coming up so that's going to be a big series Diamondbacks also play the Padres to wrap up the the season it's gonna be crazy it's gonna be a crazy Series right so you got the Padres Dbacks Braves and Mets right now all in the Wild Card hunt or in the Wild Card spots right now with the Braves and Mets being tied 7865 and then the Diamondbacks have a one and a half game lead on those teams and the Padres are up two games so and then you still have your division Le leaders that hasn't changed pretty much all season long Dodgers Phillies Brewers up there at top but this is this is getting to be you know obviously it's it's getting to the point where you feel like there's four teams fighting for three spots those other teams are still there but it's mostly the Mets and what they've been doing uh Archie I have to ask you do you think the Mets are gonna met they're gonna do the Met being a Philly for a season that I have to believe that the Mets are going to the Mets are going to met uh the Phillies don't like the Mets at all I think everyone knows that so in my belie um yeah I do think the Mets are going to do Mets things and fizzle out um at the same time momentum is hot um yeah again I think from what I've learned like from my time in these situations is you truly do understand like saying back we're a good baseball team we control what happens here we don't need to chase anyone down um we've got 18 games left I think this is big to highlight uh 11 of 18 at home yeah yeah um that's a big deal I don't I should have I meant to look this up I don't know what our home home record is but you always feel better playing at home I don't care um so again for everyone watching this is I always talk about it come out and support these guys if there's ever a time you're gonna take your family or play a trip and go watch Diamondbacks baseball we got 11 of 18 games left at home and like you talk about feeling support and needing it like this is the time where you show up and you let these guys know we're in this together and he's not wrong because tomorrow is a great day to do that we will be out it is an especially great day at Chas field with our Dbacks takeover so make sure if you're interested in joining us we are going to have a pregame Meetup at The Desmond food and drinks are included in that and that price has been slashed for that ticket $35 for your food and drink to be covered at The Desmond and also for your ticket to a lower level seat at Chase Field I I I can't put together a better value than that uh I believe uh in our chat Daniel asked Daniel said that uh if you come to uh The Desmond he'll buy your first three drinks and then Elizabeth who you know your friends with Elizabeth she suggested that you take them up on it and make the uh make the order the most expensive drinks possible as say I might go three shots you know what I mean if you're throwing them out on the table like that but make sure you guys join us for that we're gonna have a blast over there uh for our final takeover of the year and then we'll be doing some meetups for the playoffs for sure when that comes around but of course uh in in regards to the offs I gotta ask what's your current level of concern I mean are you guys both kind of minimal as far as where the Diamondbacks are at and and them potentially losing their spot uh I mean I feel good right Bullpen struggles as of late I'm a Believer you don't play so well like the the last two months isn't a fluke the way the Dbacks played and like I said you look at the last 10 or the last 15 and you get a little scared because we were playing so well and some of those games where the pitching was bad our offense responded and they kind of didn't do that this year but they're still hitting at an outstanding rate marte's back Walker's back yeah um Gabby from what I know hasn't started baseball activities yeah he's done he's done some hitting I don't think he's run the bases or done any catching at this point so he has a ways to go it sounds like but I mean again Marte Walker back two big key contributors Corbin's continue to hit the ball well um I think the biggest thing for me and obviously this is my end is what concerns me a little bit going into is some of the back end some of the shakiness and some of the the runs given up from the middle to the back end where some of these games on the road trip we don't give up some of those runs I know it's easy to say sitting here on the chair but you know we don't give up some of those games are different this road trip is different and you have a little bit more confidence and and I just want to see some of these guys get through some Innings that are a little less nerve-wracking yeah I mean for for as not great as the as the road trip as a whole was for the starting rotation it was probably worse for for the bullpen really I mean there were a couple of really bad games in San Francisco Uh Kevin GLE it was just the you know the ninth inning and the finale of that San Francisco Series where he winds up getting getting getting walked off there um and then obviously this weekend we just looked at the numbers I think it was an 8.48 RA for for the bullpen as a whole right now yeah I mean it's it's feels like it's AJ Puck and then everyone else right AJ Puck has been one of the best relievers in baseball if not the best reliever in baseball since the Diamond Backs acquired the beard is the beard is doing the work absolutely uh but outside of that you know Ryan Thompson is has really struggled lately uh he has an RA just over eight going back to the beginning of August Justus Martinez has been a little shaky at the back end although he still has not blown a Save which feels remarkable that he's he's managed to to avoid that but yeah it really is puck just being Rock Solid and then there there's a lot of question marks in in that back end right now for sure I'm just sitting here thinking about mandatory beards for everybody in the bullpen could you imagine paven with a beard oh my God does help with v but that's for me like I don't know if tor's talked about it or if they mentioned anything but you have off day today then two games set against the Rangers and have they talked about skipping any of these guys to get gon or Merill another start going into this last series or last couple I don't know if they've talked about that it's just in my head yeah if you can squeeze another start out of one of those guys in my opinion and then also I mean it sucks I always look at scheduling I don't know how this happens but you have off day two games off day and then we play 13 straight yeah like that's obviously it's the last like Ser like the last couple of year but 13 this is those 13 games regardless of what happens theu will determine the Diamond Back SE season and how those starters can bounce back how the bullpen and how you manage that usage over those 13 straight which again I September like scheduling I know it's tough to schedule but like you got to have an off day mixed in there playing 13 straight in September is like what are we doing there's there's some things that leave you scratching your head I mean last year was the same thing where they played so many games against the Cubs so closely together the Brewers bre last 18 like that's crazy yeah but the big 13 games that's going to be is how you manage that Bullpen usage and keep guys that you need to throw critical Innings you know and not chalk up losses but you know when you're out of game like hey let's save these guys because you know we we're going to need some of these guys to pitch two three days in a row going into this stretch and that honestly is the versatility of Jordan mcgomery I know he's struggled right but I mean to be able to have him go in there and eat up four innings for you on a game where you kind of feel like it's a loss like I I have talked about it I don't really like the way that Tori sometimes manages games where they're down especially when it feels like this team still has a chance come back but if you're down by a lot and you're going to just basically you know have maybe three or four members of your Bullpen have to go out there due to pulling a starter early it's nice to have oh yeah that that or I mean I go back to 17 and even 18 those years TJ McFarland was the best pitcher on our team by numbers and stuff you would never say that but TJ probably threw the crappiest Innings the whole year but he would eat two to three to four Innings On Any Given night save the backing guy save another starter or long guy from having a pitch and now we're going into the next two games fresh and ready to roll and no one really talk I mean us baseball guys will talk about it but having a guy like that again it's crappy I know he got moved out of his spot but that's again you suck it up you be a member of this team and you provide those Innings and they are they're invaluable you can't put a price on what that means to save those guys and be fresh for the next day right especially those competitive games TJ had a he had a two ER in 2018 for you guys I mean dude he is Inc like that's what I mean talk about a selfless guy that could care less about numbers like yeah he was the MVP pitching of that team that year he was our our best pitcher well and I mean it is selfless but at the end of the day you are maybe potentially sacrificing your like what you could get in a contract or another team might offer you I always I mean I had a few of those Ines with the Dbacks in my starting relieving closing days where they asked me what I wanted to do do I want to go back to starting do I want to become the closer and I just always just in my head if you pitch well you'll get taken care of like you can't you can you know maybe there's a couple times I wish I'd put my foot down and said no I want to be a starter again or hey I only want to save games but you are Sac but that's that's what is the most beautiful thing about sports in general is when a human will sacrifice the greater good of themselves for the team and it doesn't happen very often there's few times where you can actually look at it but if you want to win it takes sacrifice like that sometimes and it it feels like that's what this team needs to do because you're not going to get jock Peterson and Randall gritch and Jake McCarthy and all these guys all the bats that they deserve right and that's where I hope like jock Randall these older guys some of them are starting but they understand and they're you know I'm not saying they do understand but they're spreading and and preaching to these young guys how important staying ready is and not pouting you know because again dude you're one play away from a guy going down and you're in the game right and you got to be ready and you got to not only be ready but um be ready both ways be ready as a teammate and be ready as a player because it's cheesy but supporting and being a team guy right now is as important as anything sure yeah I mean what the entire you know like chemistry of this team right now is built on is that they're very close and that they are like a family and I mean that's almost uh I guess uh like toy laalo manages that way almost to a fall yep where as a manager he cares too much about you know the players right I don't know if you can say too much but there definitely is you know um it's weird because there's some guys that are just cut and dry tor's obviously the extreme on the other side yeah and I think young players really appreciate it some older guys not that they don't appreciate but sometimes they like a little more like not saying grit CU Tor has plenty of grit but a little more traditional sure you know like hey we lost we don't need a you know it's not the end of the world which Tor doesn't make it that way but I think it's a great balance I think ultimately what Tori does the best from guys I've played for is identifying who is going to lead these teams like either via on the field or in the clubhouse and letting those guys and and and letting them know the importance of like it's a simple thing but like for me even the days I wasn't pitching good I was the music guy like when I got to the field I started the music in the clubhouse and like it's such a stupid thing but you walk into the clubhouse one day and the music isn't going you're like well what's up today and it's a minor thing but like even today after this bad road trip man you come back in and you're still the best team you still believe you still do stuff it doesn't matter but guys continuing to maintain their roles and even if it's a simple as like playing music in the clubhouse you got to play your role no time for pouting right now how seriously did you take that that role like was that something you had to like I can go through my Spotify I think I have my Seasons playlist like road trip win we just lost you know different you got to get creative because I mean guys except then you have your Latin teammates you have your country guys you got to know who's starting that day because you want to play music cater towards them um or the starter will come and put his phone on the aux or take over but typically they're zoned in and you have to provide a genre that everyone in the club Al can appreciate that's a lot of pressure it is that's a lot of pressure I'm I'm curious that that question you posed earlier about whether the Diamondbacks will look to get Zack Allen and Merl Kelly maybe some extra starts down the stretch we definitely saw that last year I mean down stretch last season it felt like gon or Kelly were starting every sing I say that because that's what I want I mean let's I think gallon goes tomorrow right the off day maybe but let's let's get him on let's skip someone and put him in and maybe I mean I'm not always the biggest fan of Bullpen days but I think they have their you know their their purposes especially if you're trying to get down to Merill you know another start which again Merrill's plenty of left in the tank you know missed a lot of time this year but those are two horses those are two guys um that I think you want the ball in their hand as many times as possible I guess the question there is is who do you not start like whose spot are you skipping Ryan Nelson's been so good lately you probably can't really go that route uh Eduardo Rodriguez has really struggled but he's also Eduardo Rodriguez and he's only made what is it six Starts Now off the injured list uh and V seems like a good candidate for it yeah F I mean I guess with f you could you could make the case that he would benefit from just just being skipped just for workload reasons more than anything he's a young guy who's never worked this many innings in the majors so um I could see that it'll be interesting to see what the Dbacks do gallon and Kelly have not uh despite their outings in San Francisco they haven't been at their best necessarily recently uh Kelly's had a struggle since coming off the I and gall's been a little bit shakier than we're used to seeing but you know if both guys look great again on Tuesday and Wednesday against the Rangers then maybe do take a closer look at like yeah we want to just get as many starts for these guys as we can down the stretch well we thank you guys for being here in the phnx sports YouTube channel of course if you have not subscribed to the channel yet make sure to do so now sign up for notifications that way you don't miss whenever our shows go live and of course hit that like button we love it when you do look at how pumped Archie is there for that let's go of course if you're listening on the audio podcasting side make sure you're subscribed over there as well on your favorite audio podcasting app and leave us a review that feedback means the world to us especially those five star reviews and we will be right back with some more uh questions from you guys for mailbag Monday but first uh we got to talk about Empire today which provided this wonderful floor that we're standing on right now and I know Home Improvements can be something we all dread doing especially when you have to go through the entire process of planning having people come out having people in your home you know nobody nobody wants that nobody wants their life disrupted uh for a long period of time and Empire today will remedy that with easy quick and convenient service not to mention the fact that they have their virtual floor app where you can see how any floor that you are potentially looking to add to your home will look without having anybody come out you can do it all yourself they keep shopping for floors simple with a curated product selection so you will find something that you are looking for without having to look through millions of different options of course Empire Today Prides itself on their convenient shop at home service uh and of course they also service their own warrany so if an issue does arise you can just call Empire and they will service all warranties themselves you won't have to track down a manufacturer's phone number or any of that schedule a free inhome estimate today all listeners can receive a $350 discount when they use promo code phnx restrictions apply see empiretoday.com phnx for details and that's Empire today I just love doing that that's something I've been listen it definitely does been listening to that since I was a kid so all right I'm not a singer but uh I do know how to good have a good time and of course this guy over here definitely does uh and Jesse believe believe it or not he's a party animal uh we all have a good time at heila River resorts in casinos because no one does it better they have their four locations of course uh Wild Horse Pass that we have been at for so many of our events but also loneb viqua and Santan Mountain to experience all the best Val the valley has to offer check out hila River Resorts and casinos of course you can check out their uh all everything the resort has to offer you can check out their gaming floor with thousands of slots and live table games or catch all of the action in any one of their Sports books of course we had uh our Cardinals watch party Damon looked like a blast even even with what happened there at the end yeah it was a good little turnout um you know we thought we were going to hold the line out there at heila River and really Hold the Line we got about two catches for 14 yards out of that so uh hopefully you know Marvin shows up a little B better next week and um Kyler sees him that's all Kyler sees him well head to heila River Resorts and casinos let them show you what the next level is all about you do you at heila River Resorts and casinos visit play ata.com for more Det details and of course make sure to join us for our cards and Son's watch parties uh and so much more all all season long so make sure to join us out there of course today uh is our three-year anniversary so I just wanted to say I cannot believe we put up with each other this long it's kind of crazy uh but welcome well we had to add someone normally he sits in the middle and that's for good reason because we need to be separated as much as possible but uh I I do want to say I am so thankful to work with these wonderful people here and this has been an absolute blast over the last three years uh I can't believe it's it's both taken forever and passed uh in the blink of an eye I don't know how that's possible but that's kind of what it's felt like so uh we really do appreciate every single one of you for being here for joining us uh for being of course uh die hards you guys are the best uh and of course if you just are joining us for the first time today welcome to the family make sure you stick around but whether or not it's the three-year anniversary it's still Monday and of course every year on the show is our year every month on this show is Hispanic Heritage Month every week on the show is Shark Week every day is Earth Day and of course on Mondays Damon we go to the mailbag let's [Music] go I try to get to everything in my mailbox and then once in a while there's a letter that makes me go wow wow my mailbox all right well what do we got here Damon for our first question from the mailbag our first question here comes from Travis Moore and he says happy threeyear anniversary love having the show to listen to most mornings 18 games left how many does AZ have to win at this point to secure a spot in the playoffs in your opinion I feel like it's shaping up to where they need at least 10 just to guess though it's a great question Diamond Backs right now are at 80 wins what do you guys think what is it going to take to hit the playoffs I mean at one point we were like maybe 86 87 I don't know if that's the case any that doesn't feel right yeah 18 I mean I think obvious you got to go 500 at least yeah bare minimum got to go 500 I think anything above 500 10 11 is you know you you can secure a spot for sure um Braves Mets are hot I don't haven't looked at their schedules I'd have to look at their schedules the next 18 but bare minimum you got to go 500 yeah it's impossible I I have no idea is my that's my that's my simple answer uh yeah I mean the Dbacks are I think if they stay at their current Pace they would go 10 and8 so maybe that's what you'd expect and I think 10 and8 probably gets you in the WIS um but we just don't know I mean it's right as you said earlier comes down to to four teams for three spots and it sort of just depends on how these other teams play the Diamondbacks might need 14 wins for all we know to get in the playoffs like that's possible but but it's obviously not likely so I think if you're in the 10 you're in a really good spot I think if you get to 11 or more I'd be pretty shocked if that didn't get you in uh but again if you know if the New York Mets continue to play how they have in in recent days and you know the Braves and Padres play fairly well then then you know you just kind of have to take it one day at a time I'll say this is that I it's a bit unbelievable that the Diamondbacks are in a position to win 90 games where we felt like that was like kind of a far-fetched like yeah you know kind of a outcome for this season right but I mean they were 25 and 32 yeah at the end of May so you're not exactly thinking 90 wins at that point in the season but it it also makes sense based on where they were at last year and where you know the additions they added and everything like that like 90 wins actually makes a lot of sense for this team it's just there was a point where you couldn't fathom that being the case this season right why you got to ride the roller coaster man you can't jump ship early you got to stay on it man it is a long season I was just saying that about the football day yesterday like that ride yesterday was ultimately for me ended in a whole lot of disappointment but I still looked back when I woke up this morning and was like that was still fun it was a fun day of football I watched all the games yesterday and I like was watching Cleveland Dallas yesterday late and Dallas I mean was in but I was watching some of their fans comments and reactions I was like guys this is game one like relax like but at least their season's only 17 games long this one is 162 and sometimes we get that same reaction after a game that's I'm saying like you know don't panic with this latest little stretch you know pitching whatever it's it was bound to happen with how well and how hot the Dbacks were playing over the last two months yeah all right what what do we got next Damon next question comes from Serpent's magic and they say if Walker signs with another team yall good with paven as an everyday first baseman or we need another legit first baseman if we need another one apparently there's no replacement in our farm so who could be the candidates for other teams free agency trade whatever it's a great question I mean I think you would probably I mean you'd probably want somebody else over there aside from paven but I i' only say that based on the fact that we've gotten very used to Christian Walker being there Christian Walker provides the excellent defense and the incredible offense I'm I fully feel like paven after what we've seen out of him lately is is capable of of handling the offensive side of things it's just a matter of his defense at first base right uh Damon can we throw up uh Pen's uh baseball Santage for this season uh it's only 102 plate appearances which is why it's these uh it's like a little great out here but yeah as you can see here like the under L numbers totally back up what paven has done this season uh he has as you said earlier a 905 Ops like that is that is very very good that will play at first base that will play at any position um granted the Dbacks have protected him against lefties he hasn't really faced lefties this season I think if you did try to use him as more of a full-time guy you you'd want a platoon partner for him um so yeah it's all I mean based on how small the sample is here my guess is that the Diamondbacks would still like to have other options at first than than just paven um you know Josh Bell is another guy who's about to become a free agent and is on this team maybe the Dbacks would would look in that direction but yeah obviously bringing back Christian Walker is is maybe the ideal scenario I'm on the resign Walker page oh yeah I mean that's for me an obvious but on those the svante Earth pavement I mean that's 102 games dating back to last year or through that's that's 102 plate appearances this really played that that's what I mean CU I don't think he's played more than games in a season yet right like something like that I know it's a small sample size so that's my only concern and you don't realize until you have a guy like Goldie and then Walker come in but you have a few guys in between you play elsewhere not as much and some of the rule changes but I would argue your first baseman is as important of a leader on that field as your catcher or anyone else like having gold Goldie over there and the way he approached playing first base took so many things out of your mind that you didn't know he took out of your mind and took things out off your plate until he's gone and then you have a guy like Walker who's now doing the same thing Gold Glove hitting homers it's a big hold to fill so I'm on the resign Walker page I would be sick to my stomach if we went into next season with a paven Josh Bell platoon first base and nothing against those guys but yeah I think seawalk like a lot of guys has solidified himself as a household name along with Marte and like you're starting to see a little core group of guys that you know you can build your franchise around I think that's the the the why I would like to see it is you Marte locked up like let's get another guy locked up and start to have a building block to build around for the next five to six seasons it's that core that you build around and that core changes as if you're a good team like the Astros like the Braves you have that core change but then you continue to add pieces to it and you decide who are those crucial pieces to your building block for the franchise right and I mean that's why last season was so impressive because it felt like last season they had just determined who their core was right and usually as a franchise those next steps to getting as far as they got come later down the road you know and I think you have a great mix of young guys and you solidify some of these I say older but more veteran established players with this team you allow these young guys to not saying they continue to look up to see walk and Marte but it's like crap these guys are around now for the next couple years I know going into my arbitration and into these later years of being a diamondback we have some base some pillars here yeah that worst case you know what I mean like these guys are here and we can build around these guys well and and I think the best example of that was Jake moving his locker over by jock right like just I mean I Jake was over there with like Alec Thomas and Corbin Carrol the the happy Jewelers crew and whatnot right but then he moved his locker over next to jock and I mean the two apparently bonded and not only that but he's like you can almost feel like if he is getting you know like help from you know jock and Jock's being a mentor of sorts to him that that is reflecting on how well he's done this right and there's certain guys that uh hold that and I don't know I know walk personally I mean obviously I don't know how he is with this team but Walker is a guy that is a lot more lead by example yeah which a lot of guys want to talk you know it's easy to talk and be the raw raw guy but walk reminds me a lot of JT Ruto those two are two of the guys I've played with where they don't say a lot but they lead by example and they lead by their play and like walk is a guy that I think a ton of guys could learn from and continue to learn from so yeah resign Christian Walker in the story that's the important key there I guess just just real quick looking at I know the question included like are trade or free agent options or whatever Christian Walker obviously being yeah probably the primary target if you're the Diamond Backs but Paul Goldman is also a free agent like we have to feel like we have to men we have a chance to do something we have to at least mention that I'm just saying the the Paul gold Schmid paven Smith platoon at first base I mean things are rough in St Louis right now so Goldie might not you know he might be looking for come finish your home back in a great play from Spring to living it's I mean I love it here so Goldie come back but not for sew walk I don't know that's weird but I like we'll discuss that one later next question you got anything else yeah I mean like Pete Alonzo is also a free agent I think if you were GNA spend that kind of money you might as well just do it with your own guy and stays in New York though right like he's a met with what he's done there like feels like he he's got be a you just have those weird times where guys do leave and then you see in another jersey and you're like this doesn't even look right this is gross and the Mets are not a team that's afraid to spend money in general I told you not now like sorry don't catch the Dbacks but I want the Mets to be good cuz I like the money being spent on teams and these you know not super teams but guys not afraid to spend this money and be aggressive at the deadline and go get guys and um but not this year you know I the one thing I think about that with baseball is that like a baseball career is so hard like from from from the time even when you're in high school and you get drafted the the minors and everything it takes to get up to a major league level like guys that make it to that point point where they are a superstar an elite player in baseball for the path that they've walked they they deserve every bit of that yeah you know and not for now it's a longer subject we can get into my arbitration and like when you understand the business side of baseball and not in a bad way but how teams view you and not in a personal way but you're you're there are guys that care about you in the system and overall people do care about you but it's a it's a game it's a business and if you're not performing or if you're hurt like I mean it's no different than if the car you're driving won't get you into work every day you eventually got to replace it you know what I mean there's just a way of the world so that's a great Point uh piece of Yoshi sent us a super chat for $50 and I think he just might have slipped Will Jesse EVER apologize to Pavin? on a$ Five Doll Super Chat and sent 50 by accident but I love you and I appreciate you for it and he says Derek I have an important statement to tell you Derek montia on behalf of the paven Smith fan club I would like to inform you that if you choose Jesse fredman as your running mate we believe that we cannot in good faith vote for you uh as mayor thank you uh noted noted is all saying noted uh considered and and uh completely agree with that mean we've already established that Archie your running M at that's correct yeah that's Absol look I want to win don't I right and I mean obviously that's the case thank you uh piece of Yoshi for your Super Chat that was amazing uh Damon what else we got third question comes from Michael Ricki and he says will Jesse finally and formally apologize to paven Smith now okay Jesse uh good question what you wanna you want to handle this one I am not going to apologize for some something that I I never I think my comments about paven Smith were were maybe misconstrued in the past uh people know that I'm I'm the person on the show who likes the numbers I like to look at the numbers and I like to do my analysis based on the numbers and the numbers have not been so kind to paven Smith throughout you know most of his Diamondbacks career he's been roughly a replacement level player since the Diamondbacks drafted him uh back in 2017 I believe it was uh but that does not mean that paven Smith has not been out out standing this year and I and I've been talking about that on the show as well we just show page for goodness sake they just remember the one thing Jesse Jesse looked at Savant page he didn't even get in the tub for that one he looked that one up outside not in a bad way like not again Playing devil's rabbit outstanding he's been better yeah you know what I mean like he's been he's been better than he has been but I still I don't care what you say I'm talking from per when you're drafted and you have a tag on you you're supposed to play above a certain level or people are going to talk about it and discuss you not being as good as you were supposed to be that's just again that's the realism of when you're drafted given a lot of money you're expected to perform to a certain level and it does personally you learn like who cares you know what I mean like you get past it but yeah you should critique a guy or or you know like talk about a guy if you don't think he's playing up to what he's capable of and and that happens in baseball a lot probably more than any sport right where a guy is like drafted very high like it's just such a crapshoot when you it's such a crap because no matter how good you are at a certain level it really doesn't seem to translate over to me you're going to be good at at the next there's no secret to how many at bats or Innings like there used to be this like oh you need a th000 at bats and 500 like it doesn't matter and if flip a coin on if you're going to get hurt or not there's so many variables but he's playing better which is good and sometimes I think it takes a while for guys to establish themselves in the big leagues and understand how to be a good major baseball player like sometimes it's not just talent but it's there's a rhythm and a system to understanding how to be good outside of sometimes just playing good and sometimes like you said it takes so long that the teams kind of give up on that player and then they have those golden years with another franchise why did that happen yeah on I mean on that note with paven this is a kind of a pivotal off season for him because he's this is his last year with minor league options so next season the Diamondbacks are not going to be able to do the thing where they're constantly you know shuttling him back and forth from Reno they're either going to have to keep him on the major league team or they're going to have to probably let him go elsewhere so it'll be interesting to see what happens with that all right next question Damon next question is something we kind of already touched on earlier the basketball and football guy asks what should the playoff rotation be Playoff rotation oh that's a great question I mean I I I still I'm not shying away from obviously Zack gallon and Marill Kelly being number one number two it just gets more complicated after that like who who's the odd man out is it Eduardo Rodriguez I mean do you do you still consider Ryan Nelson to have to prove anything at this point to be on the you know one of your guys during the playoffs like you know you have the way Brandon fought performed last year is still in the back of your mind so I mean you're not taking big game Brandon out of this situation despite how Brandon has pitched recently it's hard to overlook what he did last year on I mean like that game three start against the Phillies where he had nine strikeouts and went five and twoth thirs innings even though he they they only let him face two times through the lineup they they wouldn't let him turn it over a third time he still got through five and two thirds Innings so oh they never let him see the third lineup the third time through yeah no they were very they were very very careful with how they used fought last year maybe they'd be a little bit more willing to let him go deeper this time but yeah gallon and Kelly are in there for sure as long as those guys are healthy those I think it'll be in my opinion obviously these next 18 games if one of these guys fat or Nelson or Eduardo continue to get a hot hand but it's going to be extremely matchup based I mean even you said numbers I could even see it like ated wardo getting a start because it's a lefty matchup that they want with f Nelson ready to go immediately the sign you know get through you know something like that but yeah I think the third spot is I think it's going to be all these next 18 games and who they think they have the best chance but I like what you said you go back to last year you dive back into that experience and some of those big games that fat pitched in and that I think weighs a lot in my decision yeah yeah he was he was really good and it just kind of It kind of seemed to come out of nowhere because he was it it's not like to say he wasn't good he was good coming into the playoffs but he just hit another rise of the occasion sometimes man that's right all right what else we got Damon next question comes from PC Yoshi and he asks uh Ryan has a new walkup song do I listen to his new walkup song on Ryan days or do I listen to the one I used to listen to the Old One's done its job uh until last night do you think it's just an outlier here's an unrelated paven meme so Jesse can apologize do you have the paven meme I'll answer this first Ginger you got to ride the wave you can't get off a song Just because one night it didn't perform right you know what I mean that's thing like but but if so if he changed it though we we need to stay with our superstitions that we're doing what he's doing yes okay that's you know a player changes a song that's his personal but if it works for you and you think that's a song you roll with that one is that crazy to change your song though when you're bitching so well may yeah I think so but that's these new kids with the hype and you know it's the it's the new where like I took pride in having the same walk up song or walk out song every time I mean obviously you go through down times but that was one thing I was very strict on I was like I'm not changing that song I want people to know like regardless when I come when you hear that you associate that with rt Bradley yeah that's electric all right uh what else we got next question comes from Adam Fox and he says congrats to you all on being awesome for three years thanks Adam I was awesome before that just for the record debatable I I I really came online in year two really so I was I wasn't awesome until year two they picked me off the streets you want a question you say in the spirit of the anniversary what has been each of the crew's fa favorite DB meme or GIF oh see I take this very personally because I created most of them if not all of them uh I will say my personal one based on how much work I put into it and how great it came out was Zach gallon over Kurt Angle as the Milkman spraying down everybody in the ring there's a lot of there's a lot of lot of different angles of of gallon that I had to cut out and grab and use in all of those situations and uh the end result I'm I'm fairly proud of plus it's hilarious to see Zach gallon as the Milkman going out there and also J.R on the call yelling about the Milkman and all that it's it's perfect I I'm always partial to the uh ladies and gentlemen the bullpen thing although I know I know we associate that with like negative Bullpen meltdowns for sure that's sort of the reason it exists but it's so good though it it it was so good and it got to the point I mean I feel like you haven't used it as much in in recent days I Haven really had to because the I I don't really feel like we've had the bullpen meltdowns like we have early in the season or last year right like we actually had the team up in several instances where they blew the game and they lost it right like so this has kind of felt like the losses this year have been kind of like a whole team effort in one way or another uh but yeah it's it's gotten to the point where when the bullpen would blow a game there would be people that were like furious with us Notting that's what I was getting to that that definitely probably makes it an all time an alltime meme for sure yeah uh all right we got one more question Damon what do you got last question comes from Karen and Karen asks with all the campaign rhetoric going on what exactly are the D duties of the mayor of phnx and how does he enhance the Die Hard experience in other words what's in it for us that's a great question I appreciate her just getting like to the point being like what's in it for us yeah uh first of all espo would have to go and start making all of those meetings with the mayor videos and they're very complicated and I don't think he has the time for that if I'm being honest I also don't think py knowing py has the patience for it the amount of doubt and py needing to re-shoot those videos uh and do them again it's going to take three days for him to shoot one I get it done in like 12 minutes obviously from the quality you can tell that you're you're a good politician Derek she asked like what's in it for me what am I getting out of this and you've just been taking shots at your opponents the whole time oh no I wasn't meaning to was not I would never want to take shots at my opponent I still have nothing to do with that whole campaign that's been going on that espo group or whatever they call themselves I don't know anything to do with them but uh Karen regards to that I will say uh better everything better Die Hard experience more Die Hard content uh better uh like get togethers like look at look at what's happening tomorrow we are having food and drinks at The Desmond uh and that is not have anything to do with me but because of me being mayored the stuff got done most importantly though there's one thing there is one thing that I fixed here at phnx and it might not be for you die hards but it's for a man you love and that's the people's producer Damon dog and I got Damon damn right his cartoon head a cartoon head that this man has been looking to receive since day one of working here I got that taken care of for him and if I can get that fixed for Damon imagine the problems I can fix for you all that's all I got you do anything there that was really compelling all right well uh we of course love you guys we thank you guys those of you that are die hards of course we appreciate you being die hards if you are not one yet and you're thinking about coming to that takeover tomorrow you should grab your Die Hard membership first you'll get a discount on the Takeover in all of our events you also get a wonderful t-shirt hat of your choice from the phnx locker.com and so much more including access to all of our Die Hard content access to all of Jesse's premium written content of course that die hard Discord Lounge is the best place to be an Arizona sports fan so make sure to sign up today of course we will preview this upcoming series with the Texas Rangers and the rematch uh for the World Series from last here here shortly the exact uh the exact same pitching match up too the exact same pitching matchup well uh but first we got to talk of course about our friends at branded bills branded bills uh is the perfect headwear and apparel company you could elevate your brand with branded bills whether you are looking for snapbacks trucker hats fitted hats beanies te's it doesn't matter branded bills has you covered with performance and style they have some wonderful uh Arizona like hats they they absolutely have some incredible stuff for the State of Arizona as well as your 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game two we have Merill Kelly going against Cody Bradford who's been pretty good for the Rangers but let's take a look at this Rangers team at a glance they've struggled a little bit coming off the World Series they are 70 and 74 with a minus 39 run differential they've been pretty good in their last 10 they went seven and three uh but their pitching has not been good this year they have a 4.25 ra which is tied for 18th in Major League baseball for their starting pitching their relief pitching has a 4.32 ER which is 23rd uh and their Ops is 685 whichit is also 23rd in Major League Baseball but defensively they've been pretty good they have 31 outs above average which is good enough for second in Major League Baseball the yeah the pitching is is less of a surprise for me than the hitting the fact that the Texas Rangers have a 685 team Ops basically almost the entire way through the season it's kind of been a puzzling year for them Jonah Heim looked like a really promising young player last year this season he has a 597 Ops um Marcus semian who was obviously instrumental in their world series run he has a 695 Ops this season uh Corey Seager has an 864 he is hurt right now and will not play in the series which if you're the Diamond Back say that's not a Miss yeah Cory Seager pretty much singlehandedly swept the Diamondbacks when they went to Texas earlier this year he had just an incredible series and obviously was pretty pretty darn good in the World Series as well game one that's still just yeah yeah me and Jacob were standing in the spot where he hit that home run and it was like two miles away from home plate it felt like but my God yeah uh it's it's good to miss him and of course it's good to take on a team here really that doesn't have much to play for I mean the Diamondbacks have been playing teams lately that have a lot on the line and you know it's not to say that this is a team you can kind of take for granted but it's it's nice to play teams like the Rangers and you know maybe the Rockies I don't know the Rockies have kind of been just spoiling things all SE I feel like it's more of again understanding with these vets and the Run they went it's not taking advantage but you understand you don't say this a lot but you can outplay these teams like out effort the the Rangers you know I mean they're not going to give that maximum they say what you want a lot of those guys man they're still technically have a chance but they're thinking about their vacations their offseason programs like you can out effort this these games and win some games by not technically playing better than these teams if you want it a little bit more than they do I think they might have made some plain plain plain reservations 100% you do we can talk about another time when you're all to September and you know you're not in the playoffs boy you talk to your wife you get those start getting stuff lined up because if you don't man you're paying so much more so it's like hey let's let's book some flights well and you do you have a such a short off season too I mean you almost have to start getting you know ready right away so it's like it's it's a full year commitment you take a month off most guys that's on average you take a month off and you think about it from either playing getting healthy or if you want to make a swing change or like it takes time and you know if you realize too there's I forgot what the number is but 700 something Major Leaguers like if you want to continue to be one of those yeah you better be working if you don't have your stuff mapped out and planned and ready you're going to be behind or be panick and Shug or not enjoy what the offseason's meant for to recover to rest and um some of it is you know you're out of the playoffs let's let's start getting this lined up and ready and get ready for next season what are you looking for out of Zach and Maryland this obviously to just continue the role that they were on from their last two starts right yeah yeah I mean especially with Merill I mean his command was so much better in that game against the Giants than it was against the Dodgers we we showed the uh the the pitch charts for each of those starts and it was a night and day difference for him so yeah looking for Merl's command to to look better obviously Merill was outstanding in the World Series and really outstanding throughout the the postseason uh for the Diamondbacks last year so maybe there's something extra there for him facing the the Rangers for for the first time since then um but yeah Zach Allen you know he still had the four walks in that start against the Giants other than that it was almost literally perfect he did not allow a hit in that in that game uh so yeah you're just looking for for those guys to to continue to establish some sort of a rhythm here I think they've each got probably three starts left so uh maybe the dback stretch that to four I guess we'll see but um what this guy wants you're you're definit you're definitely winding down to the end here so uh yeah I mean the the Rangers have had the Dbacks number right between the World Series and and a two game sweep earlier this season in Texas this is you know these are not easy games for the Diamondbacks despite what the uh what what the record might show well the benefit here in favor of what Archie is suggesting is that you do have Zach and Merill both fairly well rested right because of the injury stints that they had due to the time off and things like that so yeah like these guys could go hard down this stretch to try to give them that edge and and you could also simultaneously give someone like Brandon fought maybe even Ryan Nelson just one you know one one day off in order for them to kind of get that rest and and also be ready but I also think that it's baseball you have to kind of stay in a rhythm and in a Groove and sometimes you just don't really know how that's going to impact it I almost feel like catel Marte and Christian Walker being back has a little bit is negatively impacted this team just from the perspective isn't that weird to say but I was thinking about that on the drive kind of slow right it's like getting back to baseball is always hard no matter and you in a weird way you subtract some guys that did some different things than catel and Christian do that provided value in other ways sure um Newman had plenty of multi-hit games you know what so weird to say that these guys come back and it's like man obviously they're the best player and they should play but it's like I don't this is a little weird I kind of like so and so being in there you know yeah um and that's where I think again there's 18 games left that's why I'm so key on gallon and Merill getting another start because solidifying this wild card spot and allowing these guys to get in this Rhythm and get this final push even if they do get lit up again it doesn't matter it's exactly you said staying in Rhythm and staying in line to go into the playoffs and make a push like we should yeah well that's all we got for you guys today we appreciate your questions we appreciate you stopping by make sure to follow all of us on Twitter I am atcap forkman with a K Jesse is at Jesse and fredman Archie is all over Instagram make sure to follow him at Archie bradley7 uh of course the people's producer Damon is at Damon dog that's dawg we are all Damon's dogs PR sure Jessie was Jessie was gone so I know you know we'll have to time that up better of course our shows at pH xor dbx but all roads dly to phnx Sports on Twitter Instagram and Facebook we thank you guys again for your time have a wonderful day off from baseball we'll see you back here for a postgame show tomorrow until then uh we'll see you and remember kids baseball is fun but it's so much more fun when paven Smith hits three home runs for your team [Music] [Applause] we all sitting like the mayor