It was a middling first half of the season for the Arizona Diamondbacks, hovering around the .500 mark for much of the campaign. However, things started to look up leading into the All-Star break, with the Diamondbacks winning four straight, including a three-game sweep against the league-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Diamondbacks look to continue that success when the schedule resumes with a visit from the St. Louis Cardinals for the first of a three-game series beginning on Friday.
“I think kind of scuffling would be the word I would use,” right fielder Corbin Carroll said before their series against Los Angeles. “I think that we’re just not playing the way that we need to play if we want to be in a position where we’re gonna do something with this season. … I think our record kind of does reflect what we’ve done to this point. I think it’s frustrating for everyone in here, because we know there’s a lot more than that in this room, and we just need to play better, and it starts with me.”
Arizona is 49-47 in part due to its struggles against winning teams, going 19-31 against clubs above .500 — a mark that includes its victorious series against the Dodgers. The team finds itself in the mix for a National League wild-card spot, sitting 2 1/2 games behind the final berth, currently held by the Miami Marlins.
The Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates sit between the Diamondbacks and Marlins, with St. Louis right below the cutoff line.
“We’re in the middle of it and we have not played close to our caliber of baseball or to our level or our standard,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “I think the best is yet to come, and if it does, then we’re going to make some noise.”
The Cardinals, meanwhile, are looking for better results out of the break than a year ago. Manager Oliver Marmol’s squad was 51-46 last season before going 1-5 on a six-game road trip, which also began in Arizona. They struggled to put a winning streak together and didn’t win three in a row until the end of August.
St. Louis owns a similar record at the break this year (50-45). They are one game back of the Marlins for that final wild-card spot.
“It is a different group,” Marmol said. “And the way I look at it is: The ceiling is higher when it comes to what’s possible for this group. So although the record is the same, you’re just getting started as to what’s possible for them. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, a lot of work to be done.
“The best part about all of it is that they bought into it, and they’re hungry for that. That’s what our staff is most excited about.”
St. Louis entered the break with a series win against the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves, winning the first two games before dropping the finale.
Right-hander Merrill Kelly (7-8, 5.38 ERA) is slated to start for Arizona, coming off back-to-back impressive victories before the break. In wins over the Padres and Marlins, he gave up a total of three runs over 12 innings. He is 4-2 with a 3.33 ERA in nine career starts against St. Louis.
St. Louis has yet to name a starting pitcher for the series opener.
–Field Level Media
