The hottest team in the National League is not the juggernaut Dodgers or the defending World Series champion Braves. No, it is the sub-.500 Arizona Diamondbacks. Arizona is 9-2 in its last 11 games, and that includes sweeping three games from the White Sox, taking two of three from the Phillies, three of four from the Brewers, and so far one of one from the Padres. That's nine wins in 11 games against four clubs playing with urgency and for postseason berths.
"I think it's been a challenging test and I think we're passing. We're doing a good job," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said during the Brewers series. "We're a good baseball team. When we do the things the way we know how to do them, and we keep pressing on each and every day, we're a good baseball team. And that's starting to come together for us, but it's a process. That process for young players takes a little time. That process for players that are coming together for the first time at the big-league level takes a little bit of time. And I think our guys are very engaged and excited. And we're fighting against really good baseball teams."
The 9-2 stretch has improved Arizona to only 65-69 on the season, and it remains well out of the wild-card race. The D-Backs are a different team now though. They've called up several notable prospects in recent weeks and they have a few young big leaguers beginning to come into their own as well. Making a run to a wild-card spot is unlikely and, realistically, challenging the Dodgers for the NL West title next season is unlikely too, but the D-Backs are starting to become interesting.
Here are four reasons why the D-Backs deserve your attention as the 2022 MLB regular season winds down.
1. Gallen's scoreless streak
Very quietly D-Backs ace Zac Gallen ran his scoreless streak to 41 1/3 consecutive innings with a seven-inning effort against the Brewers this past weekend. He last allowed a run on Aug. 2 and has tied a major league record by throwing six or more scoreless innings in six straight starts. Don Drysdale (1968), Orel Hershiser (1988) and Zack Greinke (2015) are the only others to do it.
Here are the longest scoreless streaks in baseball history:
- Orel Hershiser, 1988 Dodgers: 59 innings
- Don Drysdale, 1968 Dodgers: 58 innings
- Bob Gibson, 1968 Cardinals: 47 innings
- Zack Greinke, 2015 Dodgers: 45 2/3 innings
- Carl Hubbell, 1933 Giants: 45 1/3 innings
- Sal Maglie, 1950 Giants: 45 innings
- Brandon Webb, 2007 Diamondbacks: 42 innings
- Zac Gallen, 2022 Diamondbacks: 41 1/3 innings and counting
"Well, at this point now, I'm right there, so I might as well try and see what the deal is," Gallen said jokingly about chasing Webb's franchise record scoreless streak. "I mean, I think I'm only an inning away, so I might as well just try. My job is to go out there and throw up zeros, so it kind of falls into the line of doing my job."
Zac Gallen
Acquired from the Miami Marlins straight up for Jazz Chisholm at the 2019 trade deadline — talk about a win-win trade, eh? — the 27-year-old Gallen owns a 3.12 ERA in nearly 400 innings with Arizona. Adjusted for ballpark and MLB's offensive environment, Gallen has been 37 percent better than league average with the D-Backs. If he's not a bona fide ace, he's very close to one.