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Diamondbacks Pitching is Key to Taking NL West

By Matthew Mcclure

Apr 19, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Robbie Ray (38) throws to the San Francisco Giants in the first inning of their MLB baseball game at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 19, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Robbie Ray (38) throws to the San Francisco Giants in the first inning of their MLB baseball game at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports /
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After dropping their third close game to their division rival the Giants, the Diamondbacks are sitting at 17-22 and are currently fourth place in the NL West.

From the looks of it the Diamondbacks are in a bad position. They are near the bottom of one of the worst divisions in baseball. But the poor play by the rest of the NL West has been a benefit to them so far because even in fourth place, they are only three games out of first.

The Diamondbacks close out a four game series against the Giants this weekend and could make big strides towards taking the West if they end up splitting the series with the division leader. After this series is where the Diamondbacks schedule gets interesting.

Next week the Diamondbacks take on the Yankees for a three game set at Chase Field who return to the desert for the first time since 2010. The Yankees have seriously under performed so far in this young season as they are at the bottom of the AL East flashing a 15-20 record.

The road has not been friendly for the Bronx Bombers as they have only won four games away from Yankee Stadium. The Diamondbacks need to take this series because afterwards they leave the friendly confines of Phoenix and travel east of the Mississippi to take on the Cardinals and the Pirates.

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Both are in one of the toughest divisions in all of baseball as the NL Central is home to the Cubbies of Chicago brandishing an impressive 27-8 record. Both teams that the Diamondbacks will face boast good pitching and even better hitting.

The Cardinals currently own the fourth best average in the majors, while the Pirates are the second best hitting team in the league. But the Diamondbacks can swing the stick with them as they are the have the seventh best average hitting .267 as a team.

These two series will ultimately where unfortunately the Diamondbacks have struggled holding the 25th best team ERA in the majors.

The Diamondbacks then return to the desert and finish off the month by hosting the Astros and the Padres. The Astros have struggled this season after taking the AL West by storm in 2015 making the playoffs for the first time since they lost the world series in 2005.

Strikeouts have been a problem for the Astros this season as they lead the league in K’s with 368. To the Diamondbacks delight their pitchers sit at 11th in the MLB in strikeouts. The Diamondbacks took two of three in their first set against the Padres this year and look to bury them in the basement of the division as they are the only team below the D-backs.

If the D-backs can pitch well to match their bats then taking this month and the NL West is very possible. The pitching for the boys of the desert has been better as of late and they will need to be at the top of their game in order to reach to the top of the tight race in the West.

Next: Diamondbacks Drop Another Close Game to Giants

With a 3.99 ERA in the month of May the Diamondbacks have showed promise that the best is yet to come.

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