PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - PHNX D-backs After Dark: Need F’n Wins

Episode Date: May 18, 2026

The Arizona Diamondbacks face a 13-game stretch against the Rockies and the Giants that could make or break their 2026 season. Derek and Rok discuss why this stretch means everything even in May, the hot and cold offense, and getting off to a good start with a series win in Colorado. Limited-time offer! Become a Diehard for just $36: https://gophnx.com/intro-offer-youtube WHILE SUNS ARE IN PLAYOFFS Limited-time offer! Become a Diehard for just $32: https://gophnx.com/suns-playoff-offer-youtube JOIN THE SUPPORTERS CLUB ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yc6km2r4 An ALLCITY Network Production SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtube ALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsports MERCH https://store.allcitynetwork.com/collections/phnx-locker ALLCITY Network, Inc. aka PHNX and PHNX Sports is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Phoenix PHNX Events: Get your tickets to PHNX events and takeovers here: https://gophnx.com/events/ ALLCITY — including us here at PHNX — is teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for an exciting three-year partnership. To learn more, visit https://www.bbbs.org/allcity/ Branded Bills: Use code BBPHNX at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 15% off your first order! Husband & Wife Law Team: If you’ve had a serious injury, Call The Husband & Wife Law Team first at 602-783-8841 or visit https://husbandandwifelawteam.com/?utm_source=allcity-padcasts&utm_medium=digital-phx&utm_campaign=allcityShowNotes bet365: https://www.bet365.com/hub/en-us/app-hero-banner-1?utm_source=affiliate&utm_campaign=usapp&utm_medium=affiliate&affiliate=365_03485317 Use the code PHNX365 to sign up, deposit $10 and bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets! Disclaimer: Must be 21+ and physically located in AZ.  If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-NEXT-STEP, text NEXTSTEP to 53342 or visit https://problemgambling.az.gov/ Gametime: Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Shady Rays: Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: PHNX for 40% 2+ pairs of off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people. Circle K: Join Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today! Head to https://www.circlek.com/store-locator to find Circle Ks near you! When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions.  Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You are now listening to PHNXDbacks after dark. Well, they did the thing they were supposed to do, which is at least win two out of three against a Colorado Rockies team that may be better, but is still at the bottom of the goddamn division. And a team we should not be losing games to, right? I feel like, you know, there's this uncertainty now about this team and what they're going to do when facing any team that they should theoretically beat. But this 13-game stretch against both the Rockies and the Giants, it kind of means everything.

It kind of, it's kind of everything, right? They need to win like nine, ten of those games, I'm thinking. Like, if not more. See, listen to you. Is it too much? Am I asking too much? You're asking them to go 10 and 3 on a 13-game stretch and almost like that's that's the minimum of what they should do. Like, I'm not, I'm not against it.

I don't want to say seven and six or like eight and five. I mean, eight and five is a bare fucking minimum. Bare fucking minimum. Anything less than eight and five. And I think that's what I'm looking for, right? what is the the least amount of games they can win for this not to be a catastrophe? There is no amount of games in May or April that you can lose, I guess, theoretically, once again. A lot of theoretical kind of situations here.

But like, you know, the division playoff spots, those aren't determined in May. But it's like when you get when you get giving. a stretch like this against two teams that have not been very good this year in your own division. They're bad. 13 games straight. You got to win a lot of those games for you to be considered a better team than those teams, you know, and a team that is truly a playoff contender. Yeah.

I'm not going to say World Series contender, but I'll say postseason. contender, you know? It's time to show improvement. And this team, unfortunately, at times, has a history of losing the game they're supposed to win. So hopefully they can not make that be a continuation of what they've done in the past and get through this 13 game stretch, you know, come out on top and, you know, see where shit lands.

I mean, 13 games doesn't seem like a lot. But, I mean, the way the rest of the NL West is, that 13 game stretch, could swing some things early on in the season because the NOS is a crap shoot right now, unless you're the Colorado Rockies. Like there's a lot of, there's a lot of teams that are within like, what, five or six games of first place? Oh, yeah. And even the Rockies, to be fair, have a better baseball team than the past, right?

Like, yeah, the Rockies have beaten some teams that they had no business beating. The Giants, right? They just got done handling business against the Dodgers, right? So with now a three-game set coming up against the Giants, you can't feel the utmost confidence that the Diamondbacks are going to dominate it. However, based on the track record, based on the way the Giants have played all season long, yeah. I mean, yes, this should be with six games against the Giants, there should be a lot of wins there, right? But like you said, it does. It feels like when it's time to step up and really beat opponents, they should be beating.

they have definitely not done that this year. And, you know, again, some of the, some of the opponents they have been, as I've addressed time and time again, have made me rethink how impressive, for instance, you know, their stretch through March and April truly was, right? Yeah. We thought beating teams like the Tigers and the Phillies and the Mets meant something, but that might not mean as much as we thought it did in hindsight, looking back at how those teams have performed overall, right?

But you just got to handle business when that time comes. That's why this is that time. Like you would see them winning every one of these series. So there's six wins plus three more in the four games set with the Rockies. If you're like trying to be ambitious overall, they should win nine games. And they did take care of business in Colorado by taking, two out of three you know and and speaking of during you know taking two out of three we also got

to witness our guy Merrill Kelly first ever complete game at chorus field that and it's that alone in itself is insanity the fact that he went out there and did what he did in a ballpark that historically gets pitchers just shelled because the ball you bunt and it's like a triple so fucking amazing what Merle did his first career complete game yeah right not and in the offense right blowing up for six runs like that that win in game one was one of the best wins of the season as far as everything working for the Diamondbacks yeah offense defense Merrill on the mound was incredible two great starts in a row you just feel much more confident about what Merrill's gonna give you going forward versus

Yeah. You know, a lot of reasonable question marks about his early performances this season, even though you could chalk that up to, you know, his injury and not really having a normal spring training, you know. You could. That's definitely part of it. But still, we. You definitely could. Did you catch the postgame comments where I think he was talking the matter of the Jody Jackson?

And he mentioned that Nolan Aronado had told him that in his entire time at Coorsfield, he thinks he may have saw one. other complete game. And considering how long Nolan Aronado played in Colorado, that says a lot. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

That says a lot. Yeah. Yeah. Because Colorado is just an easy place for you to wear a pitcher out. Yeah. You know, just energy wise due to the elevation. It's easy. The ball flies.

Right. It's hard to be good late in a game after pitching two and a half hours in an environment like that. Not that. And that's just the way it impacts you as an athlete, forget the way it impacts the ball flying out of the stadium and all that, right? And we didn't have much of that at all. The Diamondbacks even with their nine runs in that game.

No homers. Didn't do it with homers, just did it with doubles, right? Meanwhile, in game two, their offense unfortunately did exactly what the fuck it's done all season long. I can't, or not even all season long, I guess probably for like the last month. Because there was a stretch where you looked

and they were putting up some decent runs. win or lose, they were putting up crooked numbers, and there were a lot of one-run games where they were coming out on top, but still they came out on top because they were able to put up some runs. This stretch that they've been through of inconsistent offense has been astonishing with the way that they will be able to put up nine runs in one game and then zero runs the next, one run the next, put up eight runs, and then one run the next. I don't I don't understand how they get the engine going and get it just, you know, revved up, revved up and ready and going instead of it like dying on them. You know, it feels like their offense finally starts taking steps in the right direction, and then we see them, you know, suddenly go flat. The very next game, you know, I think that's the thing.

Even, you know, even a stretch of three or four games in a row of their, offense performing well would feel much better than what you know we're experiencing right now and again they're going through this stretch this is the perfect stretch for their offense to do that and it's a shame too because that the game saturday i mean edward erred edwardo pitched well enough to keep us in the game he only gave up three like three runs in colorado that's nothing i mean so edwardo kept them in the game it's just the offense could do dick yeah to like give him any kind of support because if they would have just man there's a couple things with balls would have bounced different ways man they they they had chances so you know it's

unfortunate that edwardo pitched fairly well and you know it's done the show for it other than taking the L because he did give up three but that our offense should have been able to do something in that game rock my brother in christ i will tell you this there's nobody coming to save this offense right there's there's jordan lawler there's paven smith and there's carlo santa which one of those guys are going to bring you home runs which one of those guys are going to bring you power right if i had to guess i would probably put my money on fucking carlos santana just track david you say that because you don't know what you're getting with jordan luller and quite frankly as much as i i like paving you just never know what Pavin Smith you're going to get at the dish.

So, well, unfortunately, Carlos Santana's been terrible. He's terrible. He was terrible in his rehab assignments with the Aces. He did hit a home run there. He did. I think I've heard again. I'm a bit more, he did. I'm a bit more hopeful about Jordan Lawler possibly being that,

but still doesn't feel like that's going to be like the savior of the offense, right? This is one of those, like you are, you have to save yourself. You guys that are already here, you, the nine guys in the, starting lineup. That is who can save us. Corbyn Carroll hitting two bombs. Two jacks. Yeah. In the finale that that is who can save us. Ketel Marte, even though he had the day off, coming back and getting back to Ketel Marte, like getting back to getting, you know, and Jermurdomo, absolutely. If we can, if those guys can kick it up a notch, because I, I'm not expecting Jerry or per, I call him Jerry,

prodomo and kutel to be batting barely above 200 for very most longer i i hope not either i you know i feel the same way but you you're just like you're going beyond that period of time where you know you give them three weeks you give them four weeks then you start getting six weeks eight weeks into the season and you're just like yeah i don't know man i don't know when this is going to get going but you know the thing is it's the weirdest thing bro we talked about it earlier today like it doesn't make any sense because i thought those guys coming off the wbc i thought they would be ready to go and they would just smack in the ball yeah and it's been the exact opposite which is super strange it really is you know no you're right because the w bc historically has gotten guys going

and yeah they're not the only guys that participated in the w bc that are struggling as well right so A lot of guys are a lot of the superstars around Major League Baseball are not doing their part. Meanwhile, a bunch of young cats like Ryan Walschmidt and other names around Major League Baseball, been making a splash. And that's been fun to see for this team. And I think Ryan Walshman has, you know, truly become a part of the here and now and not just necessarily the future. He gave this team a little bit of a spark offensively. And it feels like even though it wasn't much, still enough.

It's still more than what Alec was giving you. And like now you get the offense rolling here in a couple of games. Hopefully, you know, with the Giants coming into town, they can keep that offense rolling. But I would hope so. I have my doubts. I'm ready to scream the F word. And when I say F word, I mean fuck. And I'm going to scream it a lot into maybe a pillow.

If I see this offense put up eight runs in the finale against Colorado Rockies, and then fucking shit the bed in game one on Monday against the Giants. I am really going to just be at my wits head with this offense. It's got to be frustrating for LaVallo and the coaching staff, you know, because you want to remedy it. It's just kind of like how you want a remedy Cotel Marte hitting what he's hitting. However, every single one of his outs is 106 mile per hour off the bat. So you're like, I don't know what to do besides maybe get him.

to hit it three degrees to the left where the defender isn't I don't know. Yeah, stay back a little bit. Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Because it's not like he's just hitting little bloopers and little dinky. It's he's crushing the ball. It's just line drive right to the defender. Right.

You know, it's just a bit of bad luck. Same thing with the offense. Like the offense starts clicking and doing everything you want this offense to do. Every part. The singles, the stolen bases, the base running, the home runs, especially, you know, Sunday's game, even though the pitching staff, Brandon fought still very sketchy in the bullpen, let the Rockies get back into the game. The offense did enough to give them enough of a lead that that didn't turn into a,

you know, big comeback there for the Rockies at the end, right? But again, offense was working really well in that series in Colorado. Didn't, yeah, I mean, Corbyn smashed the hell out of those balls, but didn't really feel like they were aided much in the series by the altitude. no and the you know the cores field effect in fact it felt the opposite it felt like a lot of balls that would be fine for home runs and other ballparks were landing in gloves in that giant cavernous stadium you know so that may have something to do with the weather too they did have a lot of rain was kind of blowing in but yeah yeah for sure but yeah I mean yeah you're right you mean it wasn't like the long ball was the reason why they were just putting up runs upon runs so yeah they put up nine home runs in the series or something like that they did not do that but yeah it was fun to see corbin hit two in a game that for that's for sure yeah no but i want to see more of that so can continue that please mr carroll can we can we get more of that well we will uh of course be back to scream all the f words that we can uh here soon or at least the one

f word that we're allowed to scream on this podcast as many times as we can uh we thank you guys for checking out the show we will be back with another episode of this podcast very soon uh until then you can follow us on social. I'm at Cap underscore Caveman with the K. This man is at Rock Knowledge. That is R.O. Knowledge. Of course, sir. On all socials.

Our show is at P.HNX underscore D-Backs, but as always, all roads lead to at PHNX underscore Sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Thank you guys so much for your time. We'll see you next time. Until then, enjoy yourselves, watch some baseball. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's more fun after dark.

After dark.