PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - POSTGAME: D-backs EXPLODE for Season-High 15 Runs to Clinch Series Win Over Athletics

Episode Date: July 23, 2026

The Arizona Diamondbacks unleashed their biggest offensive performance of the season in their series finale against the Athletics, piling up a season-high 15 runs while crushing five home runs in the ...win. We break down Arizona's explosive middle innings, highlighted by a season-high seven-run fifth inning that completely blew the game open. We also discuss Corbin Carroll's latest homer, his MLB-leading triple total, Merrill Kelly's steady outing with plenty of run support, and whether this breakout performance could finally spark the D-backs offense for the stretch run. Plus, we preview the makeup game against the St. Louis Cardinals and take a look at where Arizona stands in the National League Wild Card race. 0:00 SkeeYee to ANOTHER series victory!!!  3:55 Offensive explosion vs. A's  9:35 Ryan Waldschmidt's first career HR  19:25 James McCann is baaaaaack 26:35 Merrill Kelly's flu game  36:20 Torey Lovullo talks postgame  44:50 How D-backs beat the Athletics  50:05 Impromptu trip to St. Louis Limited-time offer! Become a Diehard for just $36: https://gophnx.com/intro-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 BBPHNX15 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.

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 They say hitting is contagious. Well, I guess a flu bug broke out at Chase Field today. The Diamondbacks score a season high, 15 runs in the series finale win over the athletics. We have more on this offensive explosion. And we have to ask the question, can they figure out a way to keep it rolling? We're doing all this right now. Don't you go anywhere. Welcome in to another edition of the PHNX Diamondbacks postgame show live from Studio A.
Starting point is 00:00:37 That's right. So you don't get the big live unless I'm in that room. But welcome in to all of you. My name is Derek Montia, occasionally known as your mayor of PHNX. Thrilled to be talking about the Diamondbacks are absolutely kicking the A's ass today by a score of 15 to 5. And if there was anybody that would be more excited about it than I am, it's my guy, your guy, actually your dog, the D-Backs dog, Damon dog, aka Damon Farrell on the ones and twos. Big win today, Damon. The exact kind of offensive explosion we've been waiting to see all season long.
Starting point is 00:01:09 Yeah, it was a massive one today, Derek. And just leave no doubt against a team that's really struggling right now that you're the better team. You win the series despite a really tough game one loss against the A's here. Absolutely. It was looking like that, you know, there was a good chance that this team might not have a good performance here against one of the worst teams in baseball. But they stepped up and they got the job done.
Starting point is 00:01:32 Of course, this show is brought to you by the fine folks at Bet365. Go download the Bet365 app right now where winning is everything. Get that code of PHNX 365 in there, and you'll get yourself some bonus bets as a new user. We're also brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms do apply. Welcome in to all of you guys. And yes, the Diamondbacks, of course, I don't know what the hell got into them last night,
Starting point is 00:02:00 but they must have had a big talk after almost blowing the game to victory there and having to win it in extra innings because they came out today and they made sure that this game was not going to be blown late by the bullpen. The D-BACs win this one by a score 15 to 5, and the 15 runs scored is a season high. The previous season high before today was 12 runs. And June 20th, 2025 was the last time that they scored anywhere close to this run, many runs. They scored 14 in that game against the Colorado Rockies,
Starting point is 00:02:35 and it's been a long time since they've scored 15 runs. but they do improve to 53 and 49 with the win, and the debacks record of 8 and 2 since July 9th remains the best in the National League over that span. Who is this team? Identify yourselves. We have no idea, but the debacks have now won their last four series versus the athletics, dating back to basically 2021, which is the last time they've lost any kind of series against the athletics. And in fact, that year they lost all four games that they played against the A's,
Starting point is 00:03:07 but the debacks did score a season high, seven runs in the fifth inning. They hit five homers, and they left no doubt, as Damon said, that this was a win over the athletics, kind of asserting their dominance here a little bit in a way that we haven't really seen them do so far this season. It is the fourth occurrence with the debacks scoring 10 plus runs in a game this year, and the debacks are now 4-0 in those games, obviously for good reason. Usually when you score 10 runs, you're going to win. win a baseball game. But that was the case today. The debacks could not stop scoring in the middle
Starting point is 00:03:42 innings, putting up 14 runs in the fourth, fifth, and six innings and demolishing the athletics in the series finale. And there was a little caveat to that because I ventured down to join my friends in Section 140 in the left field bleachers in between the third and fourth innings. And as we were sitting down there attempting to have
Starting point is 00:04:06 conversations and enjoy each other's company. We couldn't because we were constantly being disturbed by home runs being hit by the Diamondbacks into our section. And it wasn't a bad thing to have happened to you. It really wasn't. But the debacks couldn't get things going early and it once again looked like the Diamondbacks were maybe going to have this offense sputter out. Two of the big three got going in the first inning a little bit.
Starting point is 00:04:29 Ketal Marte hit a lead off single and then Perdomo walk with no outs. But Corbin hit into the 4-6-3 double play. and the Diamondbacks were doubled up a couple of times there in the first innings. Moreno burned an ABS challenge on a very questionable pitch that he lost the ABS challenge in the first inning. Then he proceeded to strike out to end the inning. Then the debacks did it again in the second when Arnato walk to lead off the inning and Ildamara Vargas hit into the one four three double play as the next battered. But it wouldn't be the case for long because it all started like I said in the fourth inning. with me walking out to Section 140.
Starting point is 00:05:07 And as soon as I sat down, Corbyn Carroll hit his solo home run to tie the game up at one. Thank you for your service, Derek. Hey, you know. You changed the game for this franchise today. What I will say is that I, one, still very much don't like going to baseball games if I have to sit in the outfield and not drink. But that is a sacrifice I will make when I'm working for you, for Ph&X and for this team. Yeah, I mean, drinking on the, not being able to drink while you're on the clock there when being on the clock entails being at a baseball game. It is a tougher task than people want to make it out.
Starting point is 00:05:47 Oh, God, yes. I mean, people come to me, you know, oh, Derek, you cover baseball. Oh, Derek, your life is so great. Your job is so great. If I told you you had to go to baseball games by yourself, not drink, not cheer. Yeah. And have to write an essay afterwards on what you saw. and before an oral report in front of people on YouTube
Starting point is 00:06:08 so guys like Killer Rex can come by and tell me I'm an idiot. Does that sound so great? You like that? You want this job now? Well, it's fun. I do enjoy it. And again, I enjoyed watching Corbyn Carroll hit his 15th home run of the season. That one had 100 mile per hour exit velo,
Starting point is 00:06:24 and it was 375 feet into my section. And then with one out, again, as our conversations continued, Nolan Arnato also interrupted us with a solo home run of his own to give the debacks a 2-1 lead there in the fourth inning. That was Arnado's 14th of the year. That one also was 100 miles per hour off the bat. They had 100.1 mile per hour, Exavilo. And that one was 396 feet.
Starting point is 00:06:45 Once again, to our section. I don't know how this kept happening, but the diving backs would not stop. We did get Vargas singling and McCann walking to kind of get them set up for another opportunity to score, but Tawa and Waldi would both strike out to end the fourth. And as fun as that was, And as fun as that inning started to make this game feel,
Starting point is 00:07:08 had no idea what was coming in the fifth, because it would be more of the same and even more and even better in the fifth inning. Marte hits a lead-off double. That was his 20th double of the year. With two outs, a wild pitch scores Marte to give the snakes a three-to-two lead. After Jeff McNeil hit a solo home run in the top of the inning. And then Gabriel Moreno would hit the D-BAC's third solo home run of the game to make it 4-2. was Moreno's seventh home run that also extends his on base streak, his reaching base safely
Starting point is 00:07:40 streak is up to 19 games now and 38 straight starts for Gabriel Moreno. Impressive. He just remains the most consistent cog in this machine that is the Diamondbacks offense. That one was 108.4 miles per hour off the bat, 427 feet to centerfield, not our section that time. Still kind close though still it was like left center so it was still like balls were magnetically drawn towards me when i was out there i can't explain it and you can't either uh aranado again in the inning would walk once again and moved a second on a pass ball then vargas would deliver his 14th double of the season to score aranato and make the game five to two but they were not done yet big body sexy man james mccann would hit uh his home run this one was a two run shot to make it a seven to two lead. That one was a 106.7 miles per hour off the bat and once again 431 feet to my section. I can't, I cannot, I cannot convey enough how ridiculous it was to be sitting there in left field personally and watching all of those home runs come our way. I mean, it was amazing.
Starting point is 00:08:54 And again, the only hope is that this team can somehow figure out a way to bottle this and take this on road with them for their four game road trip. But again, there would be more runs being scored in the inning. Tim Tawa would single and then Ryan Waldschmidt would hit the Diamondbacks third home run of the inning, but more importantly, the first home run of his major league career. This one went 103.9 miles per hour off the bat, 426 feet to, you guessed it, the section I was sitting in. 426. I like the sound of that there.
Starting point is 00:09:28 I had to say it that way because I think it's, it's. better. But again, these guys were excited. These guys were pumped. It means that much to us, actually. I mean, it means everything. I think that Waldschmidt's strikeout problem, which is not something necessarily new to him, has been exasperated by not getting this first home run. Right. At times, you're just trying to kill it. You kind of want to get that, that, you know, achievement out of the way. And, you know, you can't help but think about it. And it was something that Ryan Walschmidt spoke about after the game. Daman, I think we got some video here from Waldy. Here he is discussing hitting his first home run of his major league career.
Starting point is 00:10:08 You know, great, obviously. Just trying to keep it simple. Just go back to the basics. You know, I've been kind of going through a little bit, trying to just get the best pitch to work with. They've been throwing me some good pitches and, you know, just trying to keep my mind in the right spot. Just kind of sticking with my plan, keep it out throughout the at bat, and just keep trusting it that I'm going to get the pitch I'm looking. for the plan I go up there with and happened. I got had pitches going away from me mostly and just looking for something starting on the inner half and I got the fastball on a hitters count and just tried to make the most out of it.
Starting point is 00:10:40 Did you get the ballback? I have not yet, but I'm going to go do that here in a little bit. What's it going to cost you? I think he just wants a bat, a signed bat, and I think that's a pretty fair trade. That is a fair trade, right? I mean, I still think of that kid that held out for essentially everything the player was wearing in exchange for the home run ball. That kid knew how to negotiate, but...
Starting point is 00:11:02 Whose home run was that again? I don't remember. Wasn't it like an Otani something or other? Yeah, I don't think it was a Diamondbacks player. It was from someone from another team. Wasn't Otani trying to give up like a signed bat for like his like 50-50 home run ball or something that's worth like a million dollars? He started on that.
Starting point is 00:11:18 Just classic Dodgers, Fraudgers ball just trying to like scam people, you know? In the same vein that, you know, you got a, you know, players from, certain unnamed players from the Phillies trying to charge people $1,000 for a cameo. But anyway, it's just all our enemies. Turns out they are actually the scumbags. Bryce Harbor is, in fact, the bad person that we on this show have always claimed for him to be. But Walt Schmidt was asked about that first home run. And, you know, again, if waiting for it has had an impact on him, he discussed that as well as the work that he's put in to get to this point.
Starting point is 00:11:54 Here's what Waldie had to say. You know, I try not to. It's obviously a tough game, and homeowners usually come by accident. So when you try and force them, good things usually don't happen. And, you know, I'm just trying to put together the best at bat as possible. I think, you know, baseball comes in streaks and slumps, and there's times when you're not really hitting the ball for power, and then all of a sudden you hit a little power spurt.
Starting point is 00:12:16 So for me, it's just keeping that mind in the right spot, saying positive and knowing that it was going to come. And, you know, right there I was honestly just trying to make a good swing on the ball on hit a line drive up the middle and run comes from it. It seems like you missed the first one guy out of right before you messed out much. Yeah you know, yesterday we did a lot of work and this morning we did a lot of work just kind of try to fine-tune some stuff and I thought I put a good swing on that first pitch you know you just let it travel a little bit.
Starting point is 00:12:42 Got in on my hands a little bit too long but I thought I put a good swing on it. I stayed to the middle of the field and just try to keep sticking with that approach and keep that mindset. We got we got some good comments. in the chat, Sazar says, a Carroll signed bat and ball. Could you imagine going to a player and asking for another player
Starting point is 00:13:01 to give them something? Like, hey, can you get me a Marte jersey? Yeah, yeah, Ryan Walsh. That's absolutely awesome, dude. Yeah, you can have your ball back? By the way, you think that I could meet Corbyn Carol? Yeah, I just want to, can I hug him? I just want to hug Corby and Carol one time.
Starting point is 00:13:16 I just want to make sure his shoulder's okay. Nick says, honestly, for me, I'd give the ball for free to the player, especially if it's first home run. It means more for him and his mom and dad. You're a good dude, Nick, but not a savvy negotiator. Yeah, I was it to say, I mean, I want him to have his first home run ball too, but not after I get my come up at the same time.
Starting point is 00:13:35 Not until I get my season tickets for next year comp. Correct. That's what I'm looking for. Yeah, absolutely. We're talking big money here. I'm not just giving this away to for nothing. Listen, listen, again, like, I want to reiterate, I want them to have their home run ball, but I want us all to end up winners in this scenario.
Starting point is 00:13:51 It might take three or four weeks for us to figure this out, but we'll get a solution. And I will eventually cave. That's the point. And I am going to need Ryan Wallachman's phone number. And we might have to have a couple of beers and discuss business. Yeah, that's all. That's all. A friend of the show was on this show at one time. And we are very, very happy for his forced home run. Also, big body, sexy man James McCann. Can't say enough about that guy. Right? Just thrilled to have him back. He also threw out a runner today. He's, he had himself a good day.
Starting point is 00:14:20 He's back. He might be back. But here he is. is talking about that home run that he hit and again, that big inning that the Diamondbacks. That was not an easy ball to hit. If you go back and look at the pitch chart on that one, that home run was something. Here's what he had to say about hitting a ball that very
Starting point is 00:14:39 much was not in the middle of the plate. Yeah, honestly, I'm going to credit Walshman a little bit. He'd face the guy in the minor leagues and he gave me the Skyrimport and it worked. Yeah, I was just looking for something and, you know, it was close to me and elevated.
Starting point is 00:14:57 They had a weapon with a splitter. And it was a little cutter that, you know, I had to put my barrel on. Praise the Lord. You know, whatever it was thanks. That, is that not the hottest man on this team? I mean, do we even have to go over that? I'm not doing that. But I will say that, again, it's kind of funny.
Starting point is 00:15:16 Holy freaking arms, says Jarmy. Look, we don't call him sexy man James McCann for no reason. It's not just a funny nickname. It's an accurate description of him as a person. But what I will say is that how interesting is that that a veteran like McCann credits Ryan Walschmidt, who just hit his first home run of his major league career today for the information provided to him.
Starting point is 00:15:42 And I don't know if that was the only information being passed around there in the fifth or sixth inning, Damon, because there was a definite suspicion that the athletics started, gauge jump started tipping his pitches and that the reliever who came in to replace him also started tipping his pitches. And that's the reason why we saw this abundance. And that was Unor Tour for the athletics, if I'm saying that name correctly, and I'm probably not. But he gave up eight earn runs and two-thirds of an inning pitched. And there's something that definitely wasn't right about that outing.
Starting point is 00:16:20 There was no discussion on the Diamondbacks part, though, about any kind of. of pitch tipping or anything they were picking up. They did discuss sharing information in the dugout. And as McCann said there, just having, you know, Walschmidt there with the knowledge of the pitcher that he was facing was huge in that moment. The D-backs hit 1,284 feet of home runs in the fifth inning. Not bad.
Starting point is 00:16:42 Not a bad day. Again, the seven runs in that inning marks the season high. Just the second time the D-backs have had multiple home runs in multiple innings in the same game this season. It marks the 10th occurrence. The debacks have hit three plus home runs in a game, and the debacks are now nine and one in those 10 games where they have hit three plus home runs. The dimebacks hit so many home runs that the five that they hit in this game move them from 29th in Major League Baseball to 28th.
Starting point is 00:17:12 I know it's not that big of a jump. But they're also one home run away from being 27. So we're rising. We're on the come up. And then more runs in the sixth inning. They just couldn't stop. Corbyn't carol hit hit. his league leading 11th triple of the season with one out.
Starting point is 00:17:27 He would score on a wild pitch to put the Diamondbacks up by a score of 10 to 2 at the time. Then you had Moreno, Aronado, and Vargas all walking in succession to load the bases. McCann would bring Moreno home at the time with an RBI single. Then Tawa doubled scoring Vargas and Aronado. And Walt Schmidt would bring McCann home with a sack fly to give the Diamondbacks a 14 to 2 lead after 16 innings. the Diamondbacks would add one more run in the eighth on a Tyler Locklear RBI single to give Arizona 15 runs total
Starting point is 00:17:58 in this game. Who's a top performer today? Everybody. Everybody except Geraldo Pardomo because he's the only player in the starting lineup without a hit today, sadly. Marte was two for four with a run scored and a double. Moreno, one for three with a home run,
Starting point is 00:18:14 two runs scored, a walk and an RBI. Aronado, one for one with a home run. Three walks today for Arnato. Three runs scored, one RBI. Vargas, three for four, with two runs, one RBI, one double for Vargy. He also pitched in the ninth inning and might be our new closer. Corbyn, two for four. He went yard, one home run, one triple, one RBI, two runs scored.
Starting point is 00:18:39 Tawa two for five with a run scored two RBI and a double. And of course, Walshmet, two for four, three RBI, one home run, the first of his big league career. and I was this close to giving the Kingsnake to Walt Schmidt just for hitting that first home run of his career. But I'm not going to because it's going to big body James McCann. It is going to sexy man James McCann for going three for four today, a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored. He also had a walk and a walk-in in pants and sandals there,
Starting point is 00:19:14 as you see in that amazing picture that we love to use. So many people could have won the Kingsnake today. It's my favorite feedbacks picture of all time. Yeah, I don't even understand. I mean, it's model quality, like we've said in the past. That's how the man showed up for 4 a.m. spring training first day report. Yeah. Just like that, Derek.
Starting point is 00:19:34 Yeah. And Donnie Blitz wants to know, can someone give me one good reason why a quarterback who is 33 and lost 10 straight games last year deserves a raise? It's because his defense was terrible. One of the worst defenses in all of the NFL. But this isn't a show about that. We do baseball here. Go next door to Studio K if you want to talk football. Derek, did you just defend Jacoby Berset's like side of the negotiation here for a second?
Starting point is 00:19:59 Like I said, he's going to be pursued, caught and mauled by Miles Garrett for 120 minutes this season. He probably deserves as much money as he can get. No, he's going to get murdered. No, I know. I know he doesn't. We need another quarterback. And we got him. We have the quarterback of the future.
Starting point is 00:20:18 His name is Gardner Minchew. But the bigger question, Damon, is this 15-run game? Finally, the game that gets this offense firing on all cylinders. Or is it foolish to even think that this offense can find any consistency this season? I don't know. I know that the team has the proper motivation going on this upcoming road trip. They not only understand the assignment as far as the, teams that are before them that they have to beat,
Starting point is 00:20:49 but they also understand that they are not happy with the decision made by the St. Louis Cardinals that requires them to not have an off day tomorrow. Instead, you should have seen them in the clubhouse right now, packing bags while we're talking to them. I've never seen them in such a hurry to get out of here. And, I mean, this wasn't a short game because of all of the offense. This was a three-hour-plus game.
Starting point is 00:21:09 Not to mention last night's was trending to not be that, but it ended up being due to the 10-10 innings. So this is a team that is as tired as Damon and I are right now. And this is a team that does not really have the patience to deal with the fact that they have to have this one game with the Cardinals smack dab in the middle of, you know, this homestand and what was supposed to be their road trip. But hopefully that will provide the proper motivation. I would not be surprised to see their offense once again kind of go cold. This is asking a lot. However, baseball is kind of a, as many of you know, a game that once you kind of get in a groove,
Starting point is 00:21:49 that maybe good things will happen for you. So perhaps not having an off day after having this kind of performance isn't the worst thing, right? I know, like I said, Tim Tao is probably the only player in Major League Baseball that didn't want to see the All-Star break going around, come around when he was hitting the way he was against the Dodgers in that series sweep. I still find myself being reluctant to think that this team is going to get their offense going and find some sort of consistent groove. It's not to say they haven't found those grooves throughout the season, but once again, it's just like a day like today doesn't just magically happen out of nowhere.
Starting point is 00:22:26 That's why the suspicions of pitch tipping and other thing kind of came up, because, yeah, how do the Diamondbacks magically just hit five home runs in a game? A lot of it was good, patient at bats. That's why they had so many walks today. And I think that's what they're going to need on the road trip for sure, is they're just going to need to have more of these patient at bats. Arenato walking three times today is incredible, right? And again, that's the kind of patience that they haven't really been showing this year.
Starting point is 00:22:52 We've talked to Tori about it. Tori's kind of had his struggles getting the team to, you know, be patient. And he said that. He's like, if it was as easy as going to them and telling them like, hey, be patient, slow down, take some more pitches. then everybody would be doing it, right? You go tell them that and then Cattel's out there swinging at the first pitch and popping it up for an out, right? Just it does feel like it's been frustrating.
Starting point is 00:23:19 A day like today is where you can see the true potential of what this offense can be. And yet, again, I have my doubts that they're going to be able to keep it rolling on this road trip. Prove me wrong. Prove me wrong. But again, it wasn't just the offense that was rolling today. The pitching staff, once again, delivered Merrill Kelly
Starting point is 00:23:37 was good on the, even on a day where he was apparently sick. And he didn't catch the same flu bug as far as hitting was concerned. This one came from his family. But we're going to talk about that on the other side of this break. Don't you guys go anywhere. You're watching the PH&X Diamond Back Show. Well, 1AZ credit union is rooted in Arizona and invested in you.
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Starting point is 00:25:59 Offers expires August 31, 2006. Well, Merrill Kelly. Had himself a nice outing today, and it was good enough for this team to give him a little bit of a breather at the end. Merrill was pulled after five innings pitched, and I think he was just around like 80 pitches. But that was because apparently Merrill Kelly was under the weather today, not something that was going to keep him out of the game, but something that has been, you know, caused him a little bit of problems. And he did have a little bit of an issue there in the first inning. after striking out known D-back's terrorizer, Jacob Wilson.
Starting point is 00:26:35 He gave up a pair of singles to Tyler Soderstrom and Shay Lang Lears, but his defense turned a pretty nice double play behind him to end the inning. Then Kelly pitched a 1, 2, 3, 12 pitch second inning, getting three ground ball outs and doing exactly what Merrill does best. Then the third inning, meanwhile, wasn't as easy for Kelly. With one out, he gave up a double to Jonah Heim and then a single to Jacob Wilson, again, known terrorizer of this team. Then with runners on the corner, he got Soderstrom to hit into what appeared to be a double play ball towards Catell, but Catell could not turn it in time.
Starting point is 00:27:08 I think it was Wilson that had already used his speed to get to second. So Cotel had to bypass going for the double play and just get the one out at first. That allowed the athletics first run to score, and that put them up by a score of one to nothing. And, I mean, on the negative side, all four of those early hits that Merrill Kelly gave up were all hard hit. They were all 95 miles per hour or harder exit Velo's. And it, you know, when you're talking about this game still being 1-0, you do start to have your concerns about if things are going to turn sideways on Merrill. But they very much did not.
Starting point is 00:27:41 But in the fourth, he did walk Donovan Walton, who was thrown out, once again, by our King Snake, big body, James McCann. That's another attribute or another achievement we should have had on that graphic. Got the runner thrown out there trying to steal second. The A's did not have another base runner in the inning. then in the fifth, Jeff McNeil fouled a pitch off his kneecap, which looked reminiscent of another injury that I won't go back and revisit from game one. But after hitting the ball off his kneecap,
Starting point is 00:28:14 just like in the other incident, he proceeded to get a hit still in the abat. But this one was a solo home run off of Merrill Kelly. This tied the game up at the time at two. Then Kelly would get the next three outs to get out of the inning. That would be the end of his day because the debacks were already up. nine to two after the bottom of the fifth, and there was no reason to keep Meryl out there any longer. Here's what Meryl had to say in regards to being under the weather today.
Starting point is 00:28:39 Yeah, just kind of a little bug. There's a little bug going around the house. My wife was sick last week and kind of just got in the tail end of it. Just like I said, going around the house. Physically, I'm sure you can hear it my voice. Just a little gas today. It was kind of hot and sweaty, and then obviously this stuff probably doesn't help. So after the fifth, especially when we scored that many runs.
Starting point is 00:29:01 It was just time to go. Merrill went change-up heavy today, and he got a lot of swing and miss with his change-up. He got six whiffs with it. 31% of his outing or his pitch is thrown today were change-ups. Four seem not nearly as effective. He did max out at 93.6 and average 92 miles per hour, but he didn't get any whips on the fastball. he did get a whiff on his slider, which used a very limited amount of this outing.
Starting point is 00:29:33 And then he threw the cutter, sinker, curveball, all of those pitches. Had a nice mix tonight. I think we have his pitch chart here, Damon. And yeah, as you can see here, once again, nice little color rainbow. It feels very much like Merrill was throwing those pitches exactly where he wanted them.
Starting point is 00:29:51 And as you can see, specifically the changeup, which he used the most and got, got six whiffs on barely ever landed in the strike zone. I think three, maybe four of the changeups. That's probably wrong. Like one, two, three, we got five that landed or touched the zone. That would have been a called strike. The rest of them just dove completely out of the zone.
Starting point is 00:30:15 And it was the reason why he was getting swing and miss on those. It looked like he had some good movement, some good action on that pitch. And overall, just a good day for Merrill Kelly. a short outing, didn't get a ton of work in, but when the Diamondbacks were up as big as they were, there's no need to tax Merrill, right? They were able to use Ildomarovar Vargas in the ninth inning, even though Tori said after the game that he does not love doing that when they're up, would much prefer to not use a position player to, I guess, once again, as we know about Tori, show up the opposition, I think. I think that's the reason why. Didn't really give us the reason why
Starting point is 00:30:51 He doesn't do it in games when they're up, but this one made a lot of sense considering how big the lead was and how many games you have without a day off here coming up, needed to do everything they could to preserve their bullpen. But Merrill gets three strikeouts today, so let's light up the circle case strikeout meter. As I've said in the past, it deserves better than this. But Merrill really was just pitching to contact overall.
Starting point is 00:31:17 So, you know, it is what it is. but, you know, three strikeouts, still a decent day. And again, the Circle K strikeout meter does not have. It works a little bit better in Studio K. Yeah, it's a little faulty in here. It's a little faulty in here. It's not, because that's Studio K. And that's where the Circle K strikeout meter resides.
Starting point is 00:31:40 But Kelly, five innings pitch today, five hits, two earn runs, one walk, three strikeouts. We had another major league debut in this game. Geraldo Carrillo for the Diamondbacks debuted, relief pitcher. What more can you say about the number of big league debuts that the Diamondbacks have had this year? It's almost like it's hard to even still find them to be special because we're like, oh, another one. Got it. Okay, cool. And he had himself a good day.
Starting point is 00:32:08 Two innings pitched in relief. Three hits, one earn run, one walk, one strikeout. I mean, and again, probably. an arm that will be most likely sent down and replaced just so that the diamondbacks can get a fresh reliever up here, but still a guy that did his job today and a guy that the diamondbacks might be able to count on here in the future. Giant Lazzania, another guy we know that this team can count on. He gave them one innings pitch today, one strikeout. Always hot, always fresh, always ready. And then I'llibarovar Vargas came in and I actually looked, and I turned to Alex
Starting point is 00:32:43 Weiner at one time and said, how many runs does Ildemarro Vargas have to get up, give up for Tori to start at least getting someone warming in the bullpen? His answer, seven, seven runs is how many he would have to start giving up. And he did not do that. He gave up two hits and two earned. He walked one, but he got an inning of work in and he helped preserve this bullpen. The Diamondbacks closed the door and win this one over the athletics by a score of 15 to 5. And Merrill discussed, of course, the identity of this team kind of showing. And we've talked about being confused by this team. We've talked about not really being able to gauge what this team is ever going to be one day to the next.
Starting point is 00:33:31 But it does feel like lately, especially after the All-Star break over this stretch since July 9th, that this team has started to get back to its identity, the team that we kind of know, the D-backs to be. Here's what Merrill had to say about that identity. I think we're getting back to, you know, what I know is, as what Tori calls D-Backs baseball, you know, we're putting pressure on guys. We're pitching well. It's good to see the offense kind of explode the way it did today. Hopefully we can, you know, hopefully we save some runs for this road trip coming up. But I think we're looking more like ourselves. I don't think we've, I don't think we've really hit our stride at some point this year. You know, we haven't really
Starting point is 00:34:10 gone on a big winning streak or a big run. Like, we, you know, like we can and like we need to to put ourselves in a good spot. So hopefully you're just seeing the start of it and hopefully we can keep it going. And one clip I forgot to get to was James McCann talking about the offense today. And we know we've heard that this team has,
Starting point is 00:34:31 that, you know, offense is contagious. Hitting is contagious. Merrill was sick, like I said, with another bug. But here's McCann talking about the starting lineup being sick with hitting. Yeah. Hating is contagious. You know, honestly, the bottom of our order really, really showed up,
Starting point is 00:34:51 and then, you know, the top of the order cashed in with guys on base. A lot of big two out hits. A lot of guys pass on the baton. I mean, I really can't say enough. You're all done. One through nine. And even guys that came in there late, added on. So really is one through nine.
Starting point is 00:35:09 and it's just fun. That's the best way of describe. It's just a lot of fun. He says fun. It's the exact same thing Candace says right here. She says, we are starting to have fun again, and it shows. You're absolutely right, Candice.
Starting point is 00:35:23 And again, this team found a way to really have a lot of fun today, winning this one by a score 15 to 5. Cool bro sends a super chat just reminding us. Thank you, Coolbro, that the Diamondbacks are 7 and 2 since Pavement's departure. Facts are facts. I can't change facts. I can't do anything about that. But here's Tori discussing Merrill Kelly's day
Starting point is 00:35:44 and the bullpen decisions that he made involving bringing Vargas into this game. I thought Merrill was super efficient. He was battling a little fatigue, a little bit under the weather. We had a conversation, and I just made the decision to take him out of the game at 87 pitches. We were definitely up against it. You saw what I did.
Starting point is 00:36:02 It's the first time I've ever thrown a position player in an up game. I'm not a huge fan of it. But we're going on a long, long road trip. It was Brandon Garcia or Vargas and I decided to use Vargas to preserve Brandon against the tough St. Louis team. They'll be available tomorrow. If I threw him today, it'd be unavailable tomorrow. So that was a 50-50 ball that I was juggling and very uncomfortable with. But it worked out and we won a baseball game. But overall, just a really good homestand. We've got to go on the road and take care of business as well. What do you think? And that that road trip is important.
Starting point is 00:36:36 We're going to get to it and we're going to discuss it. But obviously, with teams that are in front of you, behind you, all around you in the wildcard race, those wins are crucial, especially as we get down to it at the end of the season, and tiebreakers might come into play as far as which team makes it into the postseason, right? More importantly, though, as we've talked about in this show time and time again, it's about making the front office make the moves that they need to make at the deadline and not the other moves that we don't want to. see them make, right? We don't want this team to be sellers. We want this team to be buyers. We know
Starting point is 00:37:13 how difficult that's going to be in this market. We know how much this is going to be a buyer's market. That's going to make it that much more difficult to not be a seller. It's going to be hard to get offers and not hear people out, especially when so many teams are going to be seen as in it. But that divide needs to be created. Diamondbacks need to help some of these teams be sellers by beating them. And then that would help our position as buyers when the trade. deadline comes around. But here's more from Tori on the win today, plus the huge offensive day from this team. What a what a way to finish the homestown. We go out there to score 15 runs. We have somebody that hits their first major league home run. There's a pitcher that takes
Starting point is 00:37:59 them out and makes his major league debut. You had two rookie starters in games one and two pitching and holding their own. So it was it was quite a homestand and quite a series. I want this continue I want us to go on the road and take the same type of bats, have the same type of focus, have an all-field approach. And we had several out bats where we let the ball travel and drove balls to the opposite gap. I think that's what stands out more to me than anything. We had 15 hits, but we just didn't do a lot of it and only used the pole side of the field. And, you know, offensively that's what we're capable of doing it.
Starting point is 00:38:37 I know the boys were working extremely hard every single day and it was fun to watch. You hit five home runs, and it's a lot of fun. There's a ton of energy in the dugout, and things just start moving in a very, very good way. Emotionally and then fundamentally. Well, I'll tell you fundamentally, this team was solid today, and again, that needs to be the case going on this road trip. They need to keep things locked in.
Starting point is 00:39:04 We're going to hear more from Torrey, McCann, and Merrill Kelly about that road trip coming up, as well as more from Tori on Ryan, Walshmith's big home run. We're going to do all of that on the other side of this break. Don't you go anywhere. You're watching the PHNX Diamondback Show. Well, if you are a regular viewer or listener or viewer slash listener of the show or any PHNX show, we want to hear from you with our PHNX survey.
Starting point is 00:39:29 If you take a short survey, just letting us know what you love and what we can do better, you'll have a chance to win $100 Amazon gift card. Obviously, if you are a follower of the PHNX Diamondback show, you already have exquisite, impeccable taste, and you already know what you like and you know what's good. But again, if we can do anything better, we would once again love to hear from you. Head on over to go phnx.com slash feedback today to get signed up. And if you're watching us, you can scan the QR code. No, you can't.
Starting point is 00:39:58 No, no QR code. No, you can't. What QR code? Derek, you idiot. But it does take about three minutes and your feedback will help shape what we do around here. And again, don't you wish the Diamondbacks front office? Was this open to this kind of feedback? I mean, it would be a nightmare for them if they were.
Starting point is 00:40:12 But still, don't you wish? Let everyone know. Let your voice be heard. Everyone who completes the survey will be entered to win that $100 Amazon gift card. Take the survey today or head on over to go phnx.com slash feedback. That's go phnx.com slash feedback. Get yourself a Circle K drink to celebrate this big win. Like I said, Circle K will take care of your thirst all day long.
Starting point is 00:40:38 It's America's Thirst Stop. It's Derek's Thirst Stop. It's Damon's thir stop. And it's the place that you go to get coffee in the morning for cheaper. It's the place you stop by to get an energy drink and boost. Boost yourself up in the middle of the day. It's also a place to stop by and get yourself a six pack of celebratory beers on the way home. And you can do all that for less by joining the inner circle right now.
Starting point is 00:40:58 All you got to do is sign up. You download, easy to download and get enrolled. Then all you do is use your phone number to save on all sorts of Circle K deals. 79 cent polar pops, 99 cent frosters. Buy two, get one free Celsius, 12 ounce and 6. 16 ounce drinks. They got 16 ounce aluminum, Budweiser, Bud Light, and Mikulib Ultra for $1.50 each. If you were at the game today, you know how much of a discount that is from what you were paying for beers while you were there. But make sure to not miss out on the meal deal matrix and everything else Circle K has to offer.
Starting point is 00:41:29 They want to get you fed and they want to make sure you're hydrated and they're going to do it for less. So join the Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today. Terms and conditions do apply at participating locations. visit circle k.com for details. And we are keeping this party rolling, and we are going to be doing a live show, a live version of this very podcast, out at the Upper Deck Bar and Grill,
Starting point is 00:41:51 at the Heel River Resorts and Casinos Wild Horse Pass. On July 30th, that's right. We're doing PHNX Live. It's free to RSVP. All die hard to attend will receive a drink ticket for the event, and the show starts at 6 p.m. So again, come on out, have a great time with us. RSVP to less know you're coming.
Starting point is 00:42:11 And again, come see us do this in person without Damon because he hates me. And that's why. That's why. No other reason. It's not like he has a well-deserved vacation coming up. Another one somehow. Yeah, I wouldn't call it well-deserved. I mean, I just went on vacation.
Starting point is 00:42:30 I don't really care anyways. So that's fine. You're taking that one on the chin. Even if you think it's not well-deserved, I'm still going to take the vacation. There's nothing anyone can do to stop me. There's literally nothing anyone can do to stop him. I tried in every way. But we have to hear from Tori here once again.
Starting point is 00:42:45 Here's what Tori had to say about Ryan Walshmidt, his rookie, and one of many rookies that have come up and made their major league debut this year hit the first home run of his career. Probably take a little bit of pressure off of him, wondering and being curious about can I and will I ever. And he can eliminate that. We all knew in this room that he was going to eventually hit one. He's just too good of a player.
Starting point is 00:43:12 There's a lot of things that are going on with our young players. Our young players got to figure out how they fit into this ball club. Part of being a deback, in my opinion, is not necessarily what you are capable of doing individually, but what can I do to fit into this program and fit into this lineup? And our young players are learning that. I think Waldie is doing that piece by piece. So a lot of conversations with him have led to this good moment. He deserves a lot of the credit.
Starting point is 00:43:40 Fantastic stuff. Fantastic stuff today all around from this team. And we already do have some feedback. Somebody in the chat, Damon, says, complaint. Damon is not going to be at Healer River. So the feedback is working. So make sure to take the survey. Yeah, that's someone being Sean who lives in Texas.
Starting point is 00:43:59 You know what, Sean? If you come out to Wild Horse Pass for the PHNX Live, And I'm not there. I'll be indebted to you for life. But I know that's not happening, buddy. That's fine. That's fine. Everybody's going to leave me alone there.
Starting point is 00:44:12 And I'm okay with it. But let's take a look at the numbers from this series because baseball is stupid. And once again, it found a way to be stupid with the series numbers here. Diamondbacks do outscore the athletics, 23 to 15. But look at this extra base hit stat. That's not even extra base hits. That's just hits. not extra base hits, but hits.
Starting point is 00:44:35 34 hits per team in this three-game series. How does that even happen, especially after beating them 15 to 5 and taking two out of three? It'll never make sense to me. The Diamondbacks did hit seven home runs in this series to the A's 5. Runners in scoring position, the D-backs were 9 for 29 for a 3-10 batting average. Meanwhile, the A's were 7 for 269 average.
Starting point is 00:45:01 starting pitching ERA, the big difference maker there. Diamondbacks 3.07. They got four in two-thirds in game one versus Mitch Bratt, five in game two with one earned run from Cole Drake making his Major League debut. And then today, you got Merrill Kelly going five innings with two earned runs on a day where he got cut short because of the lead. Overall here, good performance bullpen, not so great. Paul Seawald had a little bit to do with that with the 6.08 ERA for the Diamondbacks.
Starting point is 00:45:31 but the athletics did exactly what we expected them to do pitching-wise in this series, which is continue to be the worst team in Major League Baseball with their pitching staff. 6.75 ERA for the athletics for starting pitching 8.48 for their bullpen. Not great. Not good at all. Yeah. And I'm okay with it. I'm very much okay with it.
Starting point is 00:45:54 More importantly, though, the Diamondbacks do have this pending upcoming road trip. We're going to get to that. We're going to talk about the St. Louis Cardinals a little bit. But Damon, National League Wildcard updates. Pirates did beat the Yankees in game one of their double header today. Yankees, what the hell? I thought this was supposed to be the Garrett Cole Max Freed show today from all the social media posts that I saw about it.
Starting point is 00:46:20 But there's a good chance that perhaps the Yankees take care of business in game two tonight in the second game of that double header. Should they do that? Your Arizona Diamondbacks will be, if I'm not mistaken, Damon, standing alone by themselves with the third spot in the National League wildcard race. Stop the count. If we're not, though, then don't. And let us keep playing.
Starting point is 00:46:43 Yeah. If it's the fact that we aren't in that spot, then we have more games to play. If not, let's just go to the postseason now. Right? But again, they also have the pirates on their schedule coming up as part of this upcoming road trip, as well as this Godforsaken game with the St. Louis Cardinals. And we're going to talk about all of this stuff on the other side of this break. Don't you guys go anywhere.
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Starting point is 00:49:26 Damon, what's time? is it? Game time? Game time. And it is game time because the Diamondbacks don't have an off day tomorrow. They will be playing the St. Louis Cardinals, I believe, at 4 p.m. local time, around 2 p.m. our time tomorrow. And it's all because the Cardinals couldn't be bothered to simply move a game up for their four-game series that they played to an earlier time so that we could avoid the rain and also avoid coming back to the same. state of Missouri unnecessarily.
Starting point is 00:49:59 Instead, the Diamondbacks will be doing that exact thing, and I could tell you, these players are not happy about it. Paul Seawald already voiced his grievances on social media about the unnecessary game being made up on this day, but the sentiment very much seemed to be that players are not happy about this, understandably. That's probably not a surprise to hear. I just think that the sentiment seems to be that the sentiment seems to be that the St. Louis Cardinals definitely could have done more in order to make that game happen,
Starting point is 00:50:31 and they didn't. And part of it might just be the fact that we are in this wildcard race with the Cardinals. So if given the choice on whether to take care of that game on the day it was supposed to occur, or screwing up a road trip for the Diamondbacks who are they competing with for a National League wildcard spot by making them take a four-game road trip instead of a three-city road trip, I guess that's the way that those cowards had to play it. I don't know. But again, the Diamondbacks do take on the Cardinals for one single game. So let's take a look at that team at a glance.
Starting point is 00:51:06 This was coming into today's game, so this does not factor in. I do believe that they won. But they did come in today with a 51 and 49 record, a minus one run differential. They're four and six in their last 10 games. They have a 702 team OPS, which is 24th in baseball. Just one position above the Diamondbacks. And then starting pitching ERA pretty good at 4.12, which is tied for 10th best. And 4.25 bullpen ERA, which is 19th best.
Starting point is 00:51:35 They're also right there with the Dbacks when it comes to outs above average. They have 21 outs above average, which is good enough for third place. J.J. Weatherholt, very good in the outs above average category. They sit right behind the Diamondbacks who are in second place and also behind the Cubs who currently have the most outs above average. But the Diamondbacks currently don't have a probable pitcher listed. However, it was basically revealed or discussed that it would be Brandon Fott. And it is Brandon Fott's turn essentially in the rotation for him to pitch.
Starting point is 00:52:11 So makes sense that Fought would be in there. He will be taking on Michael McGrievey fought 4 in one this year. He lowered his ERA to 4.58 with the way he's performed lately. His whip is down to 1.305, and ladies and gentlemen, my God, we finally have a positive baseball reference war for Brandon fought this year. And hopefully that war only continues to get better. He's going up against a very good starter for the St. Louis Cardinals in McGreevy. He's 4 and 7 this year with a 2.92 ERA, a 1.102 whip, and a 3 baseball reference war. not an easy battle but the Diamondbacks still lead the four games set at the Cardinals from June 22nd through June 25th.
Starting point is 00:52:56 They dropped the first game and then won the next two games. The fourth game postponed due to rain and rescheduled for tomorrow at 2.15 p.m. Arizona time. The debacks have taken the last three series and one or split each of their last four season series against the Cardinals and have all the motivation to go into St. Louis. and honestly finish the job against the Cardinals. They already have the season series against them in the bag that very much will help when the wild card finishes up, but you also just have the fact that the Cardinals deserve to lose for making this team come back to St. Louis.
Starting point is 00:53:38 They deserve all the bad karma that any team can get. And I hope the Diamondbacks can keep this offense rolling and put up 16 runs tomorrow against the Cardinals. But this road trip is very important, as we mentioned. And it was a topic of discussion after the game. Here's what Merrill Kelly had to say about the importance of this upcoming road trip. Yeah, it's obviously a big one. You know, there's two teams, three teams, including the makeup game in St. Louis,
Starting point is 00:54:04 there's obviously three teams that we're right in the mix with. Definitely a road trip that we need to handle business. And, you know, hopefully come out on the winning end of the end of the road trip. and obviously leading up not only for the mix of the wild card, but also leading up to the deadline. It definitely has some big implications on it. Hopefully we can take the momentum of the baseball we've been playing at home and take it on the road and squeak out some wins,
Starting point is 00:54:26 and so that way we can put ourselves in a good place, you know, to be on the right side of the ball for the deadline. And all that noise that you hear is everybody packing bags and boxes as fast as possible so that they can get out of here tonight and hopefully get themselves a nice, you know, a good night. sleep and rested for tomorrow's game, right? But James Buchan also was asked about the importance of this road trip. And again, the impact that this kind of win can have just going forward against some very
Starting point is 00:54:57 important teams and for arguably the most important stretch of their season. I know that seems hyperbolic. I know that there's so many games left to play. And I know that the actual most important stretch probably will come around September 15th. But again, this team can't all of a sudden have things turn on them quickly because it would make it that much easier for the front office to not make whatever moves they need to make to improve this team. But here's what McCann had to say about this upcoming road trip.
Starting point is 00:55:29 Obviously, it's no secret. These are the most important games of the season up to this point. But at the same time, I think one thing we've done really well here in the last little bit is just focusing on what, what the day is. You know, taking each day for what it is, taking each game, each inning, each pitch, and trying to make most of it.
Starting point is 00:55:51 So if you look too far ahead, you find yourself getting trouble. So we're going to keep trying to focus on each pitch and each day and take care of them. I asked Tori before the game about if what this team has gone through the last two years has kind of made him better as a manager at dealing with the injury. This team is just, it feels like the last two seasons have been nothing but a pile of injuries last year being much worse than 24.
Starting point is 00:56:22 And this year feeling like it's been worse yet it feels like the Diamondbacks have been able to navigate it better. All of these call-ups, all of these debuts, all of these major leaguers or all of these minor leaguers making their first appearance in Major League Baseball. It's been impressive that this team sits at the record that they sit at now with you know, just one injury happening after the next, right? When Corbyn went down, I was, I was just kind of stunned, you know, and we didn't know how much time he was going to miss with the hyper-extended elbow, but he very much seemed right today. His at-bats were much better, and he definitely seems like the day off did him some good.
Starting point is 00:57:04 But it just seems like this team gets a new injury update or bad news every single day, and they've just kept it rolling. And Tori said one of the ways he's been able to do that has been just about keeping that one opponent in front of them, not worrying about the injuries, not worrying about everything else, just trying to do his best with the 26 men he's been given and that one team that's in front of them
Starting point is 00:57:32 and just taking it one day at a time. And he feels like that's something that changed from his outlook, always worrying about all of these injuries, when guys were going to come back, and the greater schedule and how things two weeks, three weeks from now are going to work out. It would appear that, again, just focusing on, as McCann said, what's in front of them right now seems to be a big part of why Tori's been able to handle as a manager, all of these injuries that they've had to deal with.
Starting point is 00:58:00 But, again, it's no different than many teams in Major League Baseball. There are just injuries happening to star players and everything every day. So no excuses. And that seems to also be part of their. mindset when it comes to all of these injuries happening. But Tori discussed the importance of this upcoming road trip. Here's what he had to say. It's going to be gritty, and that's how we are.
Starting point is 00:58:24 That's part of our personality. It's something that we knew when we left St. Louis a couple weeks ago that we were going to have to turn around and come right back, and it was going to be a force city road trip. We've been talking about it. It shouldn't catch us by surprise, and we got to go and play good baseball. There's good baseball teams that are, it lumped together right with us and this wild card situation. And we're right where we should be in this journey. We've got to keep playing good baseball.
Starting point is 00:58:52 Price G in the chat says if they're sellers, McCann could probably help someone. Get out. Get out now. Leave the show. We're also not sellers. We're also not sellers. I don't know what part. I tried to make that very clear.
Starting point is 00:59:03 Did I not? Did I not make that clear, Damon? I thought I did. But yeah, we're not sellers. And we're not going to be sellers. This is the time for this team to step up and treat the next 10 days, next 10 games, like it's a playoff push, right? Like that's the importance of it. Maybe not to put too much pressure on themselves because as we've seen this season, they're not great at handling too much pressure.
Starting point is 00:59:31 But I do feel like there is something to be said about treating this like it is the same importance of, a playoff run because it is it is uh we got some super chats big thank you big thank you to all of you you guys of course for your super chats damon what do we got yeah we uh we got uh we got uh our guy kellen celebrating nine months of membership if you want to become a supporting club member like kellen get access to our unique uh custom emojis that we have there in the chat of which we should probably add a debacks one pretty soon we need more of those yeah absolutely and then uh you also get access to our members only content. Good way to support us a little bit extra.
Starting point is 01:00:10 Callan says Vargas is better than Seawalled. Zero home runs allowed by Vargas. Put the fries in the bag, Seawall. Again, those, I mean that last part, I can't co-sign on that being a fact, but the rest of it was actually a fact. So I can't argue with that. Cool, bro. Thank you for your super chats.
Starting point is 01:00:29 He says, D-BAC shouldn't, but I'm looking at Pirates next week. Yeah. It's especially the way they played today, not feeling great about that. And again, pirates already kind of had the debacks number from that three game series. We played against them at Chase Field. He also says, urge for Damon to say, we are back is the Green Goblin mask. This is correct. Yeah, there's, there's like a, I don't know if it's a hat. Yeah, it does whisper to Damon. It's like, it's like Tom Riddle and Harry Potter. It's actually in like a different language. It's like a snake language. Just, no, shna.
Starting point is 01:01:01 Literally sounds just like that like Harry Potter. And it says, say we're back. Say it, Damon, say the thing. And I have to. He has to. He has to. Nick, thank you so much for your super chat and for being a supporters club member. Nick says, Closer Vargas, FT, Dub. For the win.
Starting point is 01:01:19 Waldie getting his first home run. Yeah, for the win. Yeah. You're hip and happening and young. You get it. I say the other word, but it's a curse word. And I'm usually reserved those for debacks after dark. By the way, make sure to subscribe to our audio feed.
Starting point is 01:01:33 So you don't miss out on that. I'll be doing a recap of tomorrow's episode. as an audio-only episode, as well as getting together with my guy Rock, who was the reason why I was out in Section 140. So shout out to Rock, Monica, and of course, Brian Gregston for his dumb face looking dumbfounded in those videos I took. But those guys for the reason why I was out there, partying in left field and having all of those home runs come to me. By the way, they also did find the, when we're talking about facts scientifically, the home run stopped coming that way when I left the section. and they started falling at the warning track. I can't explain it, and none of you can either.
Starting point is 01:02:11 But again, thank you so much for your super chat. Love all of you guys, appreciate you. Make sure to join us. I know Damon's not going to be there for the PHNX Live, but he is going to be there with us for our takeover of Chase Field. That is happening on Tuesday, August 25th against the Chicago Cubs. You can join us and your fellow PHNX diehards for a takeover of Chase Field, presented by Circle K.
Starting point is 01:02:32 your ticket includes a piece of merch of your choice, whether it's a hat or a shirt. You also get your game ticket to the bar S All You Can Eat section, and you die hard to get 20% off. So get your tickets now. Do not wait. Head on over to go phynx.com slash events, and that link will be in our show notes as well. So let's see. Do we have pirates are down 2-0? That's the latest update.
Starting point is 01:02:56 That's a good one. Hopefully that keeps happening in that exact way that it's happening currently. But again, we thank you guys all so much. What do you think about Sean's comment here about your buddy? Rock sounds like a 50-year-old white dude. I was surprised when I saw what he actually looked like. I can't wait to tell Rock that. I really can't.
Starting point is 01:03:14 He's going to love that. He's going to love that. Rock was a DJ here locally in the Valley years ago. So again, he's a guy that was on the radio, got a great voice, and might in fact sound like a 50-year-old white dude. I don't know. I have to go back and listen to those podcasts now. I want to close my eyes and see if I can imagine it.
Starting point is 01:03:30 it. But make sure, like I said, you subscribe to hear Rock's 50-year-old white dude voice and all the stuff that we do around here. Again, we thank you guys so much for your time, so much for your energy, so much for you being here in the live chat. You can do things like what Jason is making us do right now. Actually, not making us do. Jason is pointing out an egregious shortcoming of this episode that we have not fulfilled. Damon, I know we're in Studio A and not Studio K, but can we still send little Jerry P up Mount 500 in here? That's so good.
Starting point is 01:04:13 This is crazy. This is unprecedented. But for a 15 to 5 score, Damon, can we send him up again? Chef's Kiss. Well, we thank you guys so much for joining us today. We will be back tomorrow
Starting point is 01:04:33 with a 12 p.m. show. I'm not covering that game. I refuse to do another post game show. They have to go play that game. I don't have to do a show because of that game. So we'll be here at 12 p.m. doing the thing we normally do, talking about the Cardinals being a bunch of bums, and maybe doing a little throwback Thursday stuff,
Starting point is 01:04:51 taking a peek in on how the youngsters are doing in Snake Farm. Make sure to join us for that and then come back here for another postgame show on Friday when we start a real series against a real team that isn't creating weird issues for us to have to travel to additional cities too. But until then, you can follow us on social. I am at Cap underscore Caveman with a K. Damon is at Damon Dog with a DAWG,
Starting point is 01:05:13 and we're all Damon's dogs. Bark, bark. Our show is at PHNX underscore D-Backs, but all roads do lead to at PHNX underscore Sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Thank you guys for your time. We appreciate it. As I've said, time and time again,
Starting point is 01:05:26 it's your most valuable commodity. Be careful who you share it with, but thanks for sharing it with us. We'll be back tomorrow. Until then, hope you guys all have a wonderful evening, thinking about the Diamondbacks scoring 15 runs, and we'll be back here to do it again. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when you absolutely whoop the ass of one of the worst teams in baseball.

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