PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - POSTGAME: D-backs HUMILIATED by Marlins Again, Swept After Offense Hits NEW LOW

Episode Date: June 12, 2026

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ offense reached a new low on Wednesday, getting shut out for the second straight game and completing a disastrous three-game sweep at the hands of the Miami Marlins. We break down another lifeless performance at the plate that produced just three hits, Merrill Kelly’s quality start going to waste, and why we hate Otto Lope. We also fire up the Blame Game to figure out who deserves the most responsibility for the D-backs’ latest embarrassing loss, preview a crucial upcoming series against the Cincinnati Reds, and settle the most important debate of all: who cursed this team more, Shirtless Derek or the strikeout meter? 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 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.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are held to just three hits as they get swept by the Miami Marlins. We have more on this terrible loss. What the hell is wrong with this offense? And why this one is not on the starting pitching for once. Don't you go anywhere? We are starting right now. Oh, my God. What a series loss.

What a series sweep at the hands of the Marlins. This is the PHNX Diamondback show. And we are live. from Studio K, presented by our friends at Circle K. And I'm upset. And it's easy to be upset. After watching this Arizona Diamondbacks team get held to just three hits today and get shut out for this second consecutive game,

losing all three games to the Miami Marlins here and getting swept. My name is Derek Montia, occasionally known as a sad boy with an eye at the end. I am here with more of a mad boy, I would say, still with an eye at the end, but he's also a mad dog, your dog, my dog. Once again, not the Debex dog. Damon Dog, aka Damon Farrell on the ones and twos. Derek, we were, I mean, you can attest to this.

Mad boy is right, because I'm just screaming obscenities at the entire team in the final, like, I don't know, seven innings of this baseball game. Yeah, I mean, every single time they went up there. There are times where we have said this team squandered opportunities. They didn't have any opportunities today. They didn't give themselves up any opportunities. Three hits, three walks. That's all their offense could muster up.

Zero runs. And it was a pathetic ending to a three game series against the Marlins team, who, to be fair, is very good at home. But of course, before we get on to that, this is the PHNX Diamondbacks podcast, and we are brought to you by our friends over at Bet365. Bet365, where winning is everything. Unlike this show, where losing seems to be everything lately.

everything we cover, everything we do. Bet 365, though, go there if you want to win. Download the app and use our code of PHNX365 when you sign up. Also, we're brought to you by the fine folks at GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms do apply and perhaps buy tickets to something else other than this team at this time, unless you're like a masochist and you love pain.

Because watching this Diamondbacks offense has been painful, Damon. extremely painful. The Diamondbacks lose today by a score of two to nothing in case I didn't already say that three times on this show and they get swept in three games here by the Marlins. A Marlins team who, and you know, this is where Derek has to silver line this loss, are currently first in the National League with wins at home. The Marlins have 23 wins at home this season and they also rank a top MLB in the following offensive categories at home. They are second in hits.

They are second and stolen bases. They are third in doubles, tied for third in triples. They are fourth in runs and fourth also in average. Makes sense, Derek, because the Marlins have, of course, one of the most popping fan bases in baseball. So, yeah, they are just energized by the... Yeah, it's a gauntlet.

But when you... 9,000 people in attendance there at that stadium. Right. The Diamondbacks dropped to 34 and 34. And you know what? Yesterday I tried to have Damon send little Pardomo off the mountain so we could see him one last time. Who knows when we're going to see Heraldo Pardomo in his small form climb the mountain that we know as Mount 500. It just would have felt so wrong. No, you're right.

It's like it would be like lighting the cactus light after a loss. The Diamondbacks don't deserve that. That thing takes up a tremendous amount of AAA batteries. And again, it really does. It's just it burns through them like it's nobody's business. But the story of this game was the back's offense led us all down. They let everyone down.

They were shut out for the second consecutive game, giving no run support to Merrill Kelly, who allowed two runs and gave this team a quality start, despite a disastrous first inning that felt like we were going to once again see the starting pitching just crumble and fall apart against this Marlins offense. But again, Merrill Kelly doesn't put the bat in his hand and he couldn't do enough to get this offense going.

Diamondbacks lose and Merrill gets the loss and that doesn't seem fair for Merrill, you know, only allowing four hits total and two earned runs in this one. But the debacks offensively were stifled once again by the Marlins. They only had Damon one hit in their first five innings. I want to talk about the offense, but where do I talk about the offense? What offense do I talk about? and what happened to this offense in its entirety? I can't wrap my mind around it. I really can't. And with that being said,

we actually have some guys that, to be fair, have kind of started putting things together who were struggling, right? Pardomo has had some good at bats lately. He had some good at bats once again in this game. But good at bats aren't putting hits on the board. They aren't putting runs on the board. they aren't putting runs on the board and it's not enough right now for this team.

Pardomo just had the one walk. He was hitless today, 0 for 3. Catelle Marte, he had a double. The team's only extra base hit. He was one for four. No walks, no strikeouts. Corby and Carroll, 0 for 3 with two strikeouts. Gabby Moreno, 0 for 3 with a walk.

I mean, even the guys, again, that started putting it together were 04 today. Your top players let you down today, for sure. Not like the back half players didn't, but I think we expect that from those guys. And we absolutely cannot have Perdomo, Carol, Gabby Moreno in these type of games not delivering. And don't get me wrong. I mean, Tyler Phillips, this was kind of a, what, kind of a bullpen start, but not really. Tyler Phillips has been excellent this year for the Marlins. He has a 1.86 ERA in 19 games.

He has a 1.30 whip. I mean, he's just not, the Diamondbacks just had no answer for him today. And it's crazy to say that, but the Marlins do have one of the better bullpens in the league. And they prove that today by essentially having that entire bullpen kick our ass and not allow, you know, more than three hits in this game. Phillips gave up two hits, two walks. He struck out five, no earn runs. No earn runs by the bullpen. One hit allowed by Bender.

But aside from that, everybody else was. was scoreless in this one. And the Diamondbacks just struck out a lot. They couldn't put stuff together. They couldn't put anything together today. I mean, I was shocked to see, Damon, that they were 0 for seven today with runners in scoring position. Because you didn't think they had that many runners in scoring position.

I was like, where did these seven opportunities with runners and scoring position even come from? I was befuddled, if you will. I mean, there was those like, what was it, three and four innings that they got a guy on with less than two outs in runners and scoring position. and they weren't able to get that guy across one single time. Yeah, like in the seventh inning, right? You got Groover gets a hit. He gets one of their three hits today. He gets over to third base on a error.

Yep. And was 90 feet away from scoring the Diamondbacks first run with just one out. Tommy Troy strikes out. And that just felt huge. Striking out with just the one out felt huge. And it didn't allow, obviously, you know, sack fly, that run to come across the plate. That's really what the Marlins did better than the Diamondbacks in this entire series

was plating runners. A lot of them were with sack flies. I mean, we're going to get to it. But my God, if you will believe this, if you will believe this, the Diamondbacks and the Marlins both had the exact same amount of runners in scoring position in this game as the Diamondbacks. They both had 30 runners in scoring position throughout this series. It's the most shocking stat I've ever.

ever heard. It's staggering. Staggering. And then when Tommy Troy strikes out with two outs there with Grover on third, Adrian Delt Castillo comes in as a pinch hitter and he walks, but then Jorge Brosa struck out. Brosa was one of the batters that delivered their other hit in this game.

But Diamondbacks held to just three hits and three walks total. I mean, this is a, this is a, we have to have a team meeting moment. This is a turning over the Gator bottle in the in the locker room or whatever the hell something needs to be broken because this

offense is broken oh and don't even get me started on how much we hate auto lopez i never want to see auto lopez's name ever again in fact i don't even think he's a real person because of someone named auto lopez coming from canada is still a shock seven hits in the series m lb the show create a player he does that sounds like it feels like it feels like it sounds like it. It's like when we properly assess Dalton rushing as a villain and he has become one since then and has been all season long. He plays like he's an MLB the show too somehow, Derek. Like he hits 350 just like Myra to the show player does when he's in double A. The D-backs had 19 hits total in the series. Otto Lopez himself had seven.

I don't know what else to say. I mean, today again, it was it was shocking how bad the Diamondbacks offense was. And when you look at, you know, their expected batting average in this game was 141. Hilariously, their hard hit percentage was 52.9 because they didn't hit very many balls. They did use one challenge. But again, they apparently feel like they get to take two challenges home with them now that they hit the one and they have two more. They get to put them in their pocket and take. I mean, Gabrielle Moreno had one. Once again, as a batter, not behind the plate.

And I want to say this. We talked about this a lot. Again, I know it's crazy. The Diamondbacks still have one of the highest success rates in baseball as far as ABS usage. But that's only because they hardly ever use it. That's it. And this is another case of that. They went one for one.

Armani says in the chat, they're just a terrible baseball team. I can't agree with that. I can't disagree with that. Excuse me. Well, right now, I mean, last two weeks ago, we weren't saying that. Right now they're playing like the worst team in the entire sport. Isn't it crazy how quickly baseball, especially if all sports can change, considering that it's like it's every day.

So you don't get, you don't get very many days in between without games. And when a team is struggling like this, it's just, it beats down on you. It beats down on them as players and people that are in the organization. And it beats down on us as fans. This has been a frustrating stretch to watch ever since the start of that Marlin series when they got swept by that team, right? Hopefully this is the bookends on a very, very terrible stretch for the Diamondbacks. because they have a Cincinnati Reds team that is that they're taking on that has not been playing very good baseball.

Now it would be a great time for their offense to wake up and for this pitching staff to deliver some quality starts as Merrill Kelly did today for this team. But Merrill got no run support. There's only so much Merrill can do, you know. And again, Cotel Marte had three hard hit balls today and he's right back into that rut, Damon, of having those those balls that he tattooed. go right to a defender, right? Corvin Carroll, again, had himself a hard hit ball today. Three hard hit balls for Lou James Groover as well, right? So these guys were getting a hold of them,

but again, there was some terrific defense from the Marlins, so you got to tip your cap to them as well because they did their best whenever the Diamondbacks did have a decently struck ball of, you know, robbing them of those hits. but again, 141 batting average, expected batting average today. Overall, their expected stats as a team are in the bottom 10, bottom five of baseball. Their OPS has dropped them now, Damon, as a team. I don't know if this includes today, but they were 24th coming into play today with the 695 OPS.

Just one of the worst offensive teams in baseball. Not good enough. We expected them to be different offensively. I don't think we expected them to be this shockingly inconsistent. Yeah. I don't feel like I remember very many shutouts last year, let alone back-to-back consecutive shutouts from this team. Well, there was.

It was I remember I told you during the game. The last one was that Pirate series last year. And let me find the- That's right. That is right. Where we hit Rock Bottom last year. And we lost, what, 13 to nothing to one? of those in one of those games?

Yeah, it was a really bad loss. Let me find the exact total of runs that were scored there. Hayden in the chat says, don't worry, guys, we have the Cardinals in like 100 days to make us even more disappointed. Don't remind me. At least we do have the Cardinals. Oh, God. I don't know, man.

I'll say that right now this offense is once again trying to do too much. And you just feel like they are far better than what they are doing. and yeah, I will say that, again, this is not ideal. This is not the roster that they intended to put out there this year. Not to say that the roster that they would have put out is much better. However, Jordan Lawler is currently having rehab games or participating in rehab games in AAA Reno, and I imagine he is going to be back here very soon.

Probably I don't want to say the Red Series, but I'm hopeful that it's the Red Series considering that he's here in AAA Reno having rehab starts that feels like he's very close. I imagine it's based on, you know, how he's doing there. I don't necessarily feel like, you know, that he's the end-all be-all of the offense

and going to make everything better, but you do feel like the Diamondbacks need to get some players back and you need to get, you know, again, perhaps some... Some juice, right? Something, something to give you that pop again. I mean, we and Derek, we unfortunately, and when I say we, I include myself in this. Sadly, I wish that I wasn't included in this because I usually hold out so strong. But we thought Pavin Smith maybe could be that guy.

Like we were like, oh, bring Pavin Smith back. He's at least better than ADC. Hoped is probably, we hoped he would be that guy. I feel better about Jordan Lawler, Derek. But, yeah, it seems like we're maybe a little bit grasping at straws here for. for a particular player to come help us out. I think Jordan Lawler is definitely a guy that is better than what the back end of this roster is producing right now, though.

No doubt. It's, you're 100% right because when it comes to pitching. Oh, and by the way, for some reason, I know you had the right scorebug up there, but we're back to the 80 scorebug, and I don't want to look at that. I don't want to ever look at. And 80, 20, a million to zero.

It's 16 to 0, 17 to 0. It really does feel like, again, you can sit here and talk yourself into Corbyn's, J. Puck, and Justin Martinez returning, and giving you whatever spark you need for the pitching staff. But you cannot say the same thing about the offense. There's, you know, obviously Lord of Scurriel Jr. might give you something offensively. I don't feel like he is going to be that, you know, that savior either.

Neither is Jordan Waller. These guys will help. And again, the young guys. are showing their inexperience a little bit by, you know, but in their at bats and, you know, in some of these moments. However, it's still great for them to get major league playing time. This is still just not the roster that they intended it to be. And once again, this Diamondbacks team has been impacted by injuries piling up and causing them to have a lack of their experienced major leaguers here available. Yeah. I think that Derek, my biggest problem is just that like it felt

like there wasn't like a level of seriousness taken at certain positions when trying to fill them this off season. And there was a limited amount of resources. Don't get me wrong. I understand that. And after you signed Zach, I think you ended up probably using majority of the money that you kind of had set to the side for spending this off season in particular. But I mean, how much better would this team look right now if instead of Zach Allen they had a D8, a legitimate D.H option and maybe another bench bat. You know what I mean? And like, it's not like Zach Gallen's helping you win baseball games. I feel like Brandon fought is going to give you a similar performance as Zach Gallen right now. Yeah. And I'd rather have Gino as our DH right now. You know what I mean? Like, and I'm not,

that's blindly saying that without even really knowing what his numbers are in Cincinnati, just because I know that we could use that type of power hitter that is going to go up there and be a home run threat every time he's up at the plate because, you know, as much as people were saying, oh, the debacks were two home runner bust last year, that offense was so much better than the one that we're watching right now. It was one of the best offenses in baseball. I don't understand this offseason like idea that was going on that like we need to stray away from the offense that was top 10 in baseball, top five in baseball. The offense wasn't the problem. The pitching was the problem.

Yeah. And honestly, anybody that was having those takes and off season of like, we needed to get a little bit less swing and miss. Those guys have egg on their face right now because it, very clearly, we need somebody that can go up there and put the ball over the fence and change a game like this,

Eric, where it's two oh. And you just need someone to step up and come through and put a guy on home plate. Put a guy across the base paths. I know who that guy is. Tim Tawa. Okay.

He's hitting 419. with a 1 1439 OPS right now. Yeah, you're right here. It's Tim Tawa. Get him back here. Let's take a quick break on the other side of this break. We are going to talk about Merrill Kelly and the pitching staff and how this is definitely not their fault today.

And we're also going to eventually actually play the blame game and talk about whose fault it is. Don't you go anywhere? You're watching the P.HNX Diamondback show. Well, Bet365 wants to help make watching baseball more fun than this Diamondbacks team right now wants to make watching baseball fun and you can do that. It's really not hard, right? But Bet365 can help you do that if you're a new user right now.

Get in on the best deal that they got. Bet 10 get $200 in bonus bets deal. All new users do right now or have to do sign up and make their first $10 bet. Bet365 will toss you $200 in bonus bets. Win or lose. It's a lot easier than waiting for this Diamondbacks offense to wake up right now. But speaking of this team waking up, eventually they're going to do that. And of course, it's great time to bet on the Diamondbacks when they do.

But, you know, just because your team loses doesn't mean you have to. And if you bet on the opposition and they go up by five runs or more, you are a winner regardless of the outcome of the game. So you can maybe hope for an early lead from whoever we're playing. And then I hope the Diamondbacks still come back. That way you're a winner, they're a winner, and everyone wins. So that counts for straight bets and parlay. selections which will be marked as winners as well. So download the app right now and use our code of

PHNX 365 when you do. Bet365 where winning is everything. Gambling problem, call winning under gambler. 21 and over only must be physically located in Arizona. Terms and conditions apply in app only. And you know, I love our friends up at Pure Edibles. Pure Edibles was founded right here in Flagstaff, Arizona. The noble herb dispensary, Derek. I've seen it with my own eyes. The legendary noble herb dispensary. I mean, it was. like being at Mecca. It was literally the start of it all. And it's right there, right there in this, beautiful state we live in. Of course, that dispensary brings you this wonderful collaboration with Mother Road Brewery, another iconic institution of Flagstaff, the home of the Tower Station IPA.

One of Derek's favorite beers, one of the greatest IPAs this state has ever produced. These two wonderful brands and companies came together to give us the Tower Station IPA all in one, specifically designed for me. I was their lab rat. I was the entire marketing idea behind this. No, I kid, but thankfully they did bring us this new offering that captures the crisp citrus and piney hops of Arizona's favorite IPA, but with a smooth THD twist and an all-in-one device. No pouring, no waiting, just a good tasting high whenever you want it. Plus pure edibles, of course, has their first. full line of candy. They're a full-fledged candy company offering gummies, kicks, which are their

version of Starbursts, chews, which are soft candies like carmels and hard candies. And those come in a variety of delicious flavors and delicious effects, which are clearly listed on each tin. So go find yourself some pure edibles products from one of over 150 dispensaries across Arizona, now including True Leaf. And Damon Saw, got a little bag on my desk that might or might not have some pure edibles in it. From True Leaf. From True Leave. May or may not.

Allegedly. Allegedly. I mean, I think I deserve it after watching this three-game series and having to do post-game shows. That's what they make pure edibles for. Oh, that is exactly what they were designed for. Play some video games. Yeah. Do some power wash simulator, maybe, Derek.

Oh, that sounds like a great afternoon. Doesn't that sound like maybe maybe. That sounds like so much more fun than watching the Diamondbacks lose and get shut out. Absolutely. But I'm saying like that's. A little pro wrestling. That's a little palette cleanser for you. Feel free to use that later.

I got to catch up on NXT because, you know, I'm a big fan of that brand. But speaking of this team losing games today, this was not on Merrill Kelly. Even though Kelly did start this game awfully, awfully, Damon. I mean, he was as bad as you could imagine in the first 10 minutes without giving up a home run. And I can't explain it other than I just watched. in a horror like this the whole time from the very first at bat. It seemed like Merrill could not get anyone out at all. He did get some good defense behind him that definitely helped him up. But he gave up a lead-off single to Liam Hicks, followed by, you guessed it, an Otto Lopez single.

But Hicks tried to extend his reach from second to third, and Corbyn Carroll made an outstanding throwing throw to get him out at third base. So kudos to Corbyn for delivering one of the few moments of joy that I experienced watching this particular baseball game. But then he walked Kyle Stowers and then Lopez was thrown out stealing at third, which was momentarily joyful to me, for me, until once again the Marlins challenged that play and it was reviewed and overturned. Of course, of course Otto Lopez would score on the very next batter. Xavier Edwards brings him home with a sack fly, puts the Marlins up one to nothing. And I mean, Damon, I'm not even kidding you.

Between the walk to Stowers, the hits, like Merrill wasn't hitting his spots. Merrill wasn't hitting the zone. I mean, this was like, it verged in the first 10 minutes on yes hitter territory where I was, I was seriously wondering if Merrill was even going to be able to record it out. Yeah, it was, it was one of these classic D-back. games that are just over from the start. That was what it looked like at least. And then he got Xavier,

Sanoa to pop out and got out of the inning somehow with only allowing the one run. And then Kelly did what Kelly does, right? I mean, he looks shaky. Maybe he gives up a home run for that first run. Maybe he's not necessarily perfect. But he settled in from that point, and he sat down the next six batters in a row.

And then in the fourth, he got into a little bit more trouble, gave up another run. He walked stout. again as a lead-off hitter and gave up a single to Xavier Edwards. Then with two outs and runners on the corners, Jacob Marcy singled scoring Stowers and putting the Marlins up two to nothing. And that's all the runs the Marlins would score, right?

So on a game, any game this entire goddamn season, where this Diamondbacks pitching staff was able to hold a team to two lousy runs, felt like it could win unless we were facing off against Paul. skeins, right? But instead, no. We get no offense from this team. And it was like we were facing skeins once again. Kelly, after giving up that run in that inning, would go on to sit down the next, I believe, seven batters in a row once again. So Kelly was great today. He wasn't perfect, but he was great today. And even when he struggled early to find the zone and, you know, get batters out, he locked in.

You know, he does what Merrill Kelly does. Here is his, let's take a look at his pitch chart. His change-up was good today. He threw a nice, decent mix of pitches today, 23% change-up, 23% force him, 20% curveball. Then he threw the sinker in the cutter, 12% each, the slider 9%. But he just didn't get a lot of swing and miss today from the Marlins hitters. And to be fair, after watching this team for three games, their hitters are good. good good solid contact baseball players and they're like pests you know and like that's kind of like

that's a very very big compliment from absolutely from my standpoint yeah 100% I mean and again is change up change up was good landed outside of the zone too much that was probably the biggest problem with his change up couldn't couldn't quite hit the corners there enough to make um you know to to keep marlin's hitters honest basically you know and he only got one whiff on it in this outing. His four seam fastball maxed out at 93.9 miles per hour, but average 91.8. Again, not great. We poke fun at Paul Seawald a lot, and there's quite a few guys that seem to throw up

four seam fastball that are right in the same neighborhood as Seawald's. He got two whiffs on his four seam today. Three whiffs total, that's it. Just got the one on the changeup and two on his four seam. So he was not fooling batters. But once again, this seems to be, this is a start that falls right into the category of the Diamondbacks pitching game plan this year, which is to pitch to contact and, you know, not really worry about getting strikeouts and getting flashy outings, you know, just going out there and keeping the score low and getting out. That plays right into, I think, Merrill Kelly's game plan. And I think it also is the reason why Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Soroka have also been so successful this year, even though once again, I'm an idiot when it comes to talking about Michael Soroka's ground ball percentages and what he's actually trying to do.

You're also the guy who called Michael Soroka the best signing in the off season. So you're either you're kind of on both ends of the spectrum here when it comes. I really am. You should tell Michael Soroka that and he might actually then start respecting your opinion a little bit. Look, I will say this. Soroka is an incredibly nice guy. As a matter of fact, I went up to ask him a question, and he was, he just was just incredible.

Like all I just wanted to talk to him about, who was the Diamondbacks, you know, union representative. But Soroka has been by far the most pleasant surprise. Merrill Kelly here, once again, I think makes us feel a little bit better that Merrill is in that camp. And I still feel like Ryan Nelson is still in that camp. So even though things are kind of a disaster right now, they aren't you know i don't think it's as bad as everybody is making it out to be especially with

the pitching staff it's just a sudden changed versus what we were experienced they were just really dialed in for a stretch and they were also playing some teams that were struggling that we were just better than uh again though look back now at what the rockies and the giants have both done since those games and you would see that that give the debacks a little bit more credit for going 11 and 2 over that stretch, right? Just like we should point our fingers and say bad about what they've done over this stretch, right? This stretch has been the exact opposite of that stretch. It's gross how bad this is.

What are they 2 and 10 now? 3 and 10, 3 and 10 over their last 13 games. So basically that's why they're back to 500. These last 26 games have done nothing to tell us what this team is. other than frustrating and inconsistent. That's what they are. But Merrill Kelly again deserves his flowers because he was good today. Six innings pitch.

Four hits allowed. Two earn runs, two walks. One strikeout. Power or up, Damon. Let's turn on the circle case strikeout meter. It's one of those big plugs that you don't necessarily have an outlet for in every house. One strikeout today for Merrill. Woo!

And, you know, we brought some allegations. against the Circle K strikeout meter yesterday considering that this team has not been very good since we brought our friend here back to the show, Damon. But yesterday our friend Zabe from Oakley made some accusations

towards me taking my shirt off. That were pretty damning, Derek, including one that was thrown at you as we were closing out the show. She did it right as we were outroing the show last night and she had already made an earlier

accusation that the TARPs off episode of this podcast may be to blame for the Diamondbacks only winning one out of their last six games. That's what they've done since then. Since TARPs off, they won one game against the Nationals, lost two, and now they got swept here by the Marlins. And I took that personally. However, there was some new information brought to us right before. New accusations brought towards me specifically right before the end of the episode. And that was that when I went shirts off after the Diamondbacks won the 2023 NLCS, things didn't exactly go our way in the World Series. They also went one in one and one one out of five. Every time Derek takes off his shirt, we fall off of an absolute cliff,

I think is the the moral of the story here. That's usually not the case. I mean, When it's usually not the case. When I took my shirt off, it's a good time. Good things happen when I take my shirt off, at least for me. You're batting a thousand right now, Derek. You're batting a thousand on this podcast. So I don't know what usually you're talking about. But what affects me, what affects everybody here in this chat, you're screwing us,

Montia, screwing us. What do I do? Do I put on more clothes? Yeah, you put on more clothes. How do I stop having so much fun? Maybe you become like an angry. guy instead of like a happy like celebration guy. I can help you with my ways if that's something that you want to get in on.

There are few people that are as good at making me angry as you are, Damon. You know that. You know that. But this team, this team makes me angry. This team makes me angry. And it's no fault to the bullpen. Bullpen today. Fine.

Fine. Brandon Garcia, one inning pitch, one walk, two strikeouts. Paul Seawald put some respect on his name. He can actually come into a. a game that isn't a safe situation and be effective. Imagine that. One inning, one hit, one strike out. Reverse it, Derek.

Take your pants off next. Oh, well. That's the same ball. Look, David's the one that's going to have to deal with that all episodes. So I will Winnie the Pooh the hell out of this situation if it means getting this offense back on track. I mean, that's just what Derek's willing to do for this franchise. Oh, my God.

And you're going to say Derek doesn't care. Yeah, I... He's willing to go Winnie the Pooh mode for this team. I care too much, in fact. This team's ruining my life right now. Ruining my life. And we have to figure out whose fault that is. But you know whose fault it's not Merrill Kelly?

He is our King Snake for today. He's the only player that deserves any kind of kudos or flowers. Again, six innings pitched for Merrill, two earn runs, four hits allowed, one strikeout, two walks. Well, we're going to take a quick break on the other side of this break. We're going to once again play the blame game, and we're just adding to it. We got some music now for it. And I think you all know who's to blame today, but we'll do some debating about who else is to blame. Yeah, it's always.

We should have an Otto Lopez button on the blame game. Yeah, I mean, anytime we play the Marlins, we need to add an Otto Lopez button. An Otto Lopez button. Oh, God, that man. I'm sick of him. But all right, we will be right back. Don't you guys go anywhere? You're watching the PHNX Diamondback show.

Well, the World Cup is here, folks. We're having, it's happening. We got, our guy, Cool bro. Cool bro. He's already over baseball. He's already locked into soccer. And of course, you should be too. But because it's time.

The biggest sporting event in the world is right here coming to our backyard. We got all sorts of watch parties coming up, including right now today, going on for Mexico versus South Africa. We also have one tomorrow for USA versus Paraguay and all these other watch parties. So make sure to join us. And make sure when you join us, you get yourself a Don Julio. 1942. More importantly, stop by your local retailer wherever you get your wonderful bottles of tequila and get yourself this icon, this legend for any, for any celebration, but mostly in honor of the

World Cup. We got three bottles made to be raised from our friends of Don Julio 1942. These are trophies that everyone can take home, including this beautiful trophy version for legends on and off the field. They have their original for icons of celebration and of course the mini for small, but once again, iconic moment. So take home a special edition of Don Julio 1942 that honors the artistry of tequila making a symbol as timeless as the beautiful game itself and inspired by the FIFA World Cup trophy. Join us for our watch parties and make sure when you do, you make it a Don Julio. Whether you're at your favorite spot stocking up for home or just grabbing one of these beauties to put on your bar to display until the end of time. Once again, make it a Don

Julio 1942. And guess what? The Arizona Heat is here to stay. Not just for the weekend, not for a little while. It's like an insufferable guest that comes to your house after, you know, again, having no no, like direction in their life. You have no idea how long they're staying here for. That's the Arizona Heat. It's a pest and you need to keep it out of your life. Windows are the main culprits that let that eat in. And let's be honest, you haven't changed your windows in a very long time. I'm being specifically directing this at some of you and you know who you are. So head out to the window depot. Get yourself some new windows. Help you save money. Help keep that hot air out and your cool air in. And also upgrade your windows. Make it look beautiful. Make your house look better. It's

something we should all be doing. And the window depot wants to help us do that. They have more than just windows. They have countertops, cabinets, doors and a whole lot more. They have the best price in the biggest inventory and it's why contractors love the window depot they have unbeatable prices plus they have job site ready quantities at all time they also have in-house designers that are there to help you plan your space at no extra cost at all so if you're procrastinator like me you don't even know how to get started head on into the window depot from counters to cabinets they make it simple and more importantly you can shop online and pick up in store browse an order directly at the window depot dot com with real-time access to in-stock products at your near-endestown

location, get what you need, when you need it, the window depot, more than just a window store. And, Emin, it's that time again. It's new, but it's already a staple of this show and a staple of any loss that the Diamondbacks experience. It is time to play the blame game. Let's do that, shall we? I feel like a god when you put me up on this billboard. Like I said, I feel like I'm looking at all the people stuck in traffic on the I-17

right now. Damon, we got another case of who to blitz. lame here and I don't think this one is hard at all. Yesterday's was pretty easy. We could just turn on all the buttons even though you and I disagreed a little bit about defense overall in that one. There was a terrible play made by Walt Schmidt and Tommy Troy. Today, and the defense was fine, not spectacular, but again, good enough to get Merrill Kelly out of a few jams without too many runs scoring and overall didn't make a ton of mistakes or anything that was egregious. Pitching not a problem. Pitching was not a problem for the Diamondbacks.

today. I mean, again, your expectations are far too high if you are ever mad that the bullpen gives up a run or if, you know, a starting pitcher goes out there and gives up three earned runs or less. Three earned runs should be enough to give you a chance to win a baseball game. Quite frankly, this team right now, it's the offense. It's the batting. Badding is atrocious. And we could light that, that one up as bright as it could be because Damon, this one is, this is bad. This is bad. This offense is. is so bad right now. Yeah, it's just the worst offense you can possibly imagine. And it feels like no one can get the big hit. Like they're getting runners on as evidenced by the amount of runners in scoring position that they have having this, you know, by the numbers graphic that we'll show you later in the show here. But they got opportunities.

No one wants the bat in their hands when it comes up to getting these, you know, these runners across home plate right now. And it shows because you can tell that this offense is just sputtering. The way that the Diamondbacks go cold as a team offensively, as a whole, should be studied by science. And I'm sure they are not the only team that experienced this, but it's wild considering what hitting coach Joe Mather has been able to do with this offense over the past three seasons versus how bad it's been. I mean, we were considering giving Joe Mather a statue for how good this team has been offensively over his tenure here overall. this year has been probably as confounding to him as it has been to us.

And I say that because we get such good offensive performances at times. And those offensive performances rarely lead to this team getting into a groove. Even during that 11 and 2 stretch over those 13 games, there were a lot of games won where the Diamondbacks offense did not produce. Right. It was over that stretch and over the month of May, a lot of it had to do with those 17 quality. starts by starting pitching, which again, another quality start today by Merrill Kelly. And that is

why pitching is not the problem here in this one. This one is offense. And again, it just feels like from that first inning, you know, you see them in the first inning start to get something cooking. Yeah, it doesn't kind of happen. But over these last couple of games, that's, that's where you felt like, okay, they're putting together some good at bats early. This is going to translate into, you know, perhaps the second time through the lineup, some success. some, you know, some base runners and, you know, hopefully some scoring opportunities. Oh, for nine today. They had scoring opportunities. This was a two-nothing game. It's not like they went without having scoring opportunities or runners in scoring position, even on a day where they only

had three hits, but they also had three walks and they were able to get runners over and just could never get that big hit. That seems to collectively be what's wrong with this team. It's not just with runners in scoring position, but it's in general, when the rest of the team is struggling, it feels like every single at bat, every single batter is trying to hit three home runs. The problem is that even when you get a good performance here and there

from guys like Moreno and Perdomo who have been putting, you know, putting some things together recently, it still feels like you never get that big, you know, that big day from someone else that can help you get those runs in and drive those guys in when they get on base.

it's just been dreadful to watch this offense. And then again, blame game, not on the defense, but going to put it on Tori. Going to put it on Tori because, again, I don't know what is happening with this offense. I don't know how to fix it, but it does not feel like they are doing enough to manufacture runs,

to use what little they have going on to, you know, to produce. It feels like today could have been one of those days, had they been a bit more strategic, that they could have gotten some runs across the board and perhaps stolen this finale instead of getting swept by the Marlins. Plus motivation seems to be a factor here, right? And again, you got to put that on the manager when it comes to figuring out how to motivate your guys. I know it's only June 11th, and I know it's not time to necessarily panic. I also know that this Marlins team, as we said earlier, is very good at home. So I don't want to take away credit from how good they were in this series.

But getting shut out in two consecutive games, it's hard to just blame it on the offense at this point. And, you know, when I have people in this office coming to me and asking me about Tori Lavallo's managing, you know, things are bad. Because these guys are too busy to even pay attention to what we're doing over here on the baseball show. And they're still like, what the hell is going on with your team? Like, it's my fault. Like it's my fault. I'm not to blame. You don't see Derek down there.

Elizabeth was trying to make me one of those categories, but I'm up here on the billboard. I am not down there on one of these signs. But Damon, agree, disagree. What are your thoughts here? Yeah, I'm with you, Derek. I think batting, you know, if we could light it up a hundred times we would. It's obvious the batting is a complete disaster.

The offense is a complete disaster right now. And then I think from a managerial standpoint, you know, yesterday we talked about it on the show. Me and Derek are both of the opinion that firing Tori midseason isn't necessarily going to be like the franchise changing move that something in this fan base seemed to think. His contract's expiring at the end of the year. The debacks continue to sputter. He will not be back next season.

So I don't think that that's much to worry about. He might not be back next season regardless of how they do. Well, I think if they make playoffs, they'll bring him back. Or if they're above 500 and they just kind of get screwed out of a final spot or something. that is assuming. That is assuming Tori Lavala wants to come up and come back and put up with this anymore. Oh, I think he would. Oh, I know he would.

I know he would. He loves this more than he loves anything in life. But I'm just saying, uh, I, I, Tori, Tori had a fool, had a hair when he started this job. This is true. This is true. We caught him at a bad time, though, to be fair. I think just in general, all I was going to say, I meant bad time in his like hair life. His hair life.

Yeah, exactly. Uh, the manager wears this because the team has been so lifeless. recently. Yeah. And he's got to figure out a way to inject some life into the squad. Yeah. And he clearly has not been able to do so. No.

So that's what is Tori's fault. And the constant lack of offense, the constant lack of fire, I think that is something that he primarily squarely has to wear because that's, that's his main role, right, is being a motivator, being kind of that dad in the clubhouse. And yet it feels like these guys are just dejected right now. That's a good point. Also, it's Miami. And I have this suspicion, Damon, considering you know Miami as well as you know Miami,

that that city might play some sort of role here in why the Marlins have such a good home record, just saying, might not just be Lone Depot. Oh, you're saying that maybe like Cattel and the Lourdes and the guys that maybe spend a little bit of time, Jerry, you spend a little bit of time in Miami and the off season might have been hanging out with some of their friends that they have in South Florida. I'm I'm that that seems like reckless speculation that I would never do Damon I'm just saying in general that might be something that plays into the trap that Miami has just in general for any baseball team true if if it's especially a problem in the NBA huge home court advantage in that regard if I if I go there I'm

I'm flying to Puerto Rico at some point there's a series here if it's just for a day trip I'm there's a live nightclub in the Miami Heat arena by the way that's but yeah no it is insane that's why you see like the lower bowls sometimes are empty because the rich people are all in the club actually actively in the middle of the game. That makes sense. And they called the Morty nightclub. Get out of here.

That has an actual nightclub in it. But yeah, I mean, I feel like, yeah, Miami, you know, but those guys, the guys that the guys that play on the Marlins also live in Miami. They also experience that. We need our guys. If that truly happened, Derek, unacceptable. I'll come out and say, I'll be the first to say that. Definitely.

It didn't. It didn't have a lot. on the line and we're going out and partying. Unsubstantiated rumor, by the way. Unsubstantiated rumor, but nonetheless, we like to recklessly speculate on this podcast. Ryan, this hurts me because Ryan in our chat says, I guess it would fall under manager slash Derek as far as this loss is concerned. And all I can think is one week ago today, I was in this man's arms spinning around on the

concourse of level three at Chase Field, getting high fives from strangers who, who were just walking by and giving me high fives as I held my arms out like this. And now here we are at each other's throats, blaming each other. Right, Ryan, that seems unfair. But let's take a look at the numbers from this entire series because as you can see,

there's some gross stuff to talk about here. How? How? Damon? How? I'll tell you how. That third number right there in the middle. How?

I'll tell you exactly how. Oh, God. It's insane. Every time that there was runner in scoring position and a diamond back came up to hit. Double play. He failed. Failed. Strike out.

Pissed down his leg. Lights are too bright. Right. And then every time a Marlin got up to put the plate with a runner and corner position, somehow it was Otto Lopez and he snuck one through the infield. Every single time. Diamondbacks get outscored 20 to 6 in the series. They get out hit just 20 to 19.

Both teams had just two home runs. Make it make sense. Rudderson's scoring position, as Damon said, though, two for 30 for the Diamondbacks, a 067 batting average versus the Marlins who got it done, 10 for 30, 333. Also, this ERA, disgusting. 7.63 for the Diamondbacks, 7 for the starting staff for the Diamondbacks, 7.27 for the relievers for the Diamondbacks. Marlins meanwhile, 1.26 starting pitching ERA and 2.13 bullpenny RA. Gross. Just gross.

I don't know what else to say about that. I mean, but overall, almost want to tear my hair out at the idea that the Diamondbacks got one less hit than the Marlins in this series. They got the same number of home runs. And yet here we sit at being outscored 20. to six in a three-game sweep. Peace, Piochi says, I am traumatized regarding the Marlins. Yeah. Feels like that.

Yeah, I don't know. It feels like we never beat the Marlins. I don't know why, but it really truly does. Yeah, it really does. But let's take a quick break on the other side of this break. We are going to preview their upcoming series with the Cincinnati Reds. And hopefully the debacks can get things back on track there. Don't you guys go anywhere?

You are watching the P.H. Next time in Back show. Well, there is a lot of action going on, including the NBA Finals World Cup. And if you are looking for the ultimate spot to watch these games, place a few bets, grab some drinks and make a whole day out of it. You got to check out Heela River Resorts and Casinos. It is Arizona's number one casino destination, and they seriously know how to do sports right. Every bet MGM sportsbook is built for fans with wall-to-wall TVs, giant screens, incredible viewing setups, and most importantly, flexible ways to bet while all of the action is happening.

So whether you're sweating out that same game parlay, rooting on your favorite Arizona sports team or perhaps one of those two teams there in the NBA finals or just looking for the best game day atmosphere in Arizona, this is the place to be. Grab your crew, celebrate the big wins, and enjoy everything. Heal of River Resorts and Casinos has to offer. Heal of River Resorts and Casinos all the ways you do you. Visit play atheela.com for more details. And there are plenty of amazing real estate agents in Arizona, but one is at the top, and that is Kim Caballero with Kim Caballero real estate. Previously, Kim has been working in the Arizona business realm for over 25 years, and now she's helping Arizona families with both buying and selling. And with a network of investors, builders, and developers, she'll help you give, she'll give you insider insight on property potential, helping you see opportunities that others may miss.

I'm now a proud owner of a house in Cathedral City, California. I might need Kim's help dealing with that one for sure. She would be the first person I would call. And that's not even here in Arizona. But I trust Kim and you should too. Because when you work with Kim, your interests are always her top priority. And you'll never get passed off to another agent. Kim has proven strategies to help both buyers and sellers secure the best possible terms.

And she will guide you every step of the way. And that is something that can help take a lot of the stress off of you when you are buying your home or particularly selling in your home. I mean, that is something that has a lot of questions, a lot of gray areas. So make sure you contact Kim. And for any PHNX fan and refer someone to Kim that ends up buying or selling their home with her, you'll receive two lower level tickets to a Cardinals home game of your choice this year, $100 gift certificate for the PHNX store, merchandise locker,

and a one-year premium level membership for PHNX. Kim and her husband have lived here in Arizona for over 25 years, and she understands what truly matters when choosing a home. Let Kim put her local expertise to work for you. Call Kim Caballero at 480-489-50-12. That's 480-489-5012, and tell her the mayor of P.HNX sent you. And make sure you say PHNX, because there's some people that still call me the mayor of Phoenix. Those people reside in Las Vegas mostly, but things can be confusing there,

especially if you go Google Mayor of Phoenix and don't see my face. But Damon, speaking of some things, that we need help with. The Diamondbacks need help getting their offense going. And maybe, just maybe the Cincinnati Reds are the right team to do that against. The D-backs are eight and five in their last 13 games against the Reds, and they have won four of their last five series dating back to August of last year. But let's take a look here at the Reds this season.

They haven't had themselves a great year. They are currently at the bottom of their division, but that is a very, very strong National League Central that they are not able necessarily to do much in with how good that division is. Give me one second here, Derek. I apologize. I did not get it into our stream. No, no, no worries, no worries at all.

But again, Reds here are 32 and 35 this season. So not a terrible record at all to be at the bottom of their very competitive division. And with the way the Cubs are playing lately, they might be there soon too. But let's help keep the Reds there. Let's help keep the Reds there. Again, 32 and 35 with a minus 54 run differential. They are 3 and 7 in their last 10 games,

so they have been struggling a little bit as well. They have a team OPS of 708, which is tied for 17th. Again, the Diamondbacks coming into play today at a 695 OPS, which is 24th. And that's just bad, so bad. Starting ERA here for the Reds, a 4.55, starting ERA which is 23rd and a 5.13 bullpen ERA which is almost last in baseball and they are not the Rocky

so again this might be a good chance for the Diamondbacks to catch a team that does not have very good pitching right now and hopefully you know can get that offense back on track defensively they've been fine they have seven outs above average which is good for 11th in Major League Baseball but overall the Diamondbacks are going to have to jump all over this pitching staff and you know give give their start some run support here. This cannot go the way that this Marlins series went. Simply put, if you find yourself, if the Diamondbacks are putting up two runs, zero runs, and such in this

series, it might be time to start making plans for Cancun in October. But let's take a look at the pitching probabilities here for both teams. And this, of course, is brought to you by our friends at one AZ credit union, one AZ credit union rooted in Arizona and rooted in your financial success. Let's take a look here at who the Diamondbacks will be sending in the series against the Reds. We got Eduardo Rodriguez, Michael Soroka, and Zach Gallen. And somehow, some way, Derek, Zach Gallen, yet again, gets the best pitcher in the series for the opposing team as his matchup. That's fair. That's three series in a row at least.

I don't remember dating back to four, but we got Otani, Max Meyer, and Andrew Abbott in three games in a row. all three pitchers are worlds better than what Zach Gallen is doing right now and are almost guaranteed losses going into the series. You're just like, oh, okay, chalk the gallon game up to an L. I mean, Andrew Abbott has a 4.10 ERA. And like you said, he is their best starter. So that is saying something about the red staff right now. For sure. He's been disappointing too, though. Like, he's probably a little bit better of a pitcher than his ERA shows. And 410 for us, like that's, I mean, a 410 for the Arizona Diamondbacks like gets you into the team Hall of Fame. So I'm not going to scoff at that or turn my nose up at that. No, no, you're right. I'm not trying to do that. But I will say that here when it

comes to Gallen, the reason why that is the case is because Gallen started on opening day, right? So the way that pitching staffs line up and the way things line up, he is going to catch the best pitcher on the opposing team a lot, even though that kind of does get money throughout the season, right? It usually does. done by this point of the year. And stuff like that. Exactly. It's usually like that's out the window typically by, you know, you would assume by the end of May about.

And now we're in June. And he's still seemingly just getting every team's top pitcher guaranteeing us losses. And I think that. Electric. I still think that has something to do with it. Because you're going to eventually line back up with stretches where once again, now you're on the same schedule as those other teams. Sure.

And now you as the opening day starter are catching the other opening day starters, which are much better than Z. We have to win these first two games, though. That's it. We have to. Win these first two games because if you lose games with Erod and Soroka on the mound right now, we're looking at being genuinely the worst team in baseball. And we have to win the Erod and Soroka games. We got Eduardo Rodriguez going up against Nick Ladolo, who has a 5.51 ERA this year with 25 strikeouts.

You got ERA 2.52 ERA, 57 strikeouts. Let's not talk about his ERA or how it shouldn't be that good. Let's just hope that he maintains that. Meanwhile, we got our guy Michael Soroka, 8 and 3 this year, has tied, I still believe tied for the most wins by a starter this year. He has a 3.280 RA and 72 strikeouts going up against Rhett Loader there with a 3 and 3 record and a 5.01 ERA. Last but not least, Zach Gallon and Drew Abbott. You know, I want to say something selfishly. We definitely need to win game one because Damon and I are sick and tired of covering losses.

if they win this series but those wins happen over the course of the weekend I'm going to be pretty sad about that I won't lie like I would love a sweep don't get me wrong but I need I need a win tomorrow night I need to cover a winning a winning a win I need it yeah I mean we've done about six in a row if you don't count our our post game that we did

for the win that was specifically done because the team won the game wouldn't have been a podcast unless the team won the last time we covered one was last Monday An organic post-game show win. It's been quite a bit of time, man. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. All right.

Well, I'll keep our fingers crossed for that. But we appreciate you guys. We thank you so much for your time. We love you again. You guys are the true king snakes and MVPs of this podcast for joining us after another pathetic performance by the D-Bex offense. Please, please, please, drop a like on this video. Very light on the likes. Very, very light on the likes.

I know it was a tough, tough game. We didn't blow it. No. Gamin and I didn't get it. bats in this one. Derek will cry on air if you don't like the video. I'll take my shirt off again is what I'll do. I'll just simply take my shirt off.

You don't want that. You don't want me to further curse this team. So hit the like button on your way out. More importantly, we thank you guys for your time. Make sure to follow us on social. I am at cap underscore caveman with a K. Damon is at Damon dog with a DAWG. And as always, we're all Damon's dogs.

Bark, bark. Our show is at PHNX underscore Dbacks. But as always, all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Thank you guys. Love you guys. Have yourselves a wonderful evening, hopefully forgetting about this team

and maybe watching some World Cup soccer. We'll see you back here tomorrow for another post game show. And until then, bark, bark to you all and remember kids, baseball is fun. But my God, it is so much more fun when your offense can actually score what they call in baseball runs.