PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - POSTGAME: Geraldo Perdomo's WALKOFF Keeps D-backs Hopes Alive Spoiling Shohei Ohtani's Gem

Episode Date: September 24, 2025

JOIN THE SUPPORTERS CLUB ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yc6km2r4The Arizona Diamondbacks pulled off one of their biggest comebacks of the season, walking off the Dodgers in the bottom of the 9th to stay hot in the Wild Card race to keep pace with the Mets. We break down Geraldo Perdomo’s MVP-caliber season, Adrian Del Castillo’s clutch home run, and how the D-backs’ role players sparked chaos to secure the win. Plus, we dive into the impact James McCann continues to have on Brandon Pfaadt and the pitching staff, who’ve racked up 16 quality starts since August 27th. Our guy Jesse Friedman, aka the D-backs’ Good Luck Charm, joins the conversation to make sense of his improbable run.An ALLCITY Network ProductionSUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsportsMERCH https://store.allcitynetwork.com/collections/phnx-lockerALLCITY Network, Inc. aka PHNX and PHNX Sports is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the City of PhoenixPHNX 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/APS:  Find instant rebates, discounts and special offers on smart thermostats, energy-efficient appliances and more at https://marketplace.aps.com/default/heating-cooling/smart-thermostatsBranded Bills: Use code BBPHNX at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 15% off your first order!Zen Leaf: Visit our friends at Zen Leaf (http://zen-leaf.store/phnx) for 50% off using promo code ZENPHNXSpencer’s Appliances: Visit Spencerstv.com and use code PHNX5 for 5% off appliances OR use code PHNX10 for 10% off TVs, audio and mattressesChicken N’ Pickle: Family friendly fun awaits! Visit chickennpickle.com to plan your visit today!Phoenix Raceway: Tickets, hospitality and upgrades are still available for the NASCAR Championship Series October 31st through November 2nd! Visit the link HERE to get yours now!Visit Mountain America Credit Union to learn more about their MyStyle Checking Accounts!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/Branded Bills: Use code BBPHNX at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 20% off your first order!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 35% 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!Monarch Money: Use Monarch Money to get control of your overall finances with 50% off your first year at https://www.monarchmoney.com/phnxAll Pro Shade Concepts: Call 623-204-1476 or visit https://allproshadeconcepts.com/ now to schedule your free estimate!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.

It's our favorite thing in the whole damn world. The Diamondbacks beat L.A. They keep their postseason hopes alive, and they walk it off tonight. We're turning on the cactus light, and we are talking all about it with our guy, Jesse. Don't you go anywhere in 30 seconds. The snakes win! In addition to the PHNX Deepak's podcast, presented by our friends at Circle K.

It is me, your mayor of PHNX, occasionally known as Derek Montia. And I couldn't be more pumped. about the Diamondbacks taking this game, ruining Shohei Batani's gem, and keeping pace with the New York Mets for the final spot in the National League wildcard. Welcome in to you all. Glad to have you guys here. This is the PHMXVAC podcast. I'm your mayor.

That is your dog over there. It is the one and only game and dog on the ones and twos. And I am just thrilled that we are talking about a win versus a loss. Light up those cactus lights. If you're part of our supporters club, let's hit those cactus lights in the If you are not, I don't know what you're waiting for. Joining on the fun right now, you can become part of our supporters club. All you got to do is sign up on our homepage.

You'll get a badge next to your name in the live chat. You'll be extra cool. You'll get access to all of those wonderful emojis. And again, just a fun way to celebrate a wonderful walk-off victory like we saw the night. Light them up, Candace, light them up. Of course, I am not here alone to talk about this game. I bring in the expert, the guy, the one and only. understick Jesse Friedman, who we once again have found the winning formula here.

We just hide Jesse's appearances. We know, Jesse is no longer, no longer a bad luck charm for this team. In fact, Jesse's appearances on the show been very successful as a blade. I'd like to say that ever since Jesse told all of us to keep our heads up and keep hope alive, that the Diamondbacks have been a pretty good baseball team. Jesse, great to have you here and thrilled to be talking about yet another Diamondbacks victory as we prepare to close out the regular season. That was a wild game, Derek.

I'm not going to lie. I really did not think the Diamondbacks were going to win this game until they had won it. Like, until the deed was done, I'm not sure that I fully believe they would find a way. Just this team's ability to just keep going at it and just keep giving themselves a chance in the later innings is really impressive and, you know, give a lot of credit to some of the guys

who hit there in the ninth inning. Of course, Geraldo Perdomo, who dealt the decisive blow, but also pretty much every other hitter in that inning in the ninth who came up had a really productive at bat. Yes. So it was one of the most impressive, maybe the most impressive comeback win of the year for this baseball team. It's so weird, Jesse, because there's many conversations that are going on with this team. Obviously, the one that keeps coming up has been, you know, the lack of faith in this team after the trade deadline. Why did they trade away the pieces they did?

And quite frankly, I don't know if this team would sit in the same position if they didn't make those moves at the trade deadline. It's not to disrespect those players. It's not to say that Merrill Kelly and Gino Suarez and Josh Naylor, who's been absolutely dominating with the Mariners, weren't going to help this team turn things around. but you did feel like there needed to be a change with this team. And so far the guys that have been given an opportunity,

like you said, those guys down there at the bottom of the lineup, they were a big part of this win today, not just there in the ninth inning, but throughout this game as well. And this was just one of those games. We do our, you know, opponent at a glance series, which Jesse is very familiar with. He's the grandfather of the at a glance series.

And we do it for a particular reason, because a lot of times, especially, you know, this far into the season, 150 plus games into the season, the story is kind of told a little bit there by the at a glance. Sure, things could change due to recent injuries and changes to the team roster. But for the most part, we concluded that this team's offense was very good. Their starting pitching was excellent, and their bullpen was their weakness. It was their Achilles heel. And tonight, the Diamondbacks were able to get through an outstanding outing tonight by Shohei Otani.

get to that bullpen and finally start making, you know, making up some ground. It was the longest outing of the year for Showay Otani, and he was dominant tonight. The Diamondbacks couldn't do much against him overall. Otani went six innings, gave up five hits, no earn runs, no walks, and struck out eight. He ruined my parlay by the third inning, Jesse. And, of course, a lot of that had to do with me thinking that Otani, not was washed, but it wouldn't have a full start like this. things were not looking good.

Even when Otani left the game, though it did feel like that was when, obviously, the tide turn. Once the Dodgers went to their bullpen, things started happening for the snakes, and they really just never gave up. But credit, where credit is due, Brandon fought, even though he wasn't perfect, even though he didn't go nine-inning scoreless this particular outing, he still absolutely gave the Diamondbacks a chance to win with what is now their 16th quality start from a starter, I think, since August, it's August 27th or I'll double check that, but Brandon Fott gave them an absolute

gem tonight. Their starting pitching has been outstanding in the month of September. I think the Diamondbacks came into today with, I want to say it was the second best starting pitching ERA. Maybe that was just in the national league here in the month of September. It's been really good. It's been a massive strength for this team. And Brandon Fott has certainly been a big part of that.

Obviously, as you mentioned, he went nine scoreless innings the last time around. It's hard to follow up an outing like that. But he very much held his own against this Dodgers team. Obviously, there were some mistakes in there. He gave up the home run to Teoska Hernandez. He later gave up a two-run triple to Teoska Hernandez with a couple of guys on base. But outside of that, Brandon fought was really effective tonight. And he absolutely deserves a lot of credit for keeping the Diamondbacks in this game,

even though, you know, they weren't really able to do any damage at all against Shohay Otani when he was out there. And not only that, Jesse, but, I mean, it really felt like, again, by comparison, it felt like the Dodgers had a lot going on. But even once Otani left the game, I believe the Diamondbacks had out hit the Dodgers up to that point. It was just efficiency and the fact that of the four hits, the Dodgers had three of them, three of the runs scored along with those two walks that Brandon Fott had. But once again, the Diamondbacks offense got to the bullpen. Things started cooking. Ildemar Vargas played a huge role in this game. He singled.

And then with two out, the one, the only sexy man, Jimmy McCann, he brings home to Diamondbacks' first run with an RBI double. And then you just had a, I guess, a great moment of managing by Tori Lovolo, which is probably shocking to several members of our chat. But Tori, he burned Jordan Lawyer. as a pinch hitter, which in the moment seemed, you know, a little indecisive, but instead, you know, the Dodgers make that change, that pitching change. He springs Lawler back to the dugout and he sends out ADC.

And Del Casillo absolutely delivers with a two-run home run that at the time made it a four to three game. And it really felt like it was the momentum shift that this team needed in this game. Masterclass. It was a master class of managing, right? Masterclass of managing. Tori revealed in the post game, too, that he actually was planning on that to be the case, that kind of whoopty do that he pulled with Lawler, Burning Lawler, and then ADC going out there. You did. Masterclass.

It is really impressive to have, like, like, Adrian Del Castillo has not had a particularly good season overall. I mean, you look at his OPS, it still starts with a six. However, Tori Lavello has shown a lot of faith in Del Castillo and these kind of sorts. spots. We've kind of seen Tori go to him in these situations over and over and over again late in the game when you need a big hit and you've got a right-handed pitcher on the mound. Del Castillo, for better or worse, has kind of been the Diamondbacks guy in those situations. And yeah, too, I mean, I guess in some ways, you know, the debacks don't have a whole lot of other options. They don't have a, you know, many other left-handed bats to go to. But I think Tori does deserve some

credit for for wanting to bring del casio up in that spot i think there are some managers who might say like this guy's numbers are not particularly good even though i have the platoon matchup in my favor is it actually worth burning a player like you guys are talking about with jordan luller in order to get that player up and i i was kind of wondering in the moment like this feels like kind of is troy levello overmanaging a little bit in this moment but to his credit it uh it worked out that's for sure. Tori will be the first to tell you that a lot of times he's just up there pushing buttons and sometimes they go his way and sometimes they don't.

And when they go his way, he looks like a genius. And when they don't, people are screaming for him to be fired in our chat, right? And that's part of managing a baseball team. One thing we've come to realize, Jesse, is Damon and I have spied on other fan bases. And the intel that we bring back to the show is apparently every fan base wants to fire their manager. Go check out the Dodgers tonight. They are having a meltdown, and are they blaming Tanner Scott?

No, they are blaming Dave Roberts because, of course, they are, right? So that's just the way things go. And when you're a manager, you're the one that takes that blame. But in this case, there were a couple of other moments where Tori had some masterful managerial moves. And one of those, once again, was in, you know, what started happening there in the ninth inning. We did have a eighth inning kind of, I don't know, I guess, what things started to feel like they were really going their way. we had that kind of die out with Gabby first walking and then didn't knowing, not knowing it was ball four and still staying out there to bat even though the umpire had to come get him and say,

go take your base, go. But also they attempted to double steal. Corby would be safe at third, but Gabby gets thrown out at second. Didn't really feel necessary in the moment. It really felt like momentum was going in their favor and it felt like that base runners were, you know, we're not, we're pretty rare in this game. And so it felt like kind of an unnecessary move there to do the double steel. Tori discussed that move after the game.

We'll have that video here shortly, but he did discuss that double move. And he said that it kind of made him mad because they talk about execution. And he basically said that that double steel was not properly executed in multiple ways. I believe he said three ways, but I might just be making that up. He did say multiple ways, though, that there was a lack of execution on that double steel. Yeah, that's not surprising. It was a bit of an eyebrow razor for me as well in the moment. Like, you know, you've got first and second with one out.

I know Blaze Alexander has been struggling lately. So I sort of understand the reasoning. If it's a successful double steel, then suddenly if Blaze Alexander could just sneak one through the infield somewhere, then you're probably looking at the debacks leading the game at that point, which would have been huge. But you also, on the other side, very much hate just giving away an out in that circumstance. and of course that's what that's what wound up happening. So not a great look in the moment.

It felt like it was setting up Derek for a very frustrating diamondbacks loss where they, you know, they make a key out in the bases, a key out on the bases in the later innings and they wind up losing by a run. But that ninth inning was really unbelievable. It really was. And I mean, it starts off with Ildemarovar Vargas being hit by a pitch, then Tim Tawa walking. and then the James McCann bunting situation, which we have significant information about.

There might be a lot of people, including myself, Jack Summers, and Alex Weiner, who all sat next to each other in the press box, which was very full tonight, and all questioned why you would take a guy like James McCann who delivered one of the only extra base hits tonight for this team, delivering an RBI double, and you would pull him back to make him bunt.

And I think we have an explanation here from Tori Lavallo. This is what he had to say about James McCann bunting. You know, let's see about two weeks ago, I pinched bun in for him, and he'd been talking smack for the past two weeks about what good bunner is. I said, okay, big boy, go get it. See what you got. But, you know, once he tells you that, you trust him.

Like, once again, it's a guy that you can drop. from a lot of experience. He can draw from a lot of experience. So when he said, go back and look at, and I did, and I saw what it looked like. I knew that his technique was good, and I knew that he was confident in money to baseball. To tell you the truth, he, I took it off with two strikes. I don't like to put, I don't like to put pressure on a, on a bunter in that situation. We talk about minimal margins, but he said to me in the dugout, I've been talking so much smack about bunny. I had to get it down and had three chances. So, this was on James McCann, who wanted to prove that he could, in fact, but, and he delivered

with a huge sacrifice bunt that moved both guys over. I mean, big body James McCann, sexy man, James McCann, he earns these nicknames, Jesse. These aren't just clever things we say to be funny. These are things we say, because big body James McCann showed a lot of big something else when he went out there with two strikes and still proceeded to lay down the bunt. Like Tori said, he doesn't like to make his hitters do that. Oftentimes, you don't see a hitter continue to bunt

with those two strikes on. And he did, and he delivered in a huge way that moved those two runners over. Jorge Barrosa delivers with a sack fly that scores Vargas and ties the game up at four. And then Geraldo Pardomo, RBI single, scores Timmy and the Diamondbacks walk him off five to four. just what a wild way to win a game, right?

Like just the way they got base runners, Vargas getting hit by a pitch, towel walking, sack bunt by McCann, and then you get Barrosa, which I'm sure a lot of fans were probably screaming at their televisions and frustrated by. However, in that moment, there was nobody else available on the bench, Jesse, except I believe Connor Kaiser was the only other position player available

that they could have turned to in that moment. So I doubt anybody would have rather seen him there over Barrosa. And to be fair, Barrosa absolutely delivered with nearly a home run. Like, Barroso almost walked it off, but he definitely hit a ball hard enough to get that runner in from third.

A few other thoughts on the events in that inning, Derek. First of all, I feel like we have to mention that Tim Tawa was also very much trying to lay down a sackbunt, but he couldn't because Tanner Scott couldn't throw anything close to the strike zone and winds up walking him

on four pitches. And then that That pitch that James McCann did successfully bunt in an O2 count was nowhere near the strike zone. It was probably a foot inside and it was several inches below the zone as well. So how James McCann managed to successfully lay down a sack bunt on that pitch, but not the two that came before it. That one is sort of a mystery to me. And then also, Jorge Barrosa in an O1 count, he decided to try to lay down a bun. know if this was something that Tori called for what was to do. He did. Tori did call for the suicide squeeze. Yeah. He liked it in that moment. He liked it. He said because in the past, they've attempted the suicide squeeze with the bases loaded, and it causes that automatic out at home. So Tori just liked in this scenario, the fact that it wasn't going to be an automatic out there at home plate. And, you know, just just the speed that they had on base and everything like that. So yeah, no, I mean, it was definitely something that was called for from the dugout and something Tori wanted to try.

try. I think it also put the Dodgers defenders on edge there a little bit. Like it made them really not know what the Diamondbacks were going to do in any scenario. I saw Freddie Freeman coming way in and then backing out and then coming back in again. Like you could tell there was some definite confusion and hesitation and that is what we call chaos, ladies and gentlemen. And that chaos was caused by Tori Loblo's managing and the fact that this team was able to successfully pull a lot of this stuff off. Yeah, that was, I was. I mean, that would have been wild if that, if that was part of the ending of the game. Yeah, the suicide squires.

Oh, man. Yeah, I mean, if it hadn't worked, I'm not sure people would be giving Tori Lavello glowing reviews tonight. But, yeah, to Jorge Burroughs' credit in an 02 count, he was able to really drive the ball deep to left field, as you said. I looked on stat cast. It would have been a home run in Houston. Would have got over the train tracks, which I thought was, which I thought was kind of interesting. At least it would have landed in that sort of left field. overhang there in Houston. It was only like 93 miles an hour off the bat, so not a home run in any

other ballpark. But he did drive the ball. It was certainly deep enough to be a sacrifice fly. And then what do you say about Geraldo Perdomo, Derek? It'd be just what a, what a season he's had and so fitting for him to be the guy to come through in that spot. Delivering win number 80 on the season, Jesse. And I mean, again, this team has this is a special win. This is a team win. It's hard to determine a king snake on a night like this because the contributions were kind of from everyone all over the place. I don't really feel like anybody necessarily stood out, but obviously Perdomo had that huge hit. But I mean, it's all over the place.

We'll reveal Kingsnake here shortly. But we did want to hear more from Tori. Here's what he had to say about this big win. A highly charged moment in a highly charged stadium. It was a great moment for this team, for everything we've been fighting for all the ups, the downs, the good moments, the bad moments. You can just keep flushing them day by day. These guys go out and it's all about them. They go out and link up to one another and fight as hard as any team I've ever managed.

and I'm proud to be their manager for that reason. You guys saw the same thing I did. They never shut down. They were going up probably against the best stuff we've seen all year in Otani. He was locked in, and we knew it was going to be a tough battle for us, and we were trying to scratch across any type of momentum that we could, but he never let it happen. And then once we got into the bullpen and we started maneuver a little bit,

the boys responded. And that's to me what this game is all about. when your competitive best is needed. The most critical time, you can rise up to the occasion. So no more, nothing bigger than Dell's two on home run, nothing bigger than the sack bunt with two strikes, nothing bigger than Barrosa, who has been learning day by day and piece by piece

about what it's going to take to be a major league hitter, slows the game down. It's a huge sack fly for us. So this was a team effort. And I feel like, you know, we continue to build momentum every single day. And this is who we are. You see it. We lay it out there. We play with grit and determination every single day. And when it shows up like that, it's a special moment. And I was just really proud of what happened.

Someone yelled Trajan Wealth in the comments. And I just want to point out that before today's game, Tori Lavallo came into the press conference room, looked me dead in the eyes and said, what's up, Circle K? And I said, how you do it, Trajan Wealth? And he had a big laugh about that and said, you were ready for that one, weren't you? I was like, I was waiting. I was sitting on the fastball. I was sitting on the fastball. The old. bolt on Tori. He was like it was 2-0. I threw it right down the middle to you. But yeah, no, I mean, a great team win. And overall, there were, you know, there were some ups, there were some downs, but I felt like the biggest thing about this

win is this team did not panic when they got down. They also did not let this game get out of control. I know that John Curtis gave up the home run. I know the bullpen wasn't perfect, but they still held, held this game close, only allowing that one run after Brandon fought exited and giving this team

an absolute chance to win. But Tori did, we do have the video of Tori discussing the double steel. Here's what he had to say about the execution on that play. Yeah, that was a tough moment. I'm not going to lie. I lost it in the dugout. I wasn't very happy with it because we talk about execution and taking chances and being aggressive but being smart aggressive, we made a tax clear.

We talked about that play. We should know how to execute. And unfortunately, we did not. There was about two or three things that went wrong. So we've got to be better. But I think the guys were super engaged. And they want to win. They want to win baseball games.

And they got it. Whatever that it thing is tonight, they had it. And they went out there and got reloaded and refocused and did it right. How and why? I just think they're hungry to win baseball games. And I know what's in front of them right now. And I think that's the biggest thing, right? Where's Jesse?

Jesse disappeared. Oh, there he is. I think that's the biggest thing right now, Jesse, is that, this team is hungry and I really do feel like once again a big part of that hunger is the youth that are being given these opportunities and even tonight a guy like Jorge Berosa a guy like Il-Demarro Vargas a guy like James McCann all here in a way where they might not have been had this team not you know made the trades they made at the deadline and done things that they did and also guys that might not you know for all their own reasons might

you know, might not be given an opportunity like this by another team. So it was just great to see those particular guys having such a big part in this. But like you said, Heraldo Perdomo. I mean, we can't say enough about what this man has become. We're going to have more from Haraldo in the clubhouse here shortly. But Tori discussed his walk-off and just everything that Jerry P is to this team. What can you say about Jerry? You know, he gets a big hit. And he's done it all year long for us. but we executed well. It was the two guys that got on before that with Bargis getting hit by the pitch

and Tawa walking and just those little things. Those little things stack up to one another and that's why we won this game. I mean, again, like, it was small contributions from a lot of different guys, but a lot of guys deserve their credit for, you know, sticking in there

against the tough Dodgers team and, you know, again, waiting for their opportunity to strike against this bullpen. There's just a level of, of Freeness, if that's a word, that it feels like this team is playing with right now, Derek. It just feels like the fact that there really are no expectations at the end of the day. Certainly, we didn't expect the diamond alleys. I didn't expect the Diamondbacks to be in this race into the final days of the season.

Yes, you did. Yes, you did. You liar, you absolutely did. And you told us all to keep hope alive. It was the most, it was the craziest thing I'd ever seen Jesse do. I was like, how is Jesse feeding into my delusion? And yet there you were. And why is that?

It's because they weren't eliminated and there was still a chance. It was a very thin chance. It was less than 1% at one point, but it didn't mean that it was zero. It didn't mean that the Diamondbacks had a little skull and crossbones next to their name on baseball reference.com. And that's what the important part of all of this is, is that even though it's unbelievable, it's the reason why baseball has 162 games. mean, the reason why the season is 162 games long is because it's meant for things like this to play out over the course of the long season. And it's the reason, and Jesse was always in favor

of this, why so few of teams made it to the playoffs. Because really, this 162 game season, especially when you get down to the final month, can be a playoff. And every game, every series for the Diamondbacks this month has felt like a playoff series. And they've stepped up to the challenge and have done an excellent job, not getting the S word, but at least winning a lot of series and their starting pitching has been a big part of that. It really has. Yeah. And, you know, the Diamondbacks still have a long way to go in this, Derek.

You know, they're not, they're not helping us, Jesse. The Cubs are doing nothing to help us. Cubs are doing absolutely nothing to help. That is very true. But yeah, there is, yeah, freedom was not quite the word I was looking for. I don't know if Freeness quite captured it either. But yeah, there's maybe a looseness that this team is playing with right now. How's money?

You know, Ildamara Vargas is the starting first baseman for a team in a postseason rate right now, right? Like, this is not, I mean, Brandon Garcia, who the diamondbacks acquired from the Mariners at the trade deadline was pitching in AAA for the Mariners. He was the guy who faced the middle of the Dodgers lineup in the eighth inning tonight. And he did a really good job. It was a one, two, three inning. It was very uneventful. He deserves a lot of credit for what he was able to do in this game. Obviously, the DeBax bullpen still has its flaws.

But yeah, there are a lot of guys getting opportunities right now for this team that definitely would not have gotten these opportunities had the team stayed what it was before the trade deadline. And you just never know, man. I mean, you never know complacency. You never know when guys are thinking about other stuff. And again, you never know if Gino Swore. kind of cools off the way he did when he was traded to the Mariners if he stays here. If he does, then, you know, then again, that's, that's, that's a, that's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, there's a, as far as the production that they're getting.

Blaze has not been great offensively lately, but he still has been giving them a pretty good lift defensively over there at third base or pretty much wherever he plays. Uh, and then Shelby Miller, of course, they lost him to Tommy John surgery. And if that happened to us, I just don't know if this fan base could have taken that Jesse. I just really don't know if this man could have handled Shelby Miller being on this team when he went down with Tommy John's surgery. But we are going to talk about more. And it's all going to be about pitching on the other side of this break. Actually, we're going to peek in on James McCann talking about Button a little bit, as well as ADC and some words from Tori about

Brandon Fotz Knight. But we're going to do that on the other side of this break. Don't you go anywhere you're watching the PH&X Diamond Beck Show. Shout out to all pro-shade concepts. They want to help extend your outdoor living space and let you enjoy that outdoor living space much more with a motorized awning. They also have roll down patio shades and roll down shades that you can put in your home, both which will keep your home up to 20 degrees cooler and block out 95% of those harmful UV rays. Not to mention their motorized awnings look incredible. They're like living pieces of artwork. They can match your home. They can make sure they're HOA compliant. They can also add cool stuff like remote controls and LED light. So do not

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Damon and this entire group of monsters that work here all voted me to be most likely to show up to a wedding in team gear. And I hate that. But I would definitely be most likely to sleep in a rally house at night. Well, that's, that's different. I would absolutely sleep in the rally house. I bet they have a Diamondbacks tent that's lovely and spacious and is also team branded. They have everything. They have babies diapers with Diamondbacks logo on it.

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Do we got, I want to hear from James McCann. And I know James McCann had some funny things to say about what Tori had to say about his bunting. Here's what James had to say about making sure he got the bunting down tonight. James, you were talking smack to Tori about your bunting ability. Well, like I told people, I went to college. You don't survive college without knowing how to punt. But I've done it in my career before. And he had told me with Runs on first and second, there's a good chance.

That's what I was going to do. So mentally, I sold out. I had three opportunities to get it down, and I got it down when it mattered most. He said, he took the call off with two spades. Like I said, mentally I sold out that I was going to get it down, and I was going to get a bro so chance to tie in the game. He was so serious, Jesse, about his collegiate bunting skills and how you have to be a bunter in college.

There's no way around it. And also, yeah, see, look at this guy. Sean says, look at this guy with his huge arms, sexy man McCann, big body, James McCann, coming through for this team? Those arms are insane. If he didn't want me to stare at him, why is he putting the little arm wraps around him?

Like he's a professional wrestler. Like, that's the thing that gets me. You know, he could just wear a tight shirt or whatever, and then I would know if he wants us to stare at his giant arms. But I feel like putting a rubber band around him definitely is just begging me to make, like, hey, he looks like Ahmed Johnson. But he was, he's been very good. He was good tonight.

Obviously, offensively, he was great. and more importantly, he's been great behind the plate. I mean, every single night out there when we talk about starting pitching and we talk about the turnaround that this team has had from their starters, James McCann's names brought up in some way. Even if he's not the catcher that night, James McCann is still brought up for the impact he's had on the staff, the impact he's had on Gabby, and again, the conversations that they're having in the dugout

when James McCann is down there talking about baseball. I'm just thinking still, Derek, about the impact that Corbyn Burns has had on this team behind the scenes. He's very clearly the reason that James Buchan is on this team. He basically convinced the Diamondbacks front office to make that happen. And also, Brandon fought pitch pretty well today. It's been pitching pretty well lately. And his most used pitch in this game was his cutter. Cutter.

And Brandon fought didn't throw a cutter at the beginning of the season. Corby Burns was also influential in helping him develop that pitch. So, yeah, obviously, would you love to have Corbyn Burns in your rotation right now? Absolutely, you would. But he's still making an impact behind the scenes. And you really can't say enough about what James McCann has meant to this team these past few months. It's crazy. And no disrespect to anybody else because I don't want to make this sound abnormal.

But I don't really see the other injured players at Chase Field. I don't see a Kevin Ginkle. Like every once in a while I do, I saw Justin Mark. Martinez kind of clearing out his locker the other day, right? But you know what I see, Jesse, is Corbyn Burns hanging out just in a hoodie, just there around, you know? And like, that says something to me about him. That says because he could very well be at home, not there, not taking part in baseball activity. Like, I'm sure a big part of it is a guy like him is just a competitor.

He wants to be around the team, wants to be around baseball. He doesn't want to go sit at home. Not a lot of us ever really want to do that. Like there's, especially if you're an athlete. But it does feel like his impact has been, has been big. And you're right. Brandon fought. I know, I know he got out dueled by Shohei Otani, who was excellent tonight.

But Brandon fought in his own right was very, very good. His cutter was working well for him tonight. He threw it 32% of his outing. He threw the entire kitchen sink at the Dodgers tonight, Jesse. He threw his curveball 22% of the time, four seam 14%, change up 13%. Sinker 10%. And that sweeper didn't seem to be working well. him. He only went to that 8%. I think that was seven times that he threw it. When the

sweeper is good, it's very good, but when it's not working, he abandons it like we saw tonight. And you could tell that was kind of the case. He had nine whiffs total, two each on the cutter, the curve, four seam change up. Not getting a lot of swing and miss, but still, again, he was very effective against guys not named Teoska Hernandez in the lineup tonight. And when Teoska Hernandez was up there, that man was his arch nemesis. But still, this is a deadly Dodgers lineup that is very hard to get outs against and they they start I mean they have power but they also start stacking up hits and kind of exhausting you and brandon didn't let them do that to him tonight he did have a couple of instances with base runners but for the most part didn't have

that many hits allowed he only allowed four hits in this game he went six innings pitched gave up three earn runs walk two struck out four and uh again just uh kind of a probably the the most understated part of this win is that Brandon Fott just kept them in this and allowed the Diamondbacks to be able to get to the Dodgers bullpen with a close semi-close game and kind of blow it open once ADC hit that home run. It hasn't been a great year for Brandon Fought, but you have to respect the way that he's evolved, the way that he's continued to try to learn and develop new pitches. I talked about the cutter a second ago. That curve ball that he used the second most tonight is second most used pitch was the curveball.

And that's a pitch that he basically hasn't thrown in his career up until this season. So between those two pitches, I mean, 54% of his offerings tonight were either the cutter or the curveball pitches he essentially hasn't thrown at all up until 2025. And obviously, there's still some growth that needs to happen there. It hasn't been a great season for fought overall. But you're still in a place now, Derek, where if somehow the debacks find a way in the next five days to mosey their way into October, this rotation, I'm not going to say it's going to be the best one out there.

But with the way that Brandon Fott is throwing right now, the way that Zach Gowlin is throwing right now, Ryan Nelson, of course, has been solid the entire season. And even Eduardo Rodriguez has a sub-2 ERA in his last five starts. You can squint and kind of imagine this rotation in the playoffs being pretty decent, at least being competitive against some of these other teams that they would, that they would potentially face there. And apparently I was the only one that wanted to talk to him after the game, Jesse.

I was totally vetoed on talking to Brandon Fott. But we do want to give credit where credited to do. Brandon Fott had four strikeouts tonight. So let's fire up that Circle K strikeout meter. Look, I've wasted enough water already with my water mean leak at my house. So I have no problem wasting more seawater on powering up the Circle K strikeout meter. But again, the Diamondbacks or Brandon Fought tonight for strikeouts. And with every K, you win at Circle K, Tech Strike to 31310 to start saving on fuel, food,

and drinks after every D-Backs home game. And tonight, Brandon Fotz, four strikeouts, will get you a free any-size coffee. So make sure to not miss out on that at Circle K. Circle K is the best. So you can stop, get yourself a free hot coffee and then get yourself some delicious snacks. Candace says, Vito, the mayor, the audacity. Yeah, I know. No, I thought I had veto power being the mayor, but apparently that's not the case.

Again, there's a lot of guys that we could give Kingsnake to in this game, but I really do feel like the guy that deserves it considering this Dodgers lineup is Brandon Fott. And that's who we gave it to tonight. Brandon Fought six innings pitch, four hits allowed, three earned runs, 4K. And again, just kind of a quiet performance here. Did not, like I said, did not out dual show Aotani, who was incredible tonight for the Dodgers. but he absolutely gave the Diamondbacks a chance to win and the Bullpen also gave the Diamondbacks a chance to win in this game once fought handed the game over to the pen.

Like I said, we did have John Curtis in his two-thirds of an inning work giving up that home run to who? I don't know. I've never seen this man's name before in my entire life. Who? And not who from our chat. Just who in general, Jesse, gave up a home run to Ben Roortbert, Roort vet? I don't even know how to say his name. I don't want to learn it. Will Smith has a fracture in his

hand, so he's gone. So they turned to Ben Roark Vet. And now he's hitting dingers off of our pitchers. I don't like that one bit. But that was the only damage done. Jalen Beeks cleaned up the inning. He got a strike out to end that inning. That was the seventh inning. And then Brandon Garcia, another big game branded, Jesse. We have two big game brandons. Just like, I know the return on the trades weren't to have this impact and it's unfortunate that some of those returns are already injured like Andrew Hoffman and Tyler Locklear guys that saw playing time and at times had a lot of showed a lot of promise but Brandon Garcia has just kind of been here doing the thing and I know his ERA isn't great. I know he still had some bad outings when he first, you know, joined the bullpen. But you got to

admit the guy's been putting together some good work and tonight was pretty pretty good stuff from him and from Ryan Thompson, who also went out there and posted an inning of work without any runs allowed, hits allowed, no walks, no strikeouts. I think Brandon Garcia is pretty good stuff. Just watching the way that he faced the middle of the Dodgers lineup tonight was really impressive. He just looks cool, calm, and collected out there. He's throwing 98 miles an hour with sink. He's got a sweeper and a slider. Those pitches have both looked pretty effective. And you're also really seeing him cut down on the walks. In his last six appearances out of the bullpen, he doesn't have any walks

compared to six strikeouts. So he's really coming into his own right now. And, you know, is it ideal that you have a guy who is pitching in AAA a few weeks ago? And he, you know, he has a nice little five-game span. And so now he's your eighth inning man in the middle of a playoff chase. That's not great. You kind of, you kind of hate to put Brandon Garcia in a position like this. Do we want to talk about Il-Darro Vargas not being a first baseman, Jesse? Like, let's just start with the fact that the Diamondbacks don't even have a first basement. They don't even have a first basement. So, like, yeah, I mean, there's a lot of things wrong with this team.

None of it makes sense. It's so fundamentally broken. Yet somehow it's working. And that, I think, really is what it's about is guys, like the shirt. I didn't like the shirt. I thought the shirt was a forced thing, but they are having fun. You can tell they're having fun. And part of that fun is not really caring about things like what position you necessarily play or, you know, like Blaze Alexander's attitude about being put in the outfield or being put at the third base or being put wherever.

Like it really does feel like a lot of these guys are selfless and they're playing for each other. And I mean, they've brought this up before, but it just feels like it's a big part of what we're seeing. And I mean, again, the bullpen is this island of misfit toys that just somehow they keep sifting through and finding like guys like a Brandon Garcia and now maybe a Philip Abner who just kind of look pretty good. And you're like, wait, maybe we got another one here. Like, I don't know. Like, but they've also not been shy about immediately sending guys back or DFAing guys that that haven't worked out. And there's been some surprising moves. I guess surprising because of the fact that in their past they've given guys far more opportunity.

to write the ship than they have been lately, considering their lack of assets, their lack of bodies in the bullpen. I mean, it's kind of brave to just move on from a Jake Woodford and go on to your next guy from, you know, from AAA. But they weren't afraid to do that. And that's been a big reason why they're in this position right now.

I think Dodgers fans would maybe, maybe like the Dodgers to take a cue from the Diamondbacks right now and maybe start shifting some rolls around. How Tanner got is still the Dodgers closer, Derek, I do not understand. He has an ERA of 4.91. He has more walks than strikeouts going back to the All-Star break and an ERA over eight, if my memory is correct. I don't know how he's managed.

Obsessed with the slider against the Diamondbacks in the ninth inning. Would not stop throwing it. To the point, Eraldo Perdomo during the post game, we'll show you video. Perdomo was basically like, he has a good fastball. Why didn't he throw the fastball? ball like even perdomo saying it david i didn't have that for perdomo tonight but yeah he did say that he did say it so it was crazy because even the players themselves are like why is tanner scott throwing nothing but sliders perdomo pointed out the fact that ildemar it's a light show in here jesse

we just hit home run by the way so that's what anytime i sell a joke that's really that good that's when the light show up is but uh no i mean you know you you you had uh prodomo point out that vargas got nothing but sliders and his at bat and then When Perdomo went up there, he knew that he was going to do the same thing. And he did. That is really strange. Yeah, I mean, Tanner Scott has had a fairly unhittable fastball for years. I mean, it's been a huge part of why he's been one of the best relief pitchers in all the baseball.

But yeah, Yildemar Vargas, those were all sliders. Tim Tawa, there was one fastball in there. But he threw four straight balls. He was willing to just kind of keep trying the slider. All three pitches to McCann were sliders, Jorge Barrosa. he saw two sliders and then his hit to the fence came on a fastball. So yeah, it was strange. I don't know what's going on with Tanner Scott right now,

but it is kind of, it is interesting that the Dodgers finally gave in to spending serious money on their bullpen, and it's been a complete disaster across the board. Tanner Scott's been awful. Kirby Yates has been awful. You know, they paid a decent amount of money to bring Blake Trinon back, as well. He has an ERA over five. So if the Dodgers do make the postseason, their rotation, I mean, in its current state,

you have to like their rotation. And certainly you're going to like the offense too. But that bullpen is really problematic right now for them. A lot of people were worried that I was being raptured there, Jesse, when those lights came on like that. Jokes on them. Derek's not going up. That's definitely not going to be.

If I go up before the rest of you, that's, you. There's something philosophically that's gone wrong. But we're going to take a quick break and on the other side of this break we're going to talk more. We're going to have more video from the clubhouse.

We're going to hear from Raldo Potomo and again, another one of the big heroes from tonight, ADC. So don't you guys go anywhere? You're watching the PH and X Diamond Back Show. Well, for more than 15 years, Access Insurance Agency of Arizona has provided affordable and reliable

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All right. Well, Jesse, Friedman, this team is doing something right. And of course, a big part of this team has been the one, the only, Raldo Pardomo. We know Pardomo is just been, I mean, obviously incredible for this team, but now what we're seeing with Pardomo is the national recognition. We're starting to see more and more MLB articles referencing him as, you know, here's one underrated player that, you know, is putting up some MVP caliber numbers and it's Perdomo. And it's great to see. Of course,

before we do that, make sure to leave a like in the chat. It's great to have so many of you here. so drop a like always helps us out makes a big deal makes me happy makes me feel good jesse completely confident uh self-assured does not need that kind of assurance uh but i need it for all of my self-esteem issues but uh jesse one guy that doesn't have self-esteem issues obviously is jerry p uh big big night once again for him but those kind of questions were being asked by perdomo even before the game you know about you know what what what is everyone's thoughts on how you know he has become this level of player, this caliber of player, the word elite got thrown around a lot about Prudomo today. And I think that that is a very, very fair to say about him. And not only fair,

but he comes through with, you know, the game winning hit to walk off the Dodgers in the night. He's just kind of good at everything, Derek. And it turns out when you do everything pretty well, you're going to be a pretty good baseball player. There's my, there's my hardcore analysis. I mean, he's getting on base at a really impressive clip. The walks have always been there for him. His on base percentage entering today was 391. The batting average is way up this season. That's kind of been the biggest difference.

I guess last year was decent too. The biggest difference is probably the power, right? I mean, he's hit 19 home runs this year. He's just a couple RBI shy of 100. So really, his game has just all come together. And I mean, defensively, I think this is about as good as we've seen Pardomo, the last couple of months, he's really looked solid at shortstop. And that's something I wasn't so sure about coming into this season.

It felt like his defense was decent at shortstop last year, but not great. Kind of wonder as he continues in his mid-20s, eventually his upper 20s, if the defense at shortstop is not going to be viable at a certain point. But he has really made it clear he's going to be able to stick at shortstop for a good while longer. He's been one of the best at that position here the last couple of months. It really feels like when it became do or die for the debacks, that's when his defense turned up to another level, which is just consistent with Perdomo, right? Like every time it's the biggest moment, that's when he just performs at his best. Well, and to be fair, he also stepped up when his teammates were under attack.

He stepped up when teammates were being traded. Like, there's been a lot of moments where Perdomo has proven that he is the captain of this team and extends far beyond the meetings on the mountain. with the starting pitcher that we've always loved so much. It feels like Perdomo is leading by example with his play and also being a vocal leader at times when it calls for it. And not only that, but he's also delightful. He is a delightful human being that is a joy to be around. And if you've ever had a chance to see Perdomo not giving an interview,

he acts in real life just like you see him play in the game. He's always laughing. He's always joking. He was, you know, we were talking to him about the Mookie Betts interview that he gave and he was like daffing us up and like was like did I do a good job and stuff like that that's just the kind of guy that perdomo is he's just really a delightful person to be around we have more from Jerry on the walk off this is what he had to say about that big hit I mean a lot you know that's like I totally said win the age and we came from from behind and we win this important again for us you know especially when we wear out here about the other team you know the red loss and the man win, you know, it was important when this came for us today. Is that frog blood?

No, snake, it's snake. Snake blood. It's Nate. You learned his lesson. It's snake blood. It's snake blood now. No more frog blood. But of course, you know, these moments are big and they kind of just add to this growing legend that is Roldo Pardomo.

It's just been an unbelievable season to Eric. I mean, I've said it before on this show. Like, I never really, saw Pardomo reaching these heights. I'm totally willing to just go out and admit that. I don't think I'm alone in that category. Of course, knew he was an MVP candidate from the minute that he first started watching and play baseball.

But you and I had our doubts. We had our doubts. And not, I mean, yeah, not only has Pardomo become a really good, you know, legitimate all-star caliber player. But, I mean, he should get serious MVP consideration. I don't think he's going to win the thing. I think showy Otani has that. that pretty well under wraps at this point.

But you can make a pretty good case for Perdomo finishing right behind Otani. I mean, Trey Turner is hurt now. So I think he was one of the other primary candidates. He's injured. I'm not sure exactly when he's going to come back for the Phillies. But looking at the wins above replacement numbers right now, I mean, on fan graphs, Perdomo, the next closest guy to him outside of Trey Turner is Corbyn Carroll.

And then behind him, it's Juan Soto, Fernando Tatez Jr., Francisco Lendor. You could make a pretty good case for Perdomo finishing second in NL MVP this year behind Shohei Otani. Those are words that I never, ever, ever imagined I would be saying. And yet, it's, I mean, the case is there. I don't know if it's actually going to happen. I wouldn't be surprised if people gave Kyle Schwerber quite a bit of consideration, his home run and RBI numbers or through the roof, even though his wins above replacement numbers

aren't quite as good. But yeah, I mean, he's going to finish the year with seven war. And that's a number that very few players ever reach in their career. So it has been a remarkable, remarkable season for Pardomo. And he's still got a chance to get to 100 RBI and he's got a chance to get to 20 home runs, just one more home run, two more runs batted in, see if he's able to do that here over these next few days. Well, we also have more from Perdomo on the MVP recognition and how it feels for people to be putting him in this category. This is what you have to say. You know, it's very fun. And I'm honestly, I want to say I'm proud by the coaches, my hitting coach, all the work being done together since the 23. And obviously, all the glory together. You know, without him, I won't be this kid.

and been performed the same way since 23, you know. It's kind of special. Like I said, all the glory to him. Well, he also gave credit where credit is due, and you know, Domo always does this. He gave credit to his teammates on, you know, what this team has been able to do and said it wasn't necessarily about him,

which, once again, is something else that a good leader does. This is what for Domo had to say about his teammates. I mean, it's amazing. I just say, you better score. It better score Tawa. But it's not about me, honestly. It's about all the guy was in front of me, Bargy, Tawa,

McKen, Bonwitt, Two Strike, when Tori told him to hit, you know. Barrosa, Sacrify, RBI. You know, I was just thinking about and saying, talking with God, and say, hey, just give me an opportunity to win this game for my team, you know. That's the game we need it, you know. We can hear, you know, everybody know what happened to the middle of the season before the break. And, you know, we lost a lot of player. And we have a lot of young player like me.

And, you know, we're hungry. We're hungry. And we're going to continue to play hard. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if we get out of the playoff or we get in. We're going to play hard today. And that's really what it's all about. That's one thing I've been imploring this chat and fans that have been following this ride.

Not the ones that have given up. Not the ones that don't really want to be heartbroken again. And I understand not wanting to be heartbroken again. And I very much feel like this team is setting us up for heartbreak. It's making us believe in them again just enough so that when they play the Padres, everything will fall apart or something like that, right? But I'm as much as I've been watching out for that, as much as I've been trying to protect my heart in that case, Jesse,

it's hard not to believe in this team. And it's hard not to feel like even if this team doesn't ultimately make the goal of the postseason, that it still hasn't been a failure. Here we sit on September 23rd at 80 wins, and the Diamondbacks are just one win away from securing at least a 500 season, right? Which is something that you and I said, that alone should be considered as success,

not to mention the fact that fate now has put them in this position for this number of wins to actually matter and put them in playing relevant games the final week of the season. they got a shot at this thing derrick it's not a great shot but they have a legitimate shot i mean they have to they just have to make up one game against the metz and one game against the reds the rest of the way so the math is pretty straightforward there you know if the if the reds and the and the meds each were to go three and two then the debacks would have to go four and one and they would

be in or both of those teams go two and three the debacks would have to be three and two They just have to beat both of those teams by a game the rest of the way. And it's not going to be easy, but it is, it's totally possible. I mean, that's something that could absolutely happen. Anything can happen in baseball in a stretch of five games. So we'll see what this looks like. Here's what we have, Jesse. We have teams playing in their division for spite.

We have the Pittsburgh Pirates beating the Reds tonight and playing the Reds. and the pirates could be the team that takes the Reds down. How much joy would that bring the pirates as a fan base to be able to eliminate one of your division rivals from playoff contention? Like, that's a real chance. We look at the schedule and we think, like, oh, they have these weak teams. The Marlins are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now.

The Marlins, I think, have won six in a row. They've won nine of their last 10. And I would not want to be playing the Marlins in my final three games of the year. The Marlins actually have put themselves somehow in a position to still be part of the conversation. Like obviously their odds are impossible, right? But still, they're playing their best baseball,

and they've been playing really good baseball for stretches at times this year. So all we need is the Marlins to come into that final series against the Mets and want to really play with some spite. And, you know, now we also have the Dodgers and, you know, the Padres where maybe by the end,

by the time we play the Padres, maybe that's irrelevant for the Padres. We need the Padres to lose some games so that the Dodgers can just clinch. The Dodgers cannot clinch tomorrow at home any longer now that we won this game. The Dodgers can only clinch at Chase Field in the finale, and that's going to take some things to happen in order for that to happen. So we might have protected the pool, and we can still protect the pool by winning baseball games, and that's all the Diamondbacks need to do. But once again,

we discuss this, Jesse. As we win games, we actually do make it harder on ourselves, because if the Diamondbacks do beat the Dodgers, they give the Padres more of a chance to be in the division, and then the Padres have something to play for in that final division of the division series of the year. So it's not great, but all the Diamondbacks can be concerned with right now is taking care of their business and beating the teams that are in front of them. And right now it feels like all of these teams are kind of on their heels a little bit, right? But we need some help from the Cubs. It would be great if the Cubs would do something to help us out. They've won like, they've lost like, what, like five games in a row and all five have been against teams that we've needed them to beat.

I am sick of the Cubs right now, Jesse. I'm about to throw that hoodie that I bought last year, Wrigley in the trash. But anyway, I know you got to get out of here. I appreciate your time so much. You and Jack continue to do amazing work over there at Snake's Territory. Make sure you follow Jesse at Jesse and Friedman.

Make sure you follow their show at Snake's Territory. Most importantly, catch their show over there. Anywhere you get your podcast, wherever you get this one, wherever you get any of your favorite podcast. Make sure to download it. Get it on YouTube. Jesse, thank you again, as always, for joining us. we always appreciate you stopping by,

and we appreciate you keeping hope alive with us. Well, I'm a good luck charm around here, Derek. So if things don't go well, the next few days. The human rabbit foot, Jesse Friedman. People might be mad if I'm not on the show the next few days if they lose. I'm just saying it's not going to be a well-free. We'll have to get you back on. See, now you committed yourself to being on here more.

I'll talk to ask you. Yeah, well, good job. We'll make sure to go watch. He just needs to be an I-A show. It's just a show. So just do a show, whether it's this show, whether it's that show, get your face out there because good things are happening for this team. But as always, bud, we appreciate your time.

All right. See you guys. See you, man. And we are going to take a quick break. And on the other side of this break, we're going to take a look at the count from this series. And we're also going to get an update on the wild, wild, wild card standing. So don't you go anywhere you're watching the pH and X Diamondback show. Well, after a night like tonight, I need something cold to drink.

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Head on over to ShadyRase.com and use code P.HNX for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated five stars by over 300,000 people. All right. Well, Damon, I don't know. What time is it? Are we getting there? Is it about time? Yeah, it's time.

We're past time. We're time. Well, let's just head- We're bad boys. I'm just saying, let's go to overtime anyway. I don't care. Let's throw it to overtime. If you're watching on an app, if you're watching on TV,

come on over to go phnx.com. We're going to keep the conversation going with the count presented by our friends at Desert Financial Credit Union. Let's take a look at the numbers from tonight's game because, of course, you know, I love to look at the numbers from a Diamondbacks win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. And here we go. Diamondbacks win this one by a score of five to four. They out hit the Dodgers nine to five. Diamondbacks went 500 with runners in scoring position. They were two for four. Meanwhile, the Dodgers were one for three, which once again shows how

base runners were a premium in this game. There were not a lot of base runners, and it's the reason why I think we were frustrated with that double steel that caused Gabby to get thrown out and to squander some of those opportunities, especially when the team starts coming back here. But of course, extra base hits. The Dodgers had three. Diamondbacks just had two. And the expected batting average, kind of crazy here. 196 expected batting average to the Diamondbacks 3.43.

So they were hitting the ball hard. They just weren't getting a lot of those balls to fall into play for them. And honestly, I mean, the Dodgers showed a couple of times where their defense kind of lacked in ways. Max Muncie is still a thing happening over there as well as just in general. I can't stand Max Muncie. I bet there's a lot of Dodgers fans that would agree with you tonight on that very same topic. But also their bullpen. Like, I mean, what a great baseball team that has an awful bullpen.

And that's something that we can definitely relate to, right? like offensively the diamondbacks are just behind the Dodgers and team OPS I believe I think the Dodgers are well they might be like second and the Dodgers are like fifth or the Dodgers are third and they're right there neck and neck. Starting pitching though ERA is incredible for the Dodgers but it has been for the Diamondbacks lately 16 quality starts since August 27th that's crazy that's not even a 30 day span right that's a 26 day span that the Diamondbacks have 16 quality starts There were off days peppered in there, folks. That's not straight days of baseball.

And for them to have 16 quality starts over that stretch the most in Major League Baseball just goes to show that this staff right now is really dialed in. Can't explain it, but there were some explanations given. And James McCann seemed to be a big reason why, right? James McCann has had a significant impact on this team in so many ways. and it feels like that same presence that Evan Longoria has given us, it feels like the same presence that Tommy Fam and Jock Peterson gave us, not to mention both of those guys in the same breath,

but it's still very funny to do so. But overall, it just feels like this team has a lot of, like, again, like a weird movie, right? Like a lot of pieces that came together that don't really make a lot of sense and nothing really on paper would tell you that this would be a success, but for some reason it is. The guy behind it tonight, though, Adrian Del Castillo.

We have a little bit from him in the clubhouse talking about that big hit and staying ready for that big moment. I mean, it feels pretty hard. So I was just looking for something I could just react to, kind of in the middle of the plate. He feels a cutter.

You know, force him a cutter. So it's middle, middle, anything else run in or, you know, stay up in the middle. So trying to put the ball in, put the ball and play. That's about it. Were you managing along with Tori?

Like, did you know if this person comes in on pitch hitting for a pitch hitter? Yeah, pretty much. Yeah. So he's like, I just be ready. There's the righty in the bullpen. They probably, you know, try to do that. So, yeah, I was ready. Masterclass.

Masterclass, Damon. I mean, Tori, I mean, he's just. Chess moves. The guy's, and he's six moves ahead. Yeah. That's the thing. Is it, yeah, it's chess. Yeah.

But he's already thinking about, oh, what's Dave Roberts's move going to be? Yeah. Then I'm going to counter it with this. Does Tori Lavello own Dave Roberts? He might. People are talking about it. People are talking about it. Also, sometimes he might overmanage games, right?

Like sometimes there's a simplicity to managing things a little differently. Tori also doesn't have a very quick hook at times for his bullpen, but I feel like that hook is getting quicker. I feel like Tori doesn't have the time. As we saw today with John Curtis, he doesn't really have the time to let a reliever, let a game get out of control and not. let his team have a chance to get back into it.

Switching to Jalen Beaks, got them out of that seventh inning, and it was a key move. And then the rest of the bullpen did a great job at not letting things get any worse. And the Diamondbacks walk away here with a five to four walkout victory. Let's take a look at how this win impacts the wild, wild card standings, the drunken orgy of violence that we call the National League wildcard race. I dropped the Giants. I made the executive decision. Yes. They are now below the Marlins.

Yes. In the standings, you're done. You're done. It's over for you. You're all gone. This is it. This is the wildcard race. The Cubs, that group of bum from Chicago,

they are driving me insane. They are also very much in danger of losing that number one wildcard spot, right? Which means that they would lose home field advantage and they would have to travel to San Diego to play the Padres, which they're already pretty much destined to play the Padres in that first round of the wildcard round. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks at this point would take on if they get into that final wildcard spot where the Mets currently sit, they would take on the Dodgers.

Also, the Reds are not one game back. I believe the Reds, because the Reds lost. So I think the Reds are actually a game and a half back. I'm pretty sure the Reds were tied yesterday. And then they lost today. Okay, you're probably right. Yeah, you're probably right. Yeah, they're a game back.

And technically on the MLB website, it has the debacks in front, but the Reds have the tied. have the tiebreaker, but the Diamondbacks have the tiebreaker over the Mets, which is very important right now because they tied three games each and the Diamondbacks have the better divisional record. I'm not sure if that's set in stone, considering that the Mets still have three more games against the Marlins and the Diamondbacks still have five more games against their own division. So maybe a lot could still change by the end of the year. But the Diamondbacks, that's another reason why it's very, very important for the Diamondbacks to win these games against the Dodgers

and the Padres there at the end. Yeah, man, I mean, there is a lot of things that we could look back on this season, especially with now how close this is. We are going to spend if the Diamondbacks don't make the postseason a lot of time this off season, discussing games they lost, yet they could have won and could have helped overcome all of this. But I really don't think that's something that any of us should get lost in. I really think when it comes to what's going on right now with this team, all you have to do is think this year was a wrap.

It was a wrap. They were done. It was, they were cooked this year. And they somehow found a way after Mike Hayes' in speech and a rag tag group of youngsters got called up and added to this team,

they found a way to start winning. And they've won a lot. They have won a lot this month and they've been very good in the month of September. We said it at the start of the month that if they somehow found a way to be in this position at the end of the month,

they absolutely deserved it. Absolutely deserved it. And they do. They deserve all the credit in the world for fighting hard, believing in themselves, sticking together, and, you know, playing good baseball, playing baseball in a way where, you know, they stopped being so tight and stopped making the mistakes that they were making that was costing them games early in the season and started playing, you know, just fun baseball, as you saw written on their shirts. But we got some super chats to get to

before we get out of here. First, I want to thank BCSC so much for not only as super chats, but for also donating to Big Brothers, Big Sisters. I appreciate you so much. Thank you, BCSC. Of course, you've been a huge supporter of this show. And we miss you when you're not here. And so BCSC says, first is Perdomo single with all them yams?

I'll have to report that back to you. I don't know. I don't know. There were rumors of relationships, but nothing confirmed. BCSC also says, I'm running the show at work, got the building keys,

and I'm in charge. I feel so free and I'm not going into my head. I'm so happy with myself. Go, D. Back. Let's go. It's not going to your head, but you're still the man, BCCC. Johnny Walker, friend from sixth grade. He just says, hi, Damon.

Not me, like, not the guy that you've known since elementary schools were playing tag on the monkey bars, but whatever, no big deal. There's a reason for this, Derek. It's because when you were gone on your fun little Puerto Rico trip, leaving Damon to man the PHNXD backs podcast, I'll buy his lonesome. Yeah. Aren't you also manning the U of A by yourself? time? I was during that. Yeah, it was a lot on you. We called that hell week at PHNX, but it was me and

Jesse on the post game show. We were talking about should we sell? Should the Diamondbacks, like, have they played themselves into being sellers? And Johnny Walker was the last man holding the rope saying, this team isn't dead. And I was sitting there arguing going, listen, man, I don't want, I don't want to die as much as anybody. And Johnny Walker was the only person saying this team still has what it takes, even after they sold, he still said they have what it takes. And now he's just coming to remind me, hey, Damon, remember what I said back in July? Yeah. And I respect that, brother. Yeah, respect. No one believed more than Johnny. Yeah. I don't know, I'm glad he did. I'm glad someone had to around here. Jesse and Johnny believed.

BCSC says, Domo, the Prince for MVP, kicked up baby, go D-backs. He also says ballerinas doing pirouettes inside of my snow globe. I don't know what that means, but I like it. Let's just move on. I don't think I want to know what it means. All right. That's fine. Then he also says, the Cleveland Guardians are in first place, mind-blown emoji. Yeah, that's another amazing thing, man. I mean, no doubt. The fact that the Diamondbacks, like other teams, are able to do this, too.

It's why, like I said earlier with Jesse on, 162 games. It's why you can't give up. I know it feels hopeless at times. I really know. It does. Trust me. I do a show five days a week about this team. However, it just, it's the reason why you can't give up. It's the reason why players can't give up. It's the reason why teams can't give up.

It's the reason why the trade deadline is so difficult to figure out. Because you're trying to decide if you're dead in the water with two months left in the baseball season. And if you're hovering anywhere close to 500, you have no idea how the next two months are going to play off. I still believe in my heart of hearts that this team would not be where it's at if they didn't make these moves. I think guys that are hungry for an opportunity and trying their best, best to help this team win in any way, shape, or form are the exact reason why this team is successful right now. It is the DNA of this team. That is Diamondbacks Baseball. We have asked and we have searched and we've wondered what the hell Tori Lobello means at times when he talks

about Diamondbacks baseball. This is it. Selfless play. Contributions from all over the place. Having somebody like Cotell Marte or Aldo Perdomo or Corbyn Carol that can step up and deliver that big hit in the game. Having Brandon fought in the bullpen, keep you in it, no matter how, once again, hopeless it might seem at some point during the game because you never know how it's going to play out. You never know how a nine inning game is going to play

out, and you never know how 162 game season is going to play out. Johnny Walker, thank you for your other super chat. He says, go DBEX. Love you, appreciate you. Emily will never rest until I update the DBEX jersey list, and I promise you,

Emily, that's coming very soon. how soon I can't tell you. But what I can't tell you is I love you and I appreciate you stopping by and all of you guys for stopping by. We thank you for your time. Make sure to hit the like button before we get out of here. That's evidently very important to me and what I do and this show. So we'd appreciate it if you hit the like button.

Yeah, not to get like dramatic or anything, but we did have some big wig meetings today. And they said directive personally for the deback show, Derek, you know. Yeah, that likes is like the most important thing in my entire world. dropping block. Like, like, hey, if we don't get a hundred likes on this video, Derek's up on the, like, it's bad. They're going to take Jesse Jr. away. Not a game. Like, they're going to take him away and they're going to cut his head off the way the Diamondbacks did. And I won't allow it to happen. So make sure to drop some likes before you get out of here. You got a couple more super chats. BCC says the clips ace trumpets, LOL, let God sort them out. And also, yes, I like that. That's, that's a reference to a song. And also AZ Katz G, beat L.A. Beat L.A. Beat L. Beat L.A. Thank you, buddy. We appreciate you. We appreciate you being part of the supporter group as well. Thank you so much for that. Make sure if you guys are interested in doing so, you hit that on the way out. If you can drop a donation to Big Brothers, Big Sisters, we appreciate it a tremendous amount. Thank you, BCSC for doing so. And thank the rest of you for your time.

We appreciate you guys so much for stopping by. I know it's late, but I know we're pumped. And I'm glad I didn't drink that monster. I had a monster that I was going to drink at like 10 o'clock at night. And now I'm just, I'm just riding. high on the vibes of this win. So didn't need to do it artificially. I just got it from Geraldo Perdomo's cherub-like face. What's funny about that is... And the wonderful things this team does. I, Derek, actually did drink a monster while the Diamondbacks were down four to nothing. I was chugging one going, I'm going to need this one tonight. And you're right. It's, I mean, high off of life. Did you drink mine? Is it mine? No comment.

Damn it, Damon. I was looking forward to that. We're going to have to talk after the show. But anyway, you guys, appreciate you stopping by you can follow us on twitter i'm at cap underscore caveman with a k uh and to the one guy that came on here and said that we used to play video games together uh and told me to stop cursing so much i apologize but i'm probably not going to stop cursing uh damon dog is that damon dog of course we're all damon's dogs bark bark what did you even say derrick i mean you you you literally can't curse on this show anymore i don't i don't think that some people like when i when I take the Lord's name in big. Yeah, that's a big one.

I got that the other day, too, on the Azy Wildcats pod. I can't say a lot of curse words, but the ones I can't say, I'm going to say a lot. So I apologize. And I'm not trying to do it to offend you. It's just because I can't help myself. But we do love you. We appreciate you stopping by. And I do miss playing video games with my friends.

That's something I haven't done in entirely too long. But again, make sure follow Damon. And make sure to follow me. My show is at PH&X, our show, my show. It doesn't belong to me. none of this belongs to me. Our show is at PHNX underscore D-Backs, but as always all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports

on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Thank you guys again so much. Ernesto, you're absolutely right. Let's do this again tomorrow, sir. I love that. So you guys have yourselves a wonderful evening. Hope you get some rest. Get a good night to sleep.

We got more baseball tomorrow. Come back here tomorrow night for another post-game show after game two against the Dodgers. And until then, have a wonderful night. Behave yourselves, Candice. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when the Diamondbacks walk off the Dodgers.