The Arizona Diamondbacks currently find themselves back against the wall, trailing 2-0 in the National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Tonight, during match #3, Brandon Pfaadt will be there.
Although time is of the essence, this does not mean that the DBacks will rush things and change their game plan for duel #4.
Indeed, manager Torey Lovullo announced yesterday (Wednesday) that his ace pitcher Zac Gallen will not start game four, which would have been a start after a shorter rest than usual.
Lovullo had said the same thing before the start of the series, but the question was asked again, a legitimate question since Arizona trails by two games and finds itself without a starter for the fourth game.
The manager, however, reiterated, mentioning that discussions had taken place on this subject, but that it would not be doing his gunner any favors.
We had this discussion, but Zac is such a process-oriented guy, I wouldn’t be doing him any favors. I just want to stick with what worked very, very well for him. I know he would if we asked him, but we’ll need someone for Games 5 and 6 if it gets to that point.
Gallen started the first game of the series, throwing 88 shots and allowing three runs in the first two innings, all on solo home runs. The latter set a career high this season with 210 innings pitched and made three starts in the playoffs.
The plan for game four will depend on how tonight’s (Thursday) game goes. Ryne Nelson and Slade Cecconi, who pitched in relief in his team’s 10-0 loss Tuesday in game two, could then combine their efforts.
