Jordan Montgomery stands between Arizona and a sweep
Yesterday’s win was the fourth in a row for Arizona over Milwaukee, clinching the season series with one to play. With the Brewers all but locked in at #3, you wonder if the Diamondbacks might be better off aiming for the sixth seed, to set up a wild-card rematch. The alternative is probably the Padres; while the D-backs have split the ten games against them so far (with the final series to come), the last was back on July 7. This recent series in Milwaukee is probably more relevant, and will certainly be on the Brewers’ mind going into the playoffs. However, if the Diamondbacks can overtake the Padres, they’d get home-field advantage – definitely worth having, not least financially.
For the finale, we are even deeper into house money territory. I just hoped to leave Milwaukee with the standings unchanged. That’s now guaranteed, AZ having gone 3-0 while NY and ATL are 2-1. Even if every result is against us today, the hardest series of the remaining schedule will be out of the way, with four fewer games for those chasing us. Hopefully, of course, things will be better still, and the D-backs return home able to clinch as early as Monday night. That will likely need a good effort from Jordan Montgomery, who last won on August 14, and has a 6.17 ERA since. On the other hand, the team scored 67 runs over his eight W’s, so an offensive explosion would work too.