Arizona and St. Louis just spent four games beating each other senseless for a Wild Card spot, and somehow they're not done yet — the Diamondbacks roll back into St. Louis five days after an 8-7 extra-inning classic that decided nothing in the standings.
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Best BetDiamondbacks
Arizona just took the season series from St. Louis and did it despite missing half its outfield and most of its rotation — that's a team playing above its circumstances. The Diamondbacks are 4-1 in their last 5 against a Cardinals club that just lost its top lefty reliever, and momentum plus health depth on the position-player side tips this toward Arizona.
Diamondbacks
+Won 3 of last 4 vs Cardinals, including epic comeback
+4-1 in last 5 games overall
+Carroll's elbow reportedly not considered serious
−Rotation stripped down: Gallen, Burnes, Nelson, Soroka all out
−Outfield thin with Gurriel, Lawlar, Troy on IL
Cardinals
+Dead-even record with Arizona in tight Wild Card race
+Chance to flip script at home after rough series
−Dropped 3 of last 4 to this exact Diamondbacks team
−Lost top lefty reliever Romero to appendicitis
Nobody's rotation is in great shape heading into Thursday's series opener, and neither club has announced a starter yet. Arizona's already without Zac Gallen, Corbin Burnes, Ryne Nelson and Michael Soroka, so whoever takes the ball is doing it on the fly — worth watching once the probables actually post.
The bigger story is who's available to swing the bat and throw in relief. Corbin Carroll, Arizona's best player, is officially day-to-day after hyperextending his elbow on a swing in Sunday's comeback win, and he said afterward he wasn't too worried about it lingering. St. Louis, meanwhile, lost its top lefty reliever, JoJo Romero, to appendicitis last week, leaving Oliver Marmol with just Justin Bruihl to cover left-on-left matchups.
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Both clubs sit basically dead-even in the standings and in the Wild Card race, which is exactly why this four-game sample from last weekend feels louder than it should. Arizona took 3 of 4, capped by that franchise-record comeback from down 7-0, and the Cardinals have to be sick of seeing this team already.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Jul 22?vs Athletics—
Jul 21?vs Athletics—
Jul 20?vs Athletics—
St. Louis Cardinals
Jul 22?@ Angels—
Jul 21?@ Angels—
Jul 20?@ Angels—
Recent form.
St. Louis has a chance to flip the script at home, but the roster losses are piling up in Phoenix's favor of noise, not results — Arizona's outfield is currently held together by Ryan Waldschmidt, Max Kepler and Jorge Barrosa with Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Jordan Lawlar and Tommy Troy all sidelined. That's a lot of adversity for a team that's still won 4 of its last 5.
