The Diamondbacks Need Length from Zach Davies Against Cubs

Pitching Matchup

Kyle Hendricks stymied the Diamondbacks in his last outing in Chicago on September 10th, giving up just two runs in 5.2 innings.  Hendricks threw 43 change ups out of his 82 pitches and the D-backs hitters couldn't lay off, swinging at 28 of them.  They managed to put 13 in play, but there wasn't a hard hit ball among them, (none over 95 MPH exit velocity). The D-backs have struggled lately against pitcher's with good changeups. 

Zach Davies has a very similar change up and sinker heavy approach, but has not had nearly as much success as Hendricks has had, in either 2023 or in his career. But the keys for both pitchers are the same, and the approach for hitters is the same. D-backs manager Torey Lovullo addressed the question of how to approach Hendricks today.

"The matchup today is very interesting. I think they're like brothers throwing against one another. They're very similar. You've just got to eliminate chase, you've got to be patient. He's not going to throw the ball by you. He's going to probably throw set up pitches to get you sped up. You just got to be smart. You've got to be aware of where his landing spots are going to be.... our guys just have to be really stubborn to seeing the ball in the zone and maybe giving up a little bit of the power thought by just going up there and having an SOB type of at bat"

Lovullo said today he hopes to see improved sequencing and command from Davies and wants him to use the entire zone. These are themes that pitching coach Brent Strom has repeatedly stressed as well, but Davies has not been able to execute on with consistency. Davies has completed six innings just once in his last seven starts and his two most recent outings he lasted just four and three runs respectively, giving up a total of eight runs. 

Bullpen

The D-backs were forced to use five relievers last night. Lovullo had an early, albeit justified early hook with Brandon Pfaadt, pulling him with one out in the sixth after just 73 pitches. Lovullo wanted the matchup of lefty Andrew Saalfrank against switch hitter Ian Happ and lefty Cody Bellinger. He also was concerned about sending Pfaadt out the third time around the middle of the Cubs order. 

That worked out perfectly as Saalfrank got out of the 6th unscathed. Ryan Thompson threw up a scoreless 7th as did Kevin Ginkel in the 8th.  The best laid plans were upended somewhat when Kyle Nelson gave up  gave up two homers and three runs in the 9th,  forcing Paul Sewald into a game he should not have been in.  As much as the team needs Davies to go at least five or six innings, he will not hesitate to remove Davies if he's getting hit hard. Expect Lovullo to push the envelope with reliever workload the rest of the weekend however as every game is a must win and they have an off day Monday.