👋 GOOD MORNING

Happy Friday! We made it through another week!

I’ll get to the Diamondbacks below, but first, just a quick note that the PHNX Sports Daily will not publish on Monday, but I truly hope you have a great Memorial Day! If you’re off work, enjoy the time, but most importantly, please honor the memory of all who paid the ultimate price in the name of freedom. We are forever grateful for their sacrifice, and their memory will never be forgotten.

Enjoy the long weekend, and let’s run it back next week (beginning on Tuesday). On to the show!

Diamondbacks Prove They Belong Following NL West Stretch

The Arizona Diamondbacks can do some damage this fall.

I admit, I was as skeptical as anyone, but Arizona’s performance during a stretch of 13 consecutive games vs. NL West opponents showed quite a bit of mettle, especially with seven of thos coming against Los Angeles, the division leader and defending World Series champs.

I even recently wrote how mediocre performances wouldn’t cut it, and at face value the club’s 7-6 record vs. the division is suspect at best. Throw in a 14-12 loss against the historically bad Rockies, and it seems even worse.

But beyond face value, there are positive signs.

Diamondbacks Pitching Has Taken a Step Forward

Arizona went 3-4 in seven games against the Dodgers over the last two weeks, but earned series wins against the second place Giants and the aforementioned Rockies. L.A. maintains a five-game lead over the Diamondbacks in the West, but with six head-to-head games remaining (not to mention well over half-a-season in general), there’s plenty of time to make up ground.

They’re also just two games back from the NL’s second Wild Card spot, but even I’ll admit it’s a little early to start scoreboard watching. At least wait until the All-Star break!

Arizona’s starting rotation has started to show signs of life, as well. Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to L.A., for example, was essentially the result of one bad Corbin Burnes pitch — one that Teoscar Hernandez turned into a three-run home run. Burnes was fantastic otherwise, scattering four hits over seven innings while striking out eight.

That followed a 10-strikeout shutout on May 16 against Colorado, and the former Cy Young winner has allowed just five combined earned runs over his last five starts. Burnes has posted a 1.35 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in his three May starts, and he’s not alone.

Burnes, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson have each shined over the last 15 days:

Zac Gallen continues to struggle to regain his form and Eduardo Rodriguez is now on the IL with shoulder inflammation, but with four other starters that are really turning up the heat, the Diamondbacks pitchers are putting on a display that fans expected to see beginning of last season.

The offense has been quieter than usual, but that hardly feels like a concern considering Arizona has had little trouble scoring over the past two seasons. It would be nice to see a little more from rookie Jordan Lawlar, who is 0-for-10 with seven strikeouts, but he has shown too much talent for this to cause concern….yet.

Fundamentally, the pitching is what needs to set the stage for an October run.

My Take: We’re starting to get to the point in the MLB season where teams begin to create a little separation from the pack, and the Diamondbacks cannot afford to lose ground in the NL West race. Arizona is 26-24 after 50 games — they were 24-26 a year ago — and have manageable series coming up against the Cardinals (27-23), Pirates (17-33), Nationals (22-27), Braves (24-24) and Reds (25-26).

Musings From Around (and Sometimes Beyond) The Valley

Not Those Cardinals: The Diamondbacks head to St. Louis for a three-game set against the Cardinals before returning to Chase Field for six consecutive games — three each against the Pirates and Braves.

Investing in the Future: Kudos to the Diamondbacks, who donated a combined $200,000 in scholarship funds to 12 local students, surprising them at Chase Field when they thought they were simply going to take in a ballgame last Saturday. The money was donated through the D-backs Avnet STEM Scholars Program, and the third graduating class of STEM scholars also received a personalized Diamondbacks jersey, laptop, backpack, headphones and a 500 dollar gift card for school supplies!

Teeing Up a Championshp?: Good luck to the No. 5 ASU men’s golf team, which kicks off the NCAA Championships on Friday in Carlsbad, Calif. Friday’s round kicks off alongside Texas and Oklahoma at 12:12 pm AZ time as the Sun Devils try to earn their third-ever national championship.

Arizona State’s 59 appearances in the NCAA Tournament are third all-time, behind just Texas (68) and Oklahoma State (76).

The Quest Continues: The Wildcats baseball team won its quarterfinal matchup 4-1 over BYU, and will now face top-seeded West Virginia in the semifinal at 4 pm AZ time (ESPN+). Arizona was 2-1 against the Mountaineers in the regular season.

Should the Wildcats emerge victorious, they’ll play the winner of No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 3 TCU in the championship game on Saturday (6 pm, ESPNU). UA was 1-0 against the Jayhawks and 2-1 vs. the Horned Frogs this year.

Busy Weekend: The 2-0 Mercury hit the road for the first time this season, facing the Storm (1-1) tonight in Seattle (7 pm, ion) before returning home to host Washington (2-1) on Sunday at 3 pm (Arizona’s Family / 3TV).

Over So Soon: Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting will miss all of 2025 after being placed on the non-football injury list yesterday, indicating he suffered an injury somewhere other than an NFL facility. The 27-year-old was set to factor into an improved Arizona defense after notching three interceptions and two forced fumbles last season, his first in the desert.

It’s a Little Drafty: Make sure to check out the NBA Diehard Draft Guide — Led by ALLCITY draft analysts Derek Bodner of PHLY and Will Gottlieb of CHGO, this guide is your one-stop-shop as teams across the league gear up to reshape their rosters

Note the Diehard draft guide is best viewed on desktop or tablet!

🧢 Tip of the Hat by Branded Bills

Crazy.