Montgomery-Led D-Backs Look to Rebound Against the Marlins

The Diamondbacks will look to bounce back behind Jordan Montgomery after a brutal loss on Friday night.

D-Backs starter Jordan Montgomery (52) gestures before throwing to the Dodgers at Chase Field in Phoenix on May 1, 2024. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY

The Diamondbacks are coming off of a brutal loss on Friday night to the Marlins. Braxton Garrett was nearly untouchable, as he went on to throw a Complete Game Shutout with under 100 pitches thrown.

The offense looked lifeless and unrecognizable to the one that was present in the Dodgers series. They will now look for a major bounce-back win behind Jordan Montgomery.

After last night's loss, Arizona falls to 24-27 on the season, pushing them 2 games back of a Wild Card. While not good, a weak NL has kept the Diamondbacks in it. Seven teams are separated by only 4 games for two playoff spots, and only 4 of those teams are above .500.

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Marlins at Diamondbacks Lineups May 25, 2024 / Jack Sommers

Jordan Montgomery was the last addition in the D-Backs offseason, and he's been one of the most important. Even though he's experiencing an unusual, and inconsistent stretch for him, Montgomery has been key with the amount of pitching injuries to the Diamondbacks staff.

He has thrown to a 4.98 ERA in 6 games but has a significantly better FIP of 4.44. Montgomery's last start came against Detroit, going 6 innings of 4 run ball, but only recording 3 K's.

The strikeouts have been down for Montgomery, who has only struck out 20 in 34.1 innings this year. This makes tonight's game an especially tough matchup as the Marlins rank 7th in strikeouts per game, only one spot above the D-Backs.

The Diamondbacks will be going up against Sixto Sanchez, who returned in 2024 for the first time since the shortened 2020 season. During his first campaign with the Marlins, he was dominant, pitching to a 3.46 ERA in 6 games with a 3.00 K/BB earning him 7th in Rookie of the Year voting.

Sanchez's 2024 return tour has not quite gone the way he'd hoped to this point. Since coming back to the Marlins rotation he has a 6.41 ERA with a 1.36 K/BB ratio. In 26 innings he has struck out 15.

Not only is Sanchez walking more batters but he has been unable to get batters out consistently without allowing the ball in play. The Diamondbacks, just like the Marlins, are one of the best teams in the league when it comes to avoiding the strikeout.

The Diamondbacks will face off against Sanchez and the Marlins at 7:10 PM Arizona Time at Chase Field. Stay tuned to Inside The Diamondbacks for postgame coverage.