The Arizona Diamondbacks, after their doubleheader sweep Wednesday in Cleveland, look like shoo-ins to earn a National League wild-card spot, but why stop there?
Ketel Marte is playing like an MVP. The starting rotation is getting reinforcements. And Arizona as a team has been hotter than Arizona as a state since we entered the dog days of summer.
Isn’t it about time we see this team as a contender to win the NL West?
It feels like a wild statement, considering the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers have taken the division title in 10 of the past 11 seasons.
But why not?
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Marte has been playing as well as anybody in the majors lately in a hot streak that coincides with Arizona rising up the standings like hot air.
Marte and LA’s Shohei Ohtani, going into Wednesday, were in a virtual tie in a really useful, if really nerdy, statistic. Ohtani was leading the NL in bWAR at 6.0, and Marte was second at 5.9. (And, in case you care, bWAR is just a way to measure how much better a guy is than an average player in terms of wins. Otherwise, just say Marte is playing great all-around baseball and eat your sunflower seeds.)
Plus, he’s contending for an “over the past month or so” triple crown.
Marte had 11 home runs from July 10 through Wednesday’s games, which was more than anybody else in the majors.
He’s hit homers in three consecutive games three times this year.
And he’s hit nine just within the past two weeks.
Duck! Marte just hit another! (Probably.)
He had 21 RBIs from July 22 through Wednesday, which was the best in the majors.
Plus, he’s been hitting .323 since the last week of June, good for second in the majors behind Miami’s Xavier Edwards.
And these aren’t empty calories, where Marte is getting fat while the team is starving. The Diamondbacks are keeping right up with him.
If the season had started on June 29, Arizona would be in first place in the wins column with 22. The Mets would have been second with 19.
And they’ve figured out how to win late, with six victories in games they trailed in the seventh inning or later. And, you guessed it, that’s most in the majors.
In fact, the DBacks had trailed in half of their 22 wins between the end of June and Tuesday.
All I’m saying is that these guys can play and that they don’t quit.
It could be that when the Dodgers come to town in a couple of weeks, first place will be on the line.
And we all know how Marte plays when the world is watching. I remember Marte going all Willie Ruth Aaron Griffey in the playoffs last season, winning MVP of the National League Championship Series.
The best part about it is the reality that the Dodgers’ front office has a Hollywood budget, while Arizona general manager Mike Hazen is basically crowdfunding to make an arthouse indie.
It’s almost like winning the NL West is harder than making it to the World Series, and this season Arizona is in position to do both with a favorable schedule heading down the stretch, including lots of games against teams that are hovering around .500 or below.
Arizona looks to be a shoo-in for the playoffs, but why stop there?
A World Series appearance last year and a chance to win the NL West halfway through August?
It’s enough to rattle fans who’ve been with the Diamondbacks a long time.
