Diamondbacks Pitcher Confident Arizona Beats Dodgers in Postseason Series

With hundreds of reporters gathered at Camelback Ranch to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers and their defense of a World Series title, the Arizona Diamondbacks are quietly working out without all the fanfare.

Arizona might not have the camera crews, but the D-backs are fine being the underdogs without the expectations. They know what they are capable of.

“Every time we play those guys I feel like they can be beat,” D-backs veteran reliever Kevin Ginkel said to USA Today about the Dodgers. “They’re deep, but with the guys we have and our pedigree, just get us into the postseason, play those guys in a best-of-seven, and I’ll take our chances.”

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The Diamondbacks could have flown a white flag as they watched the Dodgers sign star after star this offseason but they didn’t. Instead, they signed 2021 Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes to a franchise-record six-year, $210 million contract, raising their payroll to a club-record $195 million.

Arizona boasts a strong pitching staff, featuring Burnes, Zac Gallen (third in Cy Young voting two years ago), reliable veteran Merrill Kelly, former 19-game winner Eduardo Rodriguez, World Series champion Jordan Montgomery, and promising young arm Brandon Pfaadt.

With $369.8 million invested in their rotation, they may not have the star power of teams like the Dodgers, but in a short series, facing Burnes, Gallen, Kelly, and Rodriguez could be a serious challenge.

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“Obviously they’ve done what they’ve done, they signed who they signed,” Gallen said to USA Today. “But look at this team. Fully healthy, you could easily put our rotation in the top 10 easily last year and now we add someone like Corbin.

“For ownership and management to go out and spend the money and put a commitment to us, as a player it just reinforced what you’re doing. We needed maybe another piece to get us over the hump, and then you get a guy with his caliber. Pretty cool.”

The scariest detail about the Diamondbacks this spring is that they aren’t afraid and ready for the challenge ahead. They are also oozing with confidence.

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“Look, top to bottom, as far as the rotation and the bullpen, we can compete with any club,” Burnes said to USA Today. “We can run out there right now with seven starters that would arguably be in the top two or three of any rotation. We got depth and a young, talented bullpen. I don’t think many organizations can match that depth as far as starting talent.

“I think pitching-wise we can compete with any team, whether it’s the Dodgers or the Mets. This was a team that was in the World Series two years ago, and we’re well positioned to make another good run.”

Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

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