PHOENIX – The Arizona Diamondbacks will change their starting lineup this weekend against the Milwaukee Brewers, using the off day on Thursday to move Zac Gallen up and give Brandon Pfaadt an extra day of rest.
Pfaadt was scheduled to start on Friday, followed by Eduardo Rodriguez and Ryne Nelson.
Rodriguez will now start the series opener, Pfaadt on Saturday and Gallen will face the club Arizona eliminated in the NL Wild Card Series last October on Sunday. Nelson’s next start appears to be scheduled for next week in Colorado.
Manager Torey Lovullo said the club is currently in talks to determine the rotation for the final two weeks of the regular season, which ends Sept. 29 against the San Diego Padres. Lovullo said the D-backs have been working hard on pairings to set up the rotation for the championship race. Arizona entered Wednesday in the second wild-card spot.
“There have been some adjustments made, and then there could be some splits and changes depending on the direction our season goes,” Lovullo said Wednesday before the game.
“If there’s the potential to win early or late, how do we want to approach that? If there’s a potential postseason, all that stuff. I remember what we did last year. We had a couple different plans. We had to go full throttle the whole time. And then we even had Merrill (Kelly) pitch on the last day, which gave Pfaadt the opportunity to start Game 1 in Milwaukee. We like all of our options, but Zac and Merrill are clearly the guys we want to have the most pitching.”
Gallen is coming off two straight scoreless games against the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers. Kelly threw seven two-run innings in San Francisco and followed that brilliance with four innings on Wednesday before a cramp in his right thigh sidelined him. Lovullo said he doesn’t expect Kelly’s cramps to keep him from his next start, including in Colorado.
Pfaadt is nearing a career high with 165 innings pitched (majors or minors). Lovullo said he doesn’t see fatigue as a problem for the 25-year-old, but that he could benefit from rest. Pfaadt is the only starter in the five-man rotation who hasn’t missed any time on the injured list.
Diamondbacks-Brewers: Possible pitchers
Friday: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (5.83) vs. RHP Freddy Peralta (10-8, 3.81)
Saturday: RHP Brandon Pfaadt (4.42) vs. RHP Tobias Myers (7-5, 2.93)
Sunday: RHP Zac Gallen (3.55) vs. LHP DL Hall (1-1, 4.01)
