This story was excerpted from Steve Gilbert’s D-backs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
LOS ANGELES -- Because of the way days off are structured during the National League Division Series, the D-backs could start either Merrill Kelly or Zac Gallen in four of the potential five games.
Game 1 is tonight and Kelly, who had been slated to pitch Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series before the D-backs clinched it in two, will get the ball.
Sunday is a day off, which means the D-backs can bring Gallen, who pitched the Game 2 clincher in Milwaukee, back on regular rest for Monday’s Game 2 of the NLDS.
There is another day off Tuesday and the D-backs seem likely to start rookie Brandon Pfaadt in Game 3 on Wednesday back in Phoenix.
Kelly could then start a potential Game 4 on Thursday on regular rest and with Friday being a day off, Gallen could come back to start a decisive Game 5 on Saturday, if necessary, in Los Angeles.
“I've been a part of playoff baseball before. I know there are unusual off-days,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “We feel like this puts us in a really good position because 1A and 1B are going to be able to potentially start four of these five games.”
Kelly said he and Gallen have not talked about the fact that they could potentially start all but one of the games in the series, but they are aware of it.
“We had a little bit of a moment after we clinched [in Milwaukee] where we looked at each other and we both recognized that we're big pieces of this team, we're big wheels in the cog,” Kelly said. “But after that, we're kind of the same in that way, we don't really harp on it too much.
“So, we haven't really sat down and thought about it. We haven't talked about it, but I think we both recognize that we have a pretty good chance if one of us [is] on the mound at any given game.”