The Arizona Diamondbacks exceeded expectations last season by advancing to the World Series after sneaking into the postseason as the No. 6 seed in the National League bracket.
The team’s surprising run to the Fall Classic included sweeps of the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers in the first two rounds. Arizona then eliminated the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Championship Series by winning Games 6 and 7 on the road.
The Diamondbacks were defeated by the Texas Rangers in the World Series, but improved their roster during the offseason in an effort to get back to baseball’s biggest stage. Arizona re-signed Lourdes Gurriel Jr., brought in Eduardo Rodriguez, Jordan Montgomery and Joc Pederson, and traded for Eugenio Suarez.
Despite their efforts, many believe that the NL West still goes through the Dodgers, who added the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow to a roster that won 100 games last season.
While the two clubs will often be compared, Paul Sewald said the Diamondbacks are focused on being the best version of themselves and not beating the Dodgers, via ESPN’s Jesse Rogers:
“Our goal isn’t to beat the Dodgers anyway. Our goal is to be the best version of the Diamondbacks that we can be,” Sewald said. “And on October 1, let’s see if we get another series to play.”
The Dodgers won eight of 13 games against the Diamondbacks and outscored them 72-47 during the regular season. However, Arizona completely dominated their playoff matchup as they held the Dodgers to six runs in three games.
“I mean, it’s still there,” Max Muncy recently said of the disappointment. “There’s no way around it. We sucked. We obviously really kind of blew it. I’m not trying to take anything away from the Diamondbacks — they obviously played very well, and hats off to them — but we blew it.
“When something like that happens, it sticks with you for a while. We’re obviously extremely excited, but it’s still there a little bit.”
Mike Hazen uncertain if Diamondbacks ‘closed the gap’
Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen gave the Dodgers credit for their flurry of offseason activity and wondered if they still remain significantly better than the team he oversees.
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