After a rough first half, the Diamondbacks are surging
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Jake McCarthy celebrates with Ketel Marte after hitting a home run Thursday. Photo: Norm Hall/Getty Images
The struggles that characterized the first half of the Arizona Diamondbacks' season are distant memories as the reigning National League champs have surged to the top of the Wild Card standings.
The big picture: The D-Backs have been one of baseball's hottest teams over the past month and a half.
- After winning Monday night's series opener against the Colorado Rockies, they've won 26 games since July 1, the most in Major League Baseball, according to the statistics website Statmuse.com.
- Arizona is tied with the San Diego Padres for the lead in the NL Wild Card rankings, positioning the Snakes for a return trip to the postseason and their first back-to-back playoff appearances since 2001-02.
- They've won their past eight series, and haven't lost a series since June 25-27, when they dropped two of three games to the Minnesota Twins .
Zoom in: The NL West is stacked this year, with 3.5 games separating the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers from the Diamondbacks and Padres, who are tied for second place.
Flashback: Last season, the D-Backs stunned the baseball world when they made the World Series for the second time in franchise history.
- Arizona ultimately lost to the Texas Rangers in five games.
Catch up quick: The D-Backs struggled much of this year, hovering under .500 for the bulk of the first half of the season.
- But they've seen success since the All-Star break, going 18-5, and have had a winning record since a July 12 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
State of play: Arizona is taking Major League Baseball's power rankings by storm.
- CBS Sports put the D-Backs at No. 5, noting Arizona is contending for the division title after being 11.5 games out of first place in early July.
- The snakes held the sixth spot at Bleacher Report, the ninth spot in the MLB.com and Fox Sports rankings, and 10th in USA Today's rankings.
The latest: In his first start since April 15, pitcher Merrill Kelly notched a win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, giving up two runs and three hits over five innings.
- Kelly, who won 12 games last year in the second spot in the D-Backs' rotation, has missed most of the season with a shoulder injury.
Between the lines: Arizona's offense has been on fire. The D-Backs lead the Majors in total runs (629) and runs batted in (602).
- As Go PHNX noted Monday, things have picked up for reigning NL Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll, who had a nasty slump in the first half of the season, but has hit nine homers in his last 29 games, compared with two in his first 87.
1 big bat: Veteran second baseman Ketel Marte is leading the D-Backs' offense and is second in the NL MVP betting odds to Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.
- Marte is batting .298 with 30 home runs and 81 RBI.