Diamondbacks GM Towers: Brandon McCarthy, Trevor Cahill could be the difference
Arizona Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers believes if pitchers Brandon McCarthy and Trevor Cahill can get back on track, his team will be in the playoff conversation at the end of the regular season.
“Two guys that, hey, if they pitch to their norm we’re a pretty darn good team,” Towers told Arizona Sports 620’s Doug and Wolf Wednesday. “I think we’ve seen moments of it with McCarthy before he got hurt, but if we get these guys back on track they’re two real key guys to our rotation.”
That rotation, which includes ace Patrick Corbin, surging lefty Wade Miley and Randall Delgado, could be key in getting the D-backs back into the playoffs for the first time since 2011. After all, going into the season it was thought to be a strength, but for the most part all it has been is an inconsistent headache.
“If we get the McCarthy of old and the Cahill of old, where they’re throwing strikes and their confidence comes back, then that last month of the season we really become a force, I think not only in the West, but for the Wild Card position,” Towers added.
Beginning play Wednesday, the D-backs, at 65-59, are 7.5 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West and five games behind the Reds in the Wild Card Race.
So needless to say, McCarthy and Cahill — Arizona’s starters the next two games against the Cincinnati Reds — are kind of important.
Because as Towers sees it, his team needs to get upwards of 90 wins if it is to be playing past game 162.
“To me, when you get to this point of time in the year, we really can’t pay attention to what the Dodgers are doing until we play them head-to-head,” he said. “The Central right now, you’ve got three real good teams that are vying for that top spot in the Central; they don’t want to be a Wild Card so they may beat each other up.
“So for us, it’s just win series. We can’t lose any series from here on out.”
That includes the one the D-backs are currently in the midst of.
“We need to, at worst, split with Cincinnati where we don’t lose ground, but preferably win three out of four where we pick up games,” Towers said. “Because you start running out of games as the schedule starts going, so I think if we can somehow win the next two then win the series against Philadelphia, I think we should be in good position when we go home for that nine, 10-game home stand.”
