Rich Hill checks in after first start
Zac Gallen was the wide-eyed one. His experience at Fenway Park had previously been that of watching a couple of games from the stands and taking a tour of the ballpark with his mother.
Then Friday, a day before he was going to pitch on the Fenway mound he viewed as an enormous part of the location's cache, he got a chance to sign his name in the left field wall.
"It's fun to think about being on the mound given the guys that have played here over the last 100 years," Gallen said.
But by the time Gallen and Diamondbacks packed up and left Fenway Saturday night, they were the ones dishing out the lessons - both from the past and for the present and future.
What Arizona has offered the Red Sox over the first two games of this three-game set is the blueprint.
For starters, uncovering the kind of ace that Gallen represented in Arizona's 4-1 win Saturday a great launching pad. With many at Fenway expecting the Red Sox once again execute their usual lose-Friday-win-Saturday ritual, Gallen stepped up and made sure his team was sticking to its narrative and not that of the Sox.
For six innings Gallen completely dominated the Red Sox, not allowing a hit through the first 4 1/3 innings while giving up just two for his entire six-inning outing. The Diamondbacks have now won six of their starter's seven starts. All of it is the image of an ace.
Such a dynamic was a big part of the Diamondbacks' foundation during their run to the World Series, with Gallen pitching a gaudy 243 2/3 total innings. It's the image - and the kind of player - the Red Sox will be desperately banking on uncovering for these final five weeks.
Sunday, the Red Sox will have their chance to show they do possess such a dynamic, with staff ace Tanner Houck going up against Merrill Kelly. Now sitting 4 1/2 games in back of both the Twins and Royals and facing the possibility of a series sweep against the best team in baseball since the beginning of July (33-13), this is the time the hosts need a Gallen-esque performance.
There are more bits and pieces the Red Sox can hope to take away from witnessing the Diamondbacks.
Arizona is at testament to what good fielding can produce, sitting with the fewest errors in the majors (48), while the Red Sox lead all of the bigs with 92. For August, the Diamondbacks have made just six miscues all month.
It would also be comforting for the Red Sox if they could have one of their trade deadline relievers step up in the fashion Arizona's representative - A.J. Puk - has. The big lefty, who was acquired from Miami for two minor leaguers on July 25, continued his dominant ways while shutting down the Red Sox in the eighth inning. In 12 innings with the Diamondbacks, Puk has given up just one run while striking out 16.
It would certainly go along way if the Red Sox could find that similar lightning in the bottle with the likes of Lucas Sims and/or Luis Garcia. (A notion that hasn't presented itself as of yet.)
And then there is the lesson of what might still be.
It might be hard to remember, but on Aug. 25, 2023, the eventual National League champs - the Diamondbacks - shared the exact same record as the Red Sox: 68-61. From that point on, it wasn't as if Arizona was a juggernaut, totaling a 17-16 record. But they did just enough to get into the tournament with 84 regular season wins. The Red Sox? They were a major-league worst 9-24.
The moral of this story is the power of doing just enough to get into the postseason.
While the Red Sox are entering Sunday's series finale fending off doubts - particularly considering they have to right their ship against the red-hot Diamondbacks - the path to potentially really good things is still in sight.
As Arizona taught us all, no matter how flawed you might think you are in the final few weeks of the regular season, there is an opportunity waiting for those who might be barely keeping their heads above water. With Houck pitching ... With their recent history of resilience ... With a schedule that is about to get appreciably more palatable ... The Red Sox are still breathing.
Now its time for the Red Sox to look around and relish in some history - that of the most recent visitors to Fenway Park.