“Those are some dark times in Arizona,” he said.

But driving to Globe Life Field on the eve of the World Series, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Game 1 starter couldn’t help but reflect just a little.

“Like, 730 days ago, whatever it was, who would have really thought we would be here right now, this soon, this quickly?” he mused to the media.

Seven hundred and thirty days before, the Atlanta Braves won the first game of the 2021 World Series over the Houston Astros en route to a championship. That year, the Braves won 88 games, the Astros 95. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks won just 52. Their opponents in this World Series, the Texas Rangers, won 60 that year.