Arizona
Series 37 Preview: Arizona Diamondbacks at Cleveland Guardians
Arizona and Cleveland. Two teams that just roll off the tongue together, no? Really? Not for you? Strange.
Cleveland made some waves in 2022, winning the AL Central, reaching Game 5 of the ALDS, having defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card. They stretched the Yankees to the limit as well, but a young team fell short. Hopes were high for 2023 and…were not met. Now another year removed, they look to replicate and surpass those 2022 highs. They enter the series with the best record in baseball. They have an offense that is terrifying when it all comes together (which it often does). They have an established pitching factory that seemingly creates effective arms (both starting and relief) at will. They have a World Class Closer in Clase. An MVP candidate in Jose Ramirez. A better version of Luis Arraez in Steven Kwan. And a true-rookie manager well on his way to unanimously winning AL Manager of the Year in Stephen Vogt.
Arizona meanwhile is experiencing a season of ups and downs. Expectations were high entering 2024, and have not been met, but contention is still occurring. Despite atrocious results from Jordan Montgomery, no results from Eduardo Rodriguez, and a sophomore slump of epic proportions the team currently holds the final NL Wild Card and even has a tiny amount of breathing room. ERod is likely to return this series. Brandon Pfaadt and Zac Gallen get to pitch on either side of him. Suarez might be slowing down after a torrid July, but Ketel appears to be picking back up in his own MVP race.
This series could end up being a precursor for a World Series! One I would be able to experience in person here in Ohio! It could also end up a footnote in two otherwise forgotten seasons. But in the moment, the stakes are high for both teams.
Monday 8/5/2024 at 3:40pm Arizona Time in Progressive Field: Zac Gallen (9-5, 3.56 ERA, 93.2 IP, 92 K) vs. Logan Allen (8-4, 5.67 ERA, 87.1 IP, 76 K)
This Logan Allen is the one some people got very excited about last winter when we collected the other one. His 2024 has not been as exciting as 2023 was, but he’s been working some stuff out in Columbus for Cleveland’s AAA affiliate since July 7. He’s been far better in the capitol of Ohio, but against lesser opponents than Arizona.
Gallen meanwhile has posted fairly good starts recently when you check the box score, but has struggled and worked hard to reach those results. Unfortunately the last 4 teams he’s faced have been: Toronto, Chicago North, Pittsburgh and Washington. While none are pushovers exactly in 2024, none are pinnacles of excellence either. Against an offense like Cleveland’s, his could be another rough outing. But if anyone is going to break through in a big way against a team that we don’t expect, it’s totally Gallen right?
Scales tip toward Cleveland in the opener, but it could be closer to a draw!
Tuesday 8/6/2024 at 3:40pm Arizona Time in Progressive Field: TBD – Likely Eduardo Rodriguez (Season Debut?) vs. Ben Lively (10-6, 3.42 ERA, 105.1 IP, 90 K)
Game two is a weird game. It’s looking to be the season debut of Eduardo Rodriguez for Arizona. He’s the first big rotation free agency splurge for Mike Hazen of last winter, but he’s been on the shelf the whole season with “minor” injuries that keep delaying him. What to expect from him is a fools prospect as he entered free agency after a career year and is basically made of bubble gum and hopes. To say nothing of the lack of a rehab stint with any minor league affiliates…
The offense may need to bail him out against Ben Lively, which could be a tall order. He has been sharp for a team on a season-long roll. Just before the All Star Break, he had a hiccup of allowing 6ER against Detroit over 5.1 innings. But that was mid-slide for Cleveland and he met one of the hottest teams in MLB at the time in the Tigers. He hasn’t gone less than 5 full innings since June 16. His opposing teams over that stretch aren’t the most impressive, but baseball is all about timing as well. He will look to continue his stretch of solidly providing his team with a chance to win.
Scales tip toward Cleveland pretty heavily here. Who knows what sort of Rodriguez Arizona will get (dare we ask ….if? still at this point). And in Lively, the offense could have a gritty starter to really work at bats against.
Wednesday 8/7/2024 at 11:10am Arizona Time in Progressive Field: Brandon Pfaadt (5-6, 3.97 ERA, 131.1 IP, 118 K) vs. Carlos Carrasco (3-9, 5.53 ERA, 99.1 IP, 84 K)
On paper at least, this game feels the most obtainable for Arizona. On the mound you have Pfaadt who has fairly easily been the ace of the staff in 2024. He hasn’t taken a loss since June 19 and he has a single game all season where he went less than 5 innings (July 6 in San Diego – 4.1 IP). On top of being a work horse, he has put up solid production as well. Not too shabby for the former top prospect many were ready to trade about 12 months ago!
On the reverse side is Carrasco… The veteran who may lose his rotation spot to trade deadline acquisitions soon. He has been a healthy enough arm for Cleveland to “rely” on in 2024, but that’s about where the good ends. He is coming off an impressive start against Baltimore, but that ended a streak of 3 consecutive losses for him. And he still only went 4.1 innings. For a 37 year-old, it’s not too horrid. But for a team with eyes on ending the longest active World Series draught in baseball, he’s not cutting it.
Scales favor Arizona here.
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A new study has ranked Arizona as one of the worst states to move to for two years in a row, largely due to what it calls a poor quality of life.
The study conducted by Consumer Affairs analyzed the best states to move to in the United States, putting Arizona at the bottom of the list.
Before Arizonans get too defensive about the Grand Canyon State, Consumer Affairs used factors such as affordability, safety, economic strength and education to measure each state, leaving out factors like entertainment, retirement benefits and other considerations that may be important to people living here.
Popular states such as California and New York also landed at the bottom of the list due to their lack of affordability, even though they both have some of the best health care and education in the nation, Consumer Affairs noted.
Here’s why the study says you shouldn’t move to Arizona. Do you agree?
Why you shouldn’t move to Arizona
Arizona ranked No. 10 out of the worst states to move to, scoring especially poorly in quality of life.
Quality of life was measured by the state’s Social Progress Index, average air quality, weather, environmental protection and number of national parks. Due to Arizona’s extreme summers and Phoenix’s consistently poor air quality, it’s easy to see why Arizona ranked No. 44 in quality of life out of 50 states, even though the Grand Canyon is one of the most popular national parks in the nation.
However, Arizona also ranked poorly in other categories, sitting at No. 42 in health care and education, No. 41 in safety and No. 34 in affordability out of 50 states.
There was one category Arizona did impressively well in, ranking No. 5 in economic strength even as one of the youngest states in the country. Still, Arizona’s economic power wasn’t enough to boost its ranking.
Top 10 worst states to move to
Arizona wasn’t alone; some of the biggest states in the country were also considered the worst states to move to in 2026.
- New Mexico
- Louisiana
- California
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Nevada
- Alaska
- Mississippi
- Oregon
- Arizona
Top 10 best states to move to
- Utah
- New Hampshire
- Idaho
- Minnesota
- Massachusetts
- Maine
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
- Iowa
- South Dakota
PHOENIX — Arizona’s ACA marketplace enrollment fell from 363,000 to just over 255,000 in a single year — a nearly 30% decline and the third-largest annual drop in the country.
Rising premiums and expired tax credits are driving the trend, with the average benchmark plan premium in Arizona now at $532 — up 30% from 2025.
In the player above, ABC15 Data Analyst Garrett Archer takes a look inside the numbers on how healthcare premiums are impacting health insurance enrollment.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Arizona
Arizona man pleads guilty after illegally living in forest for years among ‘1,000lbs of trash’
A man in Arizona has pleaded guilty to violating federal fire restrictions and unlawfully residing in a national forest, after authorities said he spent years living at a makeshift campsite surrounded by what officials described as “approximately 1,000 pounds of trash”.
Mark Aaron Gatz was arrested on 25 June at his illegal campsite in Arizona’s Tonto national forest, according to court records. A United States Forest Service (USFS) officer wrote in documents submitted to court that Gatz had been operating an “illegal campsite” with a “hot wood burning campfire” despite fire restrictions and that he had told investigators that he had been living in the forest for about eight years.
The officer wrote that a records check found that Gatz had previously received multiple citations and was the subject of six outstanding federal arrest warrants for earlier violations, including for building fires during fire restrictions, constructing on national forest service lands, unsanitary conditions and occupying national forest as a residence.
Gatz “said that he knew about current fire restrictions but had to have fire to eat”, authorities said. The documents show that USFS officers made contact with Gatz multiple times over the last year or so, and issued him warnings as well as a violation notice for having campfires during fire restrictions.
Notes from officers’ previous encounters with Gatz earlier this year, submitted into the court docket, state that authorities observed “trash such as clothing, pans, tools, and plastic cups scattered throughout the campsite along with a structure that was four feet in height build using wood panels”.
During an encounter with Gatz in May, officers reported observing “approximately 1,000 pounds of trash” at the site, which they said included tires, plastic bags, trash bags, aluminum cans and other items. They also wrote that they found that the campfire site had been left unattended by Gatz the previous day while still hot.
In a separate report filed by law enforcement from an encounter in February, one officer wrote that “upon arrival at the camp, I was flabbergasted by the amount of debris in the area”.
Investigators said that during that encounter, the debris consisted of three ladders, six to eight totes “overfilled with debris”, five 55-gallon drums, eight tires, multiple bicycle frames, 5 gallons of motor oil, plywood and other “miscellaneous lumber”, and they wrote that trash was scattered over approximately half an acre of Forest Service land and creating what officers described as public safety concerns.
In a separate report from July 2025, officers said they observed what they described as a “large messy campsite” while patrolling the area due to complaints “from the district office abut one large messy camp”.
“There was roughly half an acre of resources ruined due to so much trash and goods on the ground for an extended period of time,” the officer wrote.
This week, after Gatz pleaded guilty, he was sentenced to time served and three years of probation, according to court records.
A representative for Gatz did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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