ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (47-75, last place in NL West)
2010 Record vs. Rockies: 4-5
Last Series vs. Rockies: June 4-6, 2010 @ Chase Field (W 2-1)
The D-Backs were losers of ten straight when they entered their last series against the Rockies. However, the perfect cure for their woes was a visit from one of the worst road teams in baseball. Arizona, who had been struggling on offense at the time, put up seven runs on the Rockies in the first game of the series. Justin Upton and Chris Young each homered, while the extremely light-hitting Gerardo Parra had a couple of hits including a double. Ian Kennedy had some issues keeping the ball in the park, as he allowed three home runs. But Esmerling Vasquez, who has given the Rockies all sorts of problems in 2010, entered the game and saved the day by striking out five batters in two hitless innings.
The second game saw Dontrelle Willis pitch his first game with the D-Backs and get the win, as the Rockies were unable to score any runs off of the erratic and fledgling lefty who has since been DFA'd by the club.
In the series finale. the Rockies were able to get a win, mostly because Ubaldo Jimenez was on the mound. At the time, Jimenez was the most dominant pitcher in the game and was riding yet another lengthy scoreless innings streak until Conor Jackson took him deep in the eighth inning to get the D-Backs within a run. However, the Rockies held on for a 3-2 victory.
Recent series results: L 1-2 at Washington, L 0-3 vs. Cincinnati
As has been the case on many occasions throughout the 2010 season, Arizona's bullpen failed them miserably in their most recent series against the Nationals. Wednesday's game sticks out in particular, as the combination of Sam Demel and Aaron Heilman allowed eight runs on nine hits in 2.2 innings. The other games weren't without bullpen gaffes either; DJ Carrasco gave up five runs (although they were all unearned because of a Rusty Ryal error) on two hits and two walks yesterday and in Tuesday's contest, Carrasco and Blaine Boyer were unable to limit the damage in their late-game opportunities.
Offensively in the past two series, the D-Backs have been led by Chris Young (1.077 OPS, two homers), and former Braves Kelly Johnson (.937 OPS, two homers) and Adam LaRoche (.903 OPS, two homers).
Friday-Sunday: 3-game series @ Chase Field
Expected Pitching Matchups
Friday, 20 August 2010 @ 7:40pm MT
Saturday, 21 August 2010 @ 6:10pm MT
Sunday, 22 August 2010 @ 2:10pm MT
More after the jump...
Expected Lineup
| Player | Pos | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA |
|
Stephen Drew |
SS | .263 | .343 | .414 | .757 | .151 | .306 | .335 |
| Kelly Johnson | 2B | .279 | .370 | .494 | .864 | .215 | .327 | .376 |
| Justin Upton | RF | .264 | .347 | .432 | .780 | .169 | .342 | .341 |
| Chris Young | CF | .275 | .343 | .488 | .831 | .213 | .310 | .370 |
| Adam LaRoche | 1B | .273 | .340 | .493 | .833 | .220 | .337 | .359 |
| Mark Reynolds | 3B | .214 | .333 | .469 | .801 | .254 | .278 | .347 |
| Miguel Montero | C | .296 | .365 | .484 | .849 | .188 | .333 | .362 |
| Gerardo Parra | LF | .243 | .287 | .357 | .644 | .114 | .292 | .279 |
Bench
| Player | Pos | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISO | BABIP | wOBA |
| Jon Hester | C | .219 | .315 | .328 | .643 | .109 | .289 | .292 |
| Bobby Crosby | IF | .182 | .231 | .364 | .594 | .182 | .250 | .210 |
| Augie Ojeda | IF | .194 | .257 | .224 | .481 | .030 | .206 | .224 |
| Rusty Ryal | Util | .281 | .339 | .381 | .720 | .100 | .385 | .318 |
|
Ryan Church |
OF | .176 | .263 | .235 | .498 | .059 | .375 | .209 |
Closer
*Keep in mind that it is quite difficult to predict who will actually be closing games for the D-Backs.
Injuries