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Diamondbacks Lineup
- David Peralta - CF
- Aaron Hill - 2B
- Paul Goldschmidt - 1B
- Miguel Montero - C
- Mark Trumbo - RF
- Gerardo Parra - RF
- Martin Prado - 3B
- Didi Gregorius - SS
- Chase Anderson - P
Same line-up as last night, bar the pitcher's spot, so Gibson will stick at 84 different orders used this year for slots 1-8. Peralta hitting leadoff again, which is an interesting choice. At .349 his on-base percentage this year is the highest of anyone currently on the roster, with the obvious exception of Mr. Paul Edward Goldschmdt. But that's an OBP for Peralta which is highly dependent on a .322 batting average, with him having taken only six walks in 152 plate-appearances this year. If/when Peralta's BABIP regresses from its current .364 mark, his on-base rate is going to go with it, unless he starts taking a few more walks.
He also doesn't see as many pitches as you would typically want from your leadoff guy. At 3.59 per PA, he's ahead only Inciarte (3.52) among D-backs with 100 or more PAs this year, and well below the league average of 3.81. Leading the team is, perhaps surprisingly, Didi Gregorius, whose figure of 4.26 is ahead even of Goldie at 4.12. However, Peralta seems unfazed, despite being asked to do a job he never had filled in his pro career, saying before yesterday's debut, "It's going to be interesting ... but it's going to be the same game. Hitting first, hitting second, it's going to be the same thing. I'm going to do the same thing. Do my job. Play hard."
[The seven who preceded Peralta starting a game in the lead-off spot, along with their number of time there, are: Parra (45), Inciarte (19), A.J. Pollock (17), Gregorius (9), Tony Campana (4), Chris Owings (3) and Hill (2)]