Schmidt (11-6, 4.26)
Webb (11-10, 3.73)
- Craig Counsell, 2B
- Royce Clayton, SS
- Luis Gonzalez, LF
- Shawn Green, CF
- Tony Clark, 1B
- Troy Glaus, 3B
- Chad Tracy, RF
- Chris Snyder, C
- Brandon Webb, P
The D'backs drink at the Last Chance Saloon this weekend, with a series against the Giants - if we don't win it, we will almost certainly finish the weekend in fourth-place in the NL West. Indeed, anything less than a sweep will likely hammer the final nails into the coffin containing our faint pennant hopes.
Might be a few call-ups before today's game, though some may be held back until the Sidewinders' season finishes next week, so as to avoid gutting their squad. Personally, I'm more interested in seeing them in action, rather than the fractional chance of us still having a shot at the playoffs.
On the other hand, beating the Giants is always a good thing - they're probably the closest to a real rivalry we have in the NL West. Webb (as noted earlier today) was the only decent cog in our rotation during August, and Green and Tracy have had a lot of past success against Schmidt - .424 and .381 in their careers, both with 20+ at-bats - so I'm hopeful for today's game.
On the other other hand (as it were!), Schmidt is 8-0 with a 2.40 ERA against Arizona in his past 12 starts, and while he really has been a shadow of his former self this season, has been much-improved lately. I think there won't be many runs going around in this one, but think we should just pip it.