|
|
Baseball-Reference.com preview [opens in new window]
Back home, and back into the NL West: both should provoke a sigh of relief from the Diamondbacks. We're a mediocre 11-13 on the road so far - though that's still better than the Cubs away from Wrigley Field. We're also a rather worse than mediocre 8-15 outside of our division, which is beginning to become more than can be hand-waved away and blamed on the vagaries of the schedule to date.
Still, this should prove to be a respite, since on this homestand we face first the Giants and then the worst team outside the NL West, the Washington Nationals. We should be looking to go 4-2 over this stretch - though, being honest, tonight might not be one of those four victories. Lincecum and his 6-1 reocrd has been about the only thing standing between San Francisco and last-place, and has given them nine quality starts in a row.
Not that Haren is far behind, with eight quality starts so far - last time out was not one, however, despite striking out a season-high eight. He was tagged for three runs in the seventh, and got absolutely no run support at all, as we fell to the Marlins, 4-0. The road-trip was not kind to our bats, as we hit only .211 during those seven games, though did have ten homers. We'll be hoping that our own friendly confines help reawaken the hitters: if they can do so against a tough pitcher like Lincecum, it'll be a good omen for the rest of the homestand.