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First things first: I'd appreciate a briskly-played game this evening, because at 6:45 pm, we will be diverting attention towards 24. We start with the Tivo'd edition of last week's episode, and then around 7:30, will be able to plow into the two-hour season finale, with the ability to fast-forward through the commercials as they occur. Which should bring us up to "live" for the final reel, but it does rely on precision timing for this plan to work. Thanks in advance to the Diamondbacks' for their co-operation: a Dan Haren shut-out should do the trick, I think. Needless to say, expect a later recap.
A win this evening would certainly seem very possible, with Haren doing nothing but, at worse, churning out quality start after quality start. Meanwhile, Nolasco has had one in eight attempts, leads the National League in earned runs allowed and has not seen his ERA get below 6.60 at any point this season. Which is weird, given his WHIP trailed only Cole Hamels in the NL last season [with Haren coming in third]. I hope his struggles will continue for at least one more outing, allowing the Big (Sedona) Red Machine to continue hitting like they have recently. As noted in the series preview, this is among our best chances this set, and we need to be sure we take advantage.
Interesting decision to keep Haren on his normal rest. Jon Garland, not having pitched yesterday, would have been available, but he has been scheduled to go tomorrow instead, with a decision yet to be made on whether Bryan Augenstein will start Wednesday, or have his spot in the rotation skipped this time [my instinct says he will get passed over, but we'll see what happens].
Lineup
- Lopez 2B
- Parra LF
- Upton RF
- Drew SS
- Reynolds 3B
- Montero C
- Young CF
- Tracy 1B
- Haren P
Interesting to see Tracy and Young back in the line-up tonight, both having seemed out of favor since the arrival of Whitesell and Parra respectively. The latter still gets to start, however, with Byrnes getting a day off instead.