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Great. This game is on Fox, so the entire nation gets to see Arizona getting humiliatingly beaten, if today is anything like the opening game of the series. However, the good news is it's the third game on Fox's slate, behind the Cubs-White Sox and Red Sox-Braves, so the odds are, no-one outside of Arizona and Anaheim will actually notice that it's taking place. Which is alright by me.
Not heard yet who has been called up to replace Buckner on the roster, but I'm thinking it may well be a relief pitcher, to help ease the burden on the pen after they pitched a total of 13 innings in the past couple of games. We definitely need Doug Davis to go deep into the game tonight - I suspect he'll be throwing at least 100 pitches, basically regardless of what the score might be.
Davis is, of course, the best eight-game loser in the major leagues, with an ERA+ of 130, despite a 3-8 record. To put that into context, only one qualifying pitcher in the history of baseball has had such a good ERA+, and such a poor Win % over an entire season. That would be Ned Garvin in 1904, who pitched for the Brooklyn Superbas and New York Highlanders, and went 5-16, posting an ERA of 1.72. Now, that's what I call poor run support. Time for some regression to the mean. Davis to pitch seven innings, allowing eight earned runs, but the offense pays his back by scoring eleven. Hey, we can but hope...
Lineup
- Felipe Lopez 2B
- Stephen Drew SS
- Justin Upton RF
- Mark Reynolds 3B
- Gerardo Parra CF
- Tony Clark 1B
- Miguel Montero C
- Alex Romero LF
- Doug Davis P
Chris Young out of the lineup again. I did notice that he seemed less like a thoroughbred running the bases last night, and more like a Clydesdale. With arthritis. On ice. The bad news is, if he does end up having to go on the DL, yesterday's appearance resets the 15-day clock.