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Games until the blessed, merciful end of the season: 17.
And will there be tacos for dinner tomorrow? Odds strongly against - of the 41 times the Diamondbacks have faced a left-handed starter this season, we've only reached the six-run mark on nine occasions. The last occasion was ten such contests ago, when we faced Pittsburgh's Zach Duke on August 4th, a game Arizona won 6-0. Since that, we've averaged a mere 3.6 runs per game when a southpaw takes the mound for the opposition, with only 2.3 of those coming off the starter.
Wade LeBlanc is kinda like the Padres' version of Billy Buckner - he rejoined their rotation only recently, but has performed credibly since, allowing six earned runs over three starts and nineteen innings [exactly the same numbers as BB!]. This will be his first start at Petco since returning; his only previous one this year was a three-inning spot start back in June against Oakland, which led to three earned runs. No-one on the current roster has seen him work, so that won't make things any easier for our batters.
Dan Haren hasn't got a decision in his last three starts against the Padres, all of which came at Petco, though with an ERA in those games of 2.70, can consider himself somewhat unlucky. His last outing was the infamous June 7th marathon, where the bullpen blew a 6-1 lead in the ninth inning, but the Diamondbacks eventually prevailed, five and three-quarter hours after the first pitch, in eighteen innings. After a period of struggles, Haren has posted four consecutive quality starts, with a 3.29 ERA. Petco should help, so I'm optimistic he'll shut San Diego down and we can get our first winning streak of September.
Line-up
- Chris Young CF
- Stephen Drew SS
- Justin Upton RF
- Miguel Montero C
- Mark Reynolds 3B
- Ryan Roberts 2B
- Brandon Allen 1B
- Eric Byrnes LF
- Dan Haren P