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Day-game! Labor Day! Unfortunately, some of us still have to go to work. Boo! So I won't be able to share in all the barbecuing, etc. that is no doubt going on in the free world today...
Back home for the Diamondbacks after getting swept in quite an ugly fashion in Colorado - our pitchers had an ERA of 8.25, while our hitters went 2-for-24 with runners in scoring position for the series. Hard to see how things could go much worse than that. However, I can't say the sweep stung as much as others in the season, even though we are now tied with the Padres for the worst record in the division again. [San Diego has gone on one of their hot streaks again - in the past 20 games, only two teams in the league have a better record]
The Dodgers come to town, and are looking a tad wobbly once more, having just dropped two of three at home against those Padres. That completed a mediocre 3-4 home-stand, which saw their lead over the Rockies cut from six games to 3.5. Even Mandy seems to be fading, having a line of .243/.356/.378, a mere .735 OPS, since August 15. They are still the favorites to win the division - their schedule down the stretch is certainly easier than that of their rivals - but we could certainly help make things interesting if we can win the series or, better yet, sweep LA.
Scherzer returned to form in his last outing, giving up one run in 7.2 innings of work against these same Dodgers on Wednesday. However, Padilla was almost as good against the Diamondbacks the previous day, giving up one run over 5.1 innings, though unlike Max, did not get the W, as the game-winning run there was not scored until the bottom of the seventh. Efficiency was the key for Max, as those near-eight frames required only 102 pitches, no doubt helped by an 80% first-pitch strike rate.
Line-up
- Ryan Roberts 2B
- Stephen Drew SS
- Justin Upton RF
- Mark Reynolds 3B
- Miguel Montero C
- Chris Young CF
- Gerardo Parra LF
- Brandon Allen 1B
- Max Scherzer P
The Diamondbacks have activated Scott Schoeneweis off the DL, so we'll see how that goes - hopefully, he'll be feeling better, though I think I want this for him more than for the benefit of the team, which hardly matters at this point in the season. However, I still want to see a good performance from the team in this series: anything which makes the Dodgers sweat can only be a good thing!
Oh, and Fantasy report will follow late tonight, for work-related reasons...