The final game in Tucson, a last hurrah for both the Rockies and the Diamondbacks before joining everyone else in the valley next season. It'll also be the first chance for us to see Kris Benson - another contender for the back-end of the rotation - in action.
The game's on Fox Sports Arizona, and in a new feature, FSAZ will be having a live chat session during the game, hosted by Jack Magruder [formally of the Tribune, now writing for FoxSportsArizona.com] and new analyst Joe Borowsk. I'll be popping in there to pick their brains about things like the remaining roster spots and the relevance of spring training numbers.
Lineups, etc. after the jump.
- Conor Jackson LF
- Stephen Drew SS
- Justin Upton RF
- Adam LaRoche 1B
- Chris Young CF
- Kelly Johnson 2B
- Chris Snyder C
- Augie Ojeda 3B
- Kris Benson RHP
Jackson again taking the lead-off spot, and it looks more like this is going to be the approach AJ Hinch will take during the regular season. Said Jackson, "Especially in the National League I think you want a guy who can have a good at-bat with two outs and the runner on second, which the leadoff guy faces a lot when you are bunting over a guy." CoJack's solid on-base skills - his career numbers are the best among the regular line-up - are also a factor. "If we had a Rafael Furcal or a Jimmy Rollins, this wouldn’t be an issue," added Conor. "But for the betterment of the team, it makes sense. For this team, I have a skill set that is going to hopefully help me get on base and let the 3-4-5 guys drive me in." Here's to that happening a lot...