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Wow. Just noticed that yesterday's GDT has already vanished off the front page. Tribute to the hive of waffle industry which is your 2011 SnakePit... Anyway, I dug out the template for the thread, adjusted the logo and pitchers, so we're ready to go, as we welcome the wobbly Cardinals to Chase. They got themselves walked off twice over the weekend in San Francisco, as the Giants apparently pulled the "ring trick" on them. They currently find themselves in the unaccustomed spot of fifth in the NL Central, having been no lower than second since May 18, 2009 - it was almost two years prior to that you last saw "5th" by their name.
The main reason for that is a team collective line of .227/.308/.306: an awful OPS of .614. The only thing keeping them afloat has been their pitching which has posted a 3.27 ERA. McClellan - no relation - went six innings and allowed two earned runs in his only start, taking a no-decision, but Arizona has feasted on him in his career, albeit over only nine innings. 17 hits, six walks and a dozen runs have resulted. Some of the damage was done by those no longer here, but the current D-backs are 9-for-27 with Chris Young having a homer. Definitely potential for a good offensive outing. Here's the line-up:
- Willie Bloomquist LF
- Kelly Johnson 2B
- Justin Upton RF
- Stephen Drew SS
- Chris Young CF
- Miguel Montero C
- Melvin Mora 3B
- Juan Miranda 1B
- Barry Enright RHP
Random factoid. Four Diamondbacks players share the franchise record for most hits over the team's first eight games of the year, with 13. Two of them - Montero and Bloomquist - did is this year; the others are Steve Finley (2000) and Orlando Hudson (2007). O-Dawg had two hits in Arizona's ninth game, so Miggy and Willie need to match that to keep up with him.
A win tonight would put us above .500: nine games was the latest we were there last season, so it was all downhill from there. I'm recapping this mother myself, so should be about for most of this. Could be a little late, as we have to finish the Red Riding trilogy and possibly squeeze in a The Borgias before game-time too, but don't expect to miss much.