Gameday Thread, #145: 9/9 vs. Padres

Mat Latos RHP, 7-13, 3.77

Daniel Hudson RHP, 15-9, 3.53

It's a nice thought that, win or lose tonight, we will once again have improved our play-off chances week on week, when I do the regular update on Saturday morning. We're now 7 1/2 up on the Giants, compared to only five after we lost in San Francisco last Friday. This should translate into a significant expansion tomorrow of the red zone marking a guaranteed Arizona presence in the post-season. Of course, everyone remembers the cautionary tale of the 2007 Mets, who I am sure had no intention of blowing their seven-game lead with 17 left. So I'll go with a victory this evening, to go 8.5 up with 17 left, and we can disperse that particular black cloud from our skies.

1. Willie Bloomquist SS
2. Aaron Hill 2B
3. Justin Upton RF
4. Miguel Montero C
5. Ryan Roberts 3B
6. Lyle Overbay 1B
7. Chris Young CF
8. Gerardo Parra LF
9. Daniel Hudson RHP

Oh, there's Lyle Overbay. Had wondered where he'd gone. Not necessarily in a "want to see him the line-up" kind of way, more a "hope nothing has happened to him" feeling. We'll also see whether Montero can keep his hitting streak going - at 16 games, it's already the longest in team history. In honor of tonight's World Series re-union, here are the ten longest hitting streaks by NL catchers since the starts of that 2001 season.