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D-backs line-up:
- Gerardo Parra, CF
- Martin Prado, LF
- Aaron Hill, 2B
- Miguel Montero, C
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
- Jason Kubel, RF
- Eric Chavez, 3B
- Cliff Pennington, SS
- Brandon McCarthy, P
I just like the look of the line-up a lot better with Montero and Kubel in there, rather than Wil Nieves and Alfredo Marte. There's a sense that something could happen from just about anywhere in the above, rather than feeling like there are multiple dead-spots. That said, Nieves was the only guy last night with two hits, while Marte drove in the tying run before our offense took the rest of the evening off. Still. I am hopeful we'll get back into tacos mode, and even the series ahead of tomorrow afternoon's matinee.
We saw McDonald early last year, but he only lasted four innings - I'm not quite sure why, as he allowed three hits and just the one run. Our recap refers to "early inefficiency", and it did take him 79 pitches to get that far. His first game of the season saw him take a tough loss, two-hitting the Cubs over seven innings, but both those came in the same frame, and led to the earned run which got him the L. As seems to have been quite often against the NL Central teams we've played so far, Prado has the most experience against the opposing starter, having gone 2-for-9 with a double and two walks.
McCarthy, unsurprisingly, has never faced the Pirates as a starter, and only three of their players have ever seen him before. Curiously, one of those is former Diamondback John McDonald, whom we didn't see last night, but has five PAs against our starter,. from his time with Toronto, mostly when McCarthy was in Texas. McCarthy's first game as a Diamondback left a fair amount to be desired, as he was swatted about by the Cardinals for nine hits and six runs in five innings, with only one strikeout. He escaped with a no-decision, thanks to the relentless spirit of our offense, but we'll certainly be looking for better from him here.
Finally, some good news on our wounded warriors:
Adam Eaton hit today, CodyRoss playing in minors, could join team in NY. Daniel Hudson sched for first live BP on Tuesday#Dbacks
— Jody Jackson (@Jody_Jackson) April 9, 2013