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Diamondbacks Line-up
- Gerardo Parra, RF
- Willie Bloomquist, 2B
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
- Miguel Montero, C
- Jason Kubel, LF
- A.J. Pollock, CF
- Didi Gregorius, SS
- Cliff Pennington, 3B
- Randall Delgado, P
Star Wars Day at Chase Field this afternoon, so Mrs. SnakePit + I will be in attendance, in costume. Well, I've got a Darth Vader T-shirt, and she has a Princess Leia T-shirt and a headband that make her hair look likes tied up in those two Danish muffin things, whatever they're called [look, you want salon expertise, you've come to the wrong site. I can't remember the last time I went into one of those and said anything more voluble than "A #4, please"]. Still, it should be fun, especially if we can finish off a sweep of the Reds. We've had one blow-out win, and another which was about as heart-stoppingly dramatic as any this season. What will this afternoon bring?
Looking at the line-up above, what it will bring, apparently, is a day of for Martin Prado and Pennington starting at third-base for the first time since - hey, what are the odds, since the original Star Wars movie came out! Okay, not quite that far, but in Pennington's entire professional career since being drafted in June 2005, he has played at third in only 15 games. To borrow another famous line from the saga, "I’ve got a very bad feeling about this." Admittedly, Pennington's defense elsewhere is excellent, so if anyone should be capable of manning the hot corner for the days, it's him. However, we'll see how it works out.
Delgado makes his second start, after seven highly-serviceable innings last time out. However, that was against the Marlins, and the likes of Votto, Bruce and Phillips will likely prove more of an intense challenge for Delgado. Either way, it's likely Delgado will get at least another start, in Atlanta on Friday: Ian Kennedy will return to the rotation the next day, having completed his 10-game suspension, but as we don't have another off-day between then and the All-Star Break, we'll be back to needing a fifth starter on a regular basis. Whether Delgado gets to claim that position going forward is open to debate, but if you don't think he can do it, "I find your lack of faith disturbing."
Ok, yeah, I've now reached the point in the preview where I have a tab open with Star Wars quotes, and just spent five minutes starting at them, trying to figure out how I could shoe-horn any of them into the preview. I think it's probably best if I cut my losses here. But regardless, this will be a day long remembered. It has seen the end of Heath Bell, and will soon see the end of the Cincinnati Reds. Hmm, sounds vaguely familiar... ojcarrasco will be guest recapping this one, so be sure to stick around for that, and hopefully, there'll be our first three-game sweep in a while (since the Dodgers in LA, May 6-8) to celebrate