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Diamondbacks Lineup
- Gerardo Parra - RF
- Aaron Hill - 2B
- Paul Goldschmidt - 1B
- Eric Chavez - 3B
- Mark Trumbo - LF
- A.J. Pollock CF
- Chris Owings - SS
- Tuffy Gosewisch - C
- Wade Miley - P
Cahill will be trying to avoid becoming only the second ever Diamondback pitcher to lose his first four starts at the beginning of the season. Daniel Hudson did it in 2011, going 0-4 with a 5.92 ERA. [Edgar Gonzalez lost his first seven starts in 2004, but that streak didn't start until June] So far, Cahill just hasn't been able to command his sinker consistently, so hitters have been able to wait for a pitch to arrive in their wheelhouse, or take a walk. They've been doing both with distressing frequency: Cahill's line against to date features an opponent's BA of .364 and an OBP of .446.
In his defense, it also has a BABIP of .413, which is 130 points above his career figure. That should normalize somewhat going forward - but it's certainly consistent with his line-drive figure, which sits at 31% (MLB average is 20%), showing there has been an awful lot of good contact being made. It's really a chain reaction. Locate your pitches > less good contact > fewer line dries > lower BABIP > less hits > lower ERA. If he doesn't get the first step taken care of, it's going to be another long afternoon for him. And with Mike Bolsinger, Bo Schultz and, last but certainly not least, Archie Bradley all put up good numbers for Reno so far, a "DL" stint might well follow.
Bit of a different look to the line-up this afternoon, with Eric Chavez getting to start at third, and Martin Prado getting what is close to his first rest of the season - he has played all but three of the innings the Diamondbacks have had to this point. Montero also sits this one out: a bit of a surprise, considering it is a right-hander on the mound, but it is also a day game after a night one, which is the standard location for a backup catcher to be used. Pollock and Owings both return to the line-up, so all told, that's most of the starting nine who will be different from the one we saw on Saturday. Hopefully, the results will be equally different.