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Diamondbacks Lineup
- Gerardo Parra - CF
- Aaron Hill - 2B
- Paul Goldschmidt - 1B
- Miguel Montero - C
- Cody Ross - RF
- Martin Prado - 3B
- Mark Trumbo - LF
- Chris Owings - SS
- Michael Bolsinger - P
Tonight's #Dbacks starter Mike Bolsinger talks to his parents before BP. pic.twitter.com/pjmoewSudE
— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) April 19, 2014
#Dbacks starter Mike Bolsinger said his mom will be too nervous to watch the game. Likely will walk around ballpark during it.
— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) April 19, 2014
Aw... Bless... Bolsinger did at least get his major-league debut out of the way earlier in the week, which will hopefully quell some of the butterflies in the tummy. He worked three relief innings on Monday against the Giants, scattering six hits and two walks, with three strikeouts, and was charged with two earned runs. He threw 76 pitches, which is in the top 10 for debuts by an NL reliever. Coincidentally, the last to throw that many was in the 16-inning game we had with the Pirates last year, when Kris Johnson made his debut out of the Pirates bullpen, and threw 82 pitches. The one before that, in August 2009, also involved us, Wilton Lopez of the Astros throwing 92 pitches.
He's going up against Dan Haren, who has certainly proved to be an excellent pick-up for the Dodgers. Dammit, between Haren and Tim Hudson it seems everyone in the division except the D-backs is getting far better value for the $10 million starting pitcher they signed this winter. Rather than Bronson Arroyo, we should probably have signed someone whose name begins with the letter H... Anyway, last time out was also against Arizona, and Haren came within one out of a quality start, but still got the win as Trevor Cahill punched his ticket to the bullpen by allowing six earned runs in four innings.
The bullpen may be a little tired, having had to work six innings last night, but at least they did have a day off before the series began. Oliver Perez was the only one not used, but the workload was generally light for the rest, with Brad Ziegler the only one to reach twenty pitches. That said, we'll be hoping Bolsinger can at least give the Diamondbacks five innings of work this evening, if not a little more. A quality start, even if it's at the loosest end of the definition, would be all we could ask for from the rookie.