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Rubby De La Rosa
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Carlos Frias
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| A.J. Pollock - CF | Joc Pederson - CF |
| Chris Owings - 2B | Jimmy Rollins - SS |
| Paul Goldschmidt - 1B | Howie Kendrick - 2B |
| Mark Trumbo - RF | Adrian Gonzalez - 1B |
| David Peralta - LF | Justin Turner - 3B |
| Yasmany Tomas - 3B | Andre Ethier - RF |
| Tuffy Gosewisch - C | Yasmani Grandal - C |
| Nick Ahmed - SS | Alex Guerrero - LF |
| Rubby De La Rosa - RHP | Carlos Frias - RHP |
It has been a while since we have won a series in Los Angeles. The last time we played here, we were swept, scoring only five runs over the three games, while conceding fourteen, and we were 2-7 at Dodger Stadium overall in 2014. You have to go back to June 2013 to find the last time we took a series against Los Angeles on the road, Arizona scoring four runs in the 12th inning of the rubber game. That was the day after the infamous Battle of Los Angeles, but even though it was less than two years ago, Goldschmidt is the sole player from our starting nine that day, who is still with the organization.
I'm pretty sure there won't be any significant carry over, what with the wholesale change in personnel for the D-backs, both on and off the field, since. Admittedly, there was the spring game against the Dodgers, which resulted in multiple ejections, but the series in Phoenix went by without a hint of trouble. But we'll never forget... :) It would certainly be nice to follow up the series win in Arizona, with the same here. If we take two out of three this weekend, we would have matched our entire win total for 2014 against the Dodgers. That would be "four". Given we won't be seeing Clayton Kershaw or Zack Greinke this series, I doubt we'll have many better chances this year.
If De La Rosa can repeat his performance from last time, that should be a good start, as it was easily the best outing he has had as a Diamondback, and showed exactly why he was acquired. But consistency is key here. Even Trevor Cahill had a start last year where he allowed one earned run over seven innings. Speaking of which, I see the Braves have now followed in the steps of Arizona, and shuffled Cahill to the bullpen. His first outing there didn't go too well though; six hits and a walk in two innings, allowing four runs. His ERA is now 9.42, and one wonders how long it'll be before they give up entirely.
Turambar along tonight with the beercap, so feel free to enjoy an adult beverage, providing you are responsible. :)