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Chase Anderson
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Brett Anderson
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| Ender Inciarte - LF | Joc Pederson - CF |
| A.J. Pollock - CF | Jimmy Rollins - SS |
| Paul Goldschmidt - 1B | Howie Kendrick - 2B |
| Mark Trumbo - RF | Adrian Gonzalez - 1B |
| Yasmany Tomas - 3B | Alex Guerrero - LF |
| Chris Owings - 2B | Andre Ethier - RF |
| Tuffy Gosewisch - C | Juan Uribe - 3B |
| Nick Ahmed - SS | A.J. Ellis - C |
| Chase Anderson - RHP | Brett Anderson - LHP |
Hang on: haven't we been here before? Why, yes: yes we have. For this is a rematch of the contest between two starters with the same last name, which we previously saw on April 10th in Phoenix. Maybe this is going to end up being some kind of Highlander thing [kids, ask your parents! Or just wait for the upcoming remake!], with Chase and Brett fated to do eternal battle down the centuries. Last time, there was no decisive winner, both men receiving no decisions, allowing three runs over five and six innings respectively. But the Diamondbacks prevailed in the end, walking off 4-3 winners in 10 innings.
I'd be happy to settle for the same today, and get out of Los Angeles without being swept. I fear that boat may have left yesterday, however, after the Diamondbacks were unable to hold on to any of the three leads they created over the first four innings. Anderson (no, our one) got a no-decision in each of his first three starts, before taking the loss last time out against the Rockies at Chase Field. Meanwhile, Anderson (that'd be their one) beat the Mariners, but then picked up a no-decision and a loss in back-to-back starts against the Giants, not getting through five on either occasion. He hasn't reached 75 pitches since last facing us. Make good decisions, please, Diamondbacks...
I also note the standings now show us sitting in last place, half a game behind the Giants and five games back of the Dodgers. Over the past 10 games, our 3-7 record is tied for the worst in the National League, so we need to kick ourselves out of this current funk, and get things moving in the right direction again. April was decent, overall, but I can certainly imagine a scenario where inconsistent starting pitching and a weak bottom half of our batting order combine to drag May down, before we get potential reinforcements back, in the shape of Jake Lamb, Patrick Corbin and David Hernandez.