Game #64 Preview: 6/16, Arizona Diamondbacks @ Los Angeles Angels

Jeremy Hellickson RHP, 4-3, 5.29

Garrett Richards RHP, 6-4, 3.97

A.J. Pollock - CF	Erick Aybar - SS
Danny Dorn - 1B	Kole Calhoun - RF
Paul Goldschmidt - DH	Mike Trout - CF
David Peralta - LF	Albert Pujols - 1B
Yasmany Tomas - RF	David Freese - DH
Jake Lamb - 3B	Matt Joyce - LF
Chris Owings - 2B	Carlos Perez - C
Jarrod Saltalamacchia - C	Kyle Kubitza - 3B
Nick Ahmed - SS	Taylor Featherston - 2B

For a team which ended both 2012 and 2013 exactly at the .500 mark, getting back to it has proven extremely problematic for the Diamondbacks of late. They were at 8-8 after the game of April 24, but since then, the results every time they have had a chance to even their record have not been positive

• April 26 (8-9): Diamondbacks 0, Pirates 8
  
• May 1 (10-11): Diamondbacks 0, Dodgers 8
• May 8 (13-14). Diamondbacks 5, Padres 6
• May 23 (20-21). Diamondbacks 6, Cubs 9
• May 25 (21-22). Diamondbacks 2, Cardinals 3
• June 7 (27-28). Diamondbacks 3, Mets 6

We've come close - particularly, say, the Cardinals game, which ended up going into extra innings - but that's six straight losses when we had the chance to get back to .500, and Arizona has been outscored 40-16 in those games. However, there's no doubt our starting pitching has been on an epic role of late, and if Jeremy Hellickson can follow in the footsteps of everyone else in the rotation, it would only require a morsel of productive offense to get ourselves back up to .500, and widen the gap over the teams behind us (both the Rockies and Padres having already lost today).

After close to a thousand professional appearances - 968 in the minors, and 12 off the bench in his previous stint here - Danny Dorn will make his first major-league start this evening. He plays first-base so that Goldie can get a bit of a break, though understandably we still want him to get his swings in, so Paul is our DH for the evening. Maybe Dorn will end up Wally Pipp'ing Goldschmidt, as the apocryphal tale goes of the player whose headache-related absence from the line-up opened the door for Lou Gehrig to start his 2,130 consecutive game streak. Goldie will seek to extend his streak of 25 games reaching base, the longest since... his streak of 32 games last year.