Game #110 Preview: 8/9, Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Cincinnati Reds

Anthony DeSclafani RHP, 7-7, 3.71

Patrick Corbin LHP, 2-3, 3.99

Billy Hamilton - CF	Ender Inciarte - RF
Brandon Phillips - 2B	A.J. Pollock - CF
Joey Votto - 1B	Paul Goldschmidt - 1B
Marlon Byrd - LF	David Peralta - LF
Jay Bruce - RF	Jarrod Saltalamacchia - C
Eugenio Suarez - SS	Jake Lamb - 3B
Ivan De Jesus - 3B	Chris Owings - 2B
Tucker Barnhart - C	Nick Ahmed - SS
Anthony DeSclafani - RHP	Patrick Corbin - LHP

Got the house to myself, Mrs. S is taking our kitten to the vet. Yesterday, he was off his food, started throwing up, and other stuff, too messy to go into: if there is nothing more adorable than a tiny, purring kitten, there is equally nothing sadder than a sick one, looking at you with eyes that say, "What is happening? MAKE IT STOP!" Mrs. S ended up using a straw to keep Oscar hydrated through the day, and he seems to be on the mend, eating again and showing a bit more energy. I think it was probably just a case of a new environment and new microbes finding a home in a skinny little body without a fully-developed immune system.

But, damn, it was scary: we fell in love so quickly, the prospect of losing him was quite awful. I was genuinely scared I'd get That Text while at the ball-game yesterday, and a couple of times during the night, woke up and had to check, just to make sure Oscar was still okay. A check-up at the vet seems a good idea, just to be safe, and I look forward to the return of normal, kittenish activity later in the day. It's amazing how relaxing it is, just to watch him meander around the living-room. I could do it for hours. And, if today's game doesn't go any better than yesterday's, it will probably be a good alternative to watching this afternoon's contest.

Hope spring eternal, even if we have to do it without Welington Castillo, since Salty is getting the day start after the night game. Can't begrudge that too much. Otherwise, we'll have to hope Goldie turns things around. It's worth bearing in mind that it at exactly this point last year - 109 games in - that we lost him for the season. Record when Goldy started in 2014 = 47-61, a .435 winning percentage. Record when he didn't  = 17-37, a .315 W%. That's how important a working Goldschmidt is to this team, and I think it's a way more than pure numbers. Hopefully, it's fixed, for the prospect of everyday first-baseman Danny Dorn isn't very appealing.