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Bartolo Colon
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Robbie Ray
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| Jose Reyes - SS | Jean Segura - 2B |
| Curtis Granderson - CF | Michael Bourn - CF |
| Neil Walker - 2B | Paul Goldschmidt - 1B |
| Jay Bruce - RF | Jake Lamb - 3B |
| Wilmer Flores - 1B | Yasmany Tomas - RF |
| T.J. Rivera - 3B | Welington Castillo - C |
| Ty Kelly - LF | Chris Owings - SS |
| Travis d'Arnaud - C | Brandon Drury - LF |
| Bartolo Colon - RHP | Robbie Ray - LHP |
This is a rematch of last Wednesday's game at City Field, in which Ray out-dueled Colon over seven innings. But the game was decided by the bullpens, after Jake Barrett coughed up a two-run homer, letting the Mets tie it in the ninth, before Oscar Hernandez won it for Arizona, with his first career long-ball. Ray wasn't quite his usual dominant self. His streak of starts with 5+ strikeouts ended at 21 (the most by a D-back since Randy Johnson reached 25 in 2002-03), but he held New York to three hits over seven scoreless innings. Though the D-backs weren't able to do much against Colon, a Goldschmidt RBI single being the only tally over his seven frames.
It gives Colon a chance to complete the set, with the D-backs being the only team he has never beaten. There are 17 pitchers who have won games against all 30 franchises, including four who have pitched for Arizona. Besides Johnson, it has also been done by Curt Schilling. Dan Haren and Max Scherzer. Colon is one of six active pitchers who is one short of completing the grand tour; also on that list is Zack Greinke, who needs to beat the Kansas City Royals. Another former Diamondbacks, Edwin Jackson, sits on 28, with the Braves and Padres still on his to-do list. Obviously, it's something much more possible these days, with interleague play and free agency.
The return of Castillo does "beef" up [hohoho] the Diamondbacks offense a little, and Tomas also returns, replacing Brito from the last time we faced Colon. It's interesting that Tomas's starts this year have been almost evenly split between LF and RF - this will be #43 in right, compared to 51 in left. Clearly, the absence of David Peralta has derailed the original plan to play Tomas purely in left-field. And with Peralta now done for the season, it's quite plausible our Cuban will end up with "Yasmany" appearances in right, if not more. Hey, it's a long season, you take your amusement where you find it, and I'll take mine...