Preview, #9: Arizona Diamondbacks @ San Francisco Giants

It's interesting to note the way the batteries have been arranged by Torey Lovullo, as we head through the rotation for a second time. Zack Greinke is the only pitcher so far who has seen both his starts called by the same catcher, Jeff Mathis. Otherwise, we've seen Patrick Corbin caught by Mathis and Chris Herrmann; Taijuan Walker caught by Iannetta and Mathis; and now, Ray, whose first start paired him with Mathis, is now matched to Iannetta. It does follow on from spring, where Lovullo aimed to get every catcher a chance to see every pitcher, both starter and relief. Be interesting to see if this continues through the season, or if the batteries eventually settle down a bit.

That's the only change defensively for the D-backs, along with what's becoming a traditional swap of Peralta and Owings in the order, depending on the opposing pitcher's handedness. They will be facing a Giants' line-up missing Buster Posey, who has been placed on the 7-day concussion DL after being hit on the helmet in last night's game. Hopefully, the D-backs will be as effective against the Shark as they were in Phoenix, where they tagged him for six earned runs over 5.1 innings, including three homers. However, he did fan nine D-backs in the course of that outing.

If we can win tonight, then that will give Arizona an excellent chance of taking our third consecutive series, since we face Matt Cain tomorrow. I'd be fine with that. If we can do so, without making any plays that go viral, usually involving unfavorable comparisons to Little League, so much the better.