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Today ends the Diamondbacks' sixth series, with the win already in the bag, which means that in series terms, they are 3-2 with one tie. That's a good sign, not least because the three series wins were emphatic, with the team taking eight of nine games played, heading into this one's finale. The two losses, meanwhile, were decided by the rubber game, so we've been winning big and losing little. Taking this afternoon to complete another sweep would be awesome, because the last time we swept the Dodgers at Chase Field, was back in 2012. Even having the chance to sweep here has been rare since, just a series in April 2015, where we lost the finale to... Zack Greinke.
We are seeing a bit of a B line-up out there this afternoon, however. No Chris Owings, no A.J. Pollock and no David Peralta. No Jeff Mathis either, who has received the bulk of the starts to this point: 10 for him, six for Iannetta and three for Chris Herrmann. However, Mathis has been hitting a wretched .139/.162/.250, so we may see Iannetta pick up more of the slack. Though Mathis is still better than Dansby Swanson, who at time of writing is slugging below the Uecker line, at .129/.153/.186. With Ender Inciarte also struggling, the optics on this trade could hardly be more different based on this season than last, when Miller's ERA to this point was 8.53 and a set of grazed knuckles.
McCarthy has been the Dodgers' second-best pitcher to date, behind the obvious one, though as ever, health is more likely the determining factor in his value - this afternoon will be only start #17 for Brandon since the end of the 2014 campaign. He allowed two runs over five innings when he faced Arizona on Monday, though did strike out eight batters in that time. The Los Angeles bullpen continues to be put under strain, with another 57 pitches thrown last night. Fun fact: hope I'm not tempting fate, but the D-backs' bullpen has no losses through the first 19 games and 55 innings, going 4-0. It's the first time that has happened in team history.