Preview, #55: Arizona Diamondbacks @ Pittsburgh Pirates

Welcome to what is laughingly described as "day baseball". What, was the phrase "dawn baseball" already taken or something? It's the finale in Pittsburgh, and the D-backs have a chance for their second series win on the road, after the one in San Diego earlier this month Sidenote: I just wrote "Pittsburgh" again, instead of "San Diego", which makes no sense at all. This is what happens when I roll out of bed and straight into preview writing action. If I were you, I'd take anything I write for the rest of this piece with a pinch of salt. If I digress into the history of elves and their nutritional value, you will understand why.

In fact, to be safe, I think I'm just going to copy-paste some lightly-annotated nuggets from the game notes sent out by the team. They will likely be more accurate. That was, I can head off, get a large, caffeinated beverage, and be back in the saddle in time for first pitch. I think this is probably best for everyone. So:

• The D-backs current 11-game roadtrip is their longest since April 26-May 6, 2010, when they played 11 games in Colorado, Chicago and Houston.  
  
• A win today would give the D-backs their first season series victory over the Pirates since 2009…it would also give Arizona their first series victory over Pittsburgh since Aug. 16-18, 2013 @ PNC Park
• We may not be hitting on the road, but we're pitching. The D-backs' staff has posted a 3.44 ERA (81 ER in 212.0 IP) in 25 road games this year, the second-best mark in the Majors (Rockies, 3.26)
• Opponents are hitting .204 (22-for-108) with 11 walks and 26 strikeouts against Zack Godley this season:
  Lefties: .173 (9-for-52), 6 BB, 12 K
  Righties: .232 (13-for-56), 5 BB, 14 K
• Since Paul Goldschmidt's Major League debut on Aug. 2, 2011, he ranks 1st in the NL for RBI, 2nd in walks and doubles, 3rd in hits, home runs, on-base pct. and OPS, 7th in slugging pct. and 12th in average. AndrewMcCutchen ranks, 1st in hits, 3rd in walks and in RBI, 6th in doubles, on-base pct., and home runs and 13th in OPS.

               AVG   R   H  2B  HR RBI  BB  OBP  SLG  OPS
  Goldschmidt .299 541 901 211 151 545 509 .401 .528 .929
  McCutchen   .292 517 951 184 140 488 446 .381 .493 .874
  

If Godley has another good outing it's going to present the team with a bit of a dilemma next week, because they'll have to decide who stays in the rotation after the return of Taijuan Walker. There's Zack, Randall Delgado (who now has a 1.13 ERA over his last 24 innings, with a 28:4 K:BB), and the struggling Patrick Corbin (ERA in five May starts: 9.00), but only two spots.