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Look who's DHing today! Yes: Paul Goldschmidt. I guess this kinda counts as half a day off, since he only has to worry about swinging the bat, which is the benefit of having Descalso at first and Goldy DHing, rather than the other way round. It will be Goldschmidt's fourth game as the American League version of the Antichrist, having done so in Boston last year, and in Los Angeles and Houston in 2015. His numbers in the role aren't actually that good - 1-for-11, without an extra-base hit, and a pair of walks. Of course, this line-up also robs us of Greinke's bat, and a bottom third of Descalso, Fuentes and Mathis doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
Still, last time I criticized Ray, he got three hits, and he's now hitting about the Uecker Line, batting .207. It was a little odd that Socrates Brito was reinstated off the DL, and immediately optioned to the minors, rather than replacing Fuentes: it looks like he'll be here until the return of A.J. Pollock, which is still at an indeterminate point in the future. But Fuentes is at least hitting a bit of late, going 6-for-14 with a walk since June 3. The Diamondbacks as a whole actually possess a startling 18-8 record since Pollock last appeared for them, which is a lot better than I expected them to handle the loss of an All-Star caliber center-fielder.
Greinke is 6-1 with a 3.21 ERA since the beginning of May, so has been getting it done. That's particularly impressive, given that the D-backs have scored a total of 29 runs over those seven games. In 13 Greinke starts overall this year, the D-backs are 9-4, but only twice have they won by more than a three-run margin. Five of those victories have been by a single tally, so perhaps Greinke has been pitching to the score! Zack's road ERA is more than a run higher than his one at Chase Field (3.90 vs. 2.77), which is a little unusual, since his OPS is almost identical (.654 vs. .637). His walk-rate has been a lot higher on the road, so keep an eye on that this afternoon in Detroit.