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A rather more reconizable line-up for the Diamondbacks than last night, in which almost all the regulars were given the night off. According to Torey, he doesn’t intend to take his foot off the gas, even though everything has been settled in terms of clinching the wild-card game at Chase Field. But he did announce that Braden Shipley will be starting tomorrow afternoon’s matinee, in place of Zack Greinke. The latter will be starting the first game of the final series, in Kansas City on Friday, so that he will be on regular rest for the wild-card game. S’funny, someone in the GDT last night, seemed certain Greinke would not be starting in the post-season...
I do wonder who will be starting on Saturday and Sunday. As well as tonight, Ray could start the final game of the season, and then the first game of the National League Division Series a week Friday, both of these being on his regular five-day rotation [though if so, I would expect the last to be a quick hook, probably little more than an extended bullpen session] Not sure who would be up for starting the penultimate game on Saturday afternoon. It would Zack Godley on normal rest. If it’s one of the regular starters, it might be a clue as to who else will be in the NLDS rotation.
Right now, that seems up in the air: Godley’s last couple of performances have left a lot to be desired... but so has just about everyone else, bar Patrick Corbin. You could pick whichever two of three you want from Corbin, Taijuan Walker and Zack Godley, and make a credible case for your selection. Tonight though, it would be nice to see Ray return to form after his wobbly outing last time. We’ve got a shot at having two qualifying pitchers with a W% at or above .700. Greinke is a lock at 17-7 with one start left, and Ray is at 14-5, so anything bar a pair of L’s would do it, if he reaches 162 IP. The only times it has happened here before were 2001-02. No prizes for guessing who...