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The original version of the preview was the discussion of the last time the team lost eleven in a row, but that ended up getting spun off into its own piece. So here we go with version 2.0 of the preview. I think this probably represents the team’s best hope of not matching the 2004 squad and losing 14 in a row. The pitching match-up is, for once, clearly in Arizona’s favor. Over his last seven starts, Madison Bumgarner is 4-2 with a 2.25 ERA. The starter for the Cardinals, Johan Oviedo, is 0-5 with a 6.75 ERA. Admittedly, only three of the latter have come this year, but he only last two innings. Still, among active pitchers only two men (Wil Crowe and Robert Dugger) have more career starts than Oviedo’s eight, without a W.
But as we’ve seen all too often of late, the offense will probably need to score more than four runs to get a W. In what I call “Taco Hell”, the Diamondbacks have lost their last TWENTY-FIVE games when scoring fewer than five runs. The average NL team wins about 30% of those contests (29.2%, to be precise), so this is quite a feat. By chance, the odds are about 1 in 5,700 of losing 25 such games in a row. Truly this is a season of special, special accomplishments.
Tonight’s alternative to the D-backs game. Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb (1971). If ever there’s a week to watch classic horror, it’s one which sees the birthday of horror legends Peter Cushing (May 26), Christopher Lee and Vincent Price (both May 27). None of them are in this; Cushing was originally cast, but had to leave due to his wife’s illness. It represents Hammer Films’ efforts to sex up mummies, a concept that had worked well enough for them and vampires e.g. Lust For a Vampire. This is part of my ongoing Friday night project to go through the whole Hammer catalog, but I’m not sure what to expect. It’s been a good ten years since I saw it, and I don’t remember much beyond cleavage! Here’s the trailer.
Torey Lovullo notes
- Christian Walker played 7 innings last night in Reno, had a homer, basehit and walked. He’s feeling good and will play 8 innings tonight. Torey will connect with him at the end of the night to see where he’s at physically. He’s mentally and emotionally ready, but they are playing it carefully with the physical piece of the puzzle.
- Matt Peacock is feeling better and retaining fluids. He could possibly start on Sunday. Torey said all the options for Sunday they are considering, are currently on the roster.
- Ketel Marte is just getting a scheduled day off. He wanted to play today and pushed back a bit when he saw the lineup last night for today, but Torey said stuck with the game plan.