D-backs Preview #79: 6/27 @ Padres

Having finally got the road monkey off their backs last night, the D-backs have the chance to win a series this afternoon in San Diego. That’s something they haven’t done since taking three of four in Colorado, on May 2. Even chances to win a series have largely been notable by their absence, due to the large number of sweeps the team has suffered. The team saw just one such opportunity in five weeks, from May 17-June 21. And when they have turned up, the team has failed to seize it. Since that series win, the D-backs are 0-6 in opportunities to take a series:

• May 12, L 2-3 vs. Marlins
• May 13, L 1-5 vs. Marlins
• May 16, L 0-3 vs. Nationals
• June 2, L 6-7 vs. Mets
• June 22, L 0-5 vs. Brewers
• June 23, L 2-3 vs. Brewers

It’s the offense which has clearly failed to show up in those games, Arizona scoring a total of only 11 runs over those six games, and more than half of those were in one contest. Still, three of them were one-run losses. It wouldn’t surprise me if today’s game was a similarly low-scoring, with Zac Gallen going up against Yu Darvish. Gallen seemed to be back on form last time, throwing five innings of one-run ball, with eight strikeouts. Darvish has cooled off a bit, after a nine-start spell where his ERA was 1.26.It has been over four since, but he also had a good outing last time, holding the Dodgers to a run over six innings.

Random fact. In their last six wins, the D-backs have outscored their opponents 52-16. Of course, those six wins stretch back to May 11...

No Torey Lovullo pre-game chat today. I was expecting a roster move following Ketel Marte's injury last night, but at time of writing (11:55 am), there's been nothing. However, I do note no Eduardo Escobar in the line-up today. A lot of fuss on Twitter over this Tweet:

But to this point, this seems like nothing more than speculation, albeit perhaps of the informed kind.