Can Arizona finally win a series?
It feels like we’ve just been here. Four-game series against a divisional opponent and wild-card rival. The D-backs take two of three, and have a chance to take the series. Last time it happened was a week ago, at Chase Field against the Giants, and… it did not go well. Arizona fell behind after one out in the top of the first inning, and ended up going down 7-2 to San Francisco, leaving them with a disappointing split of the four-game set. We’ll be hoping for better tonight, not least because the D-backs have outscored the Padres 14-6 so far in the series, and are basically one act of home-run robbery from going for a sweep in the series finale. Fingers crossed things go better.
Once thing I do note is that the D-backs have been striking out a lot. Over the last 11 games, they have a total of 107 K, with at least seven in every contest. Eugenio Suarez alone has twenty strikeouts in 42 at-bats, the most in the majors over that time. Going into play today, Arizona’s total of 88 for July is also #1 among MLB teams. Which is quite surprising, considering their rank was 28th through the end of April. It has been creeping up since: 21st in May, and 18th in June. But the recent surge is spectacular. However, it is worth noting that they also lead the majors in July walks, with 38. Despite being shutout twice this week, their overall run production is middle of the pack, though that is lower than it has been.
We’ll see if Eduardo Rodriguez can bounce back from his terrible start last time, where he almost allowed as many hits (12) as outs recorded (13). The resulting Game Score of 12 was tied for the third-worst of the season. It tied with a game against the Mets on April 29, pitched by… Eduardo Rodriguez. And also with a game against the Dodgers on May 9, pitched by… [All together now!] Eduardo Rodriguez. His season has been weirdly consistent. Six of E-Rod’s first eight starts this year had a Game Score between 49 and 52: the other two were those twelves. His average is 44, but that’s skewed by the bad ones: 11 of the 15 starts have been 47 or better.