The Arizona Diamondbacks have been one of the biggest surprise stories, but it’s been a struggle recently. The Diamondbacks have now lost 11 of their last 14 games, including five in a row against the Reds and Braves. They’ll look for revenge against the Cincinnati Reds in a three-game set starting on Tuesday, this time taking them on in Cincinnati. Arizona is four games under-.500 on the road this year.
This series will be contested from Tuesday, July 18, 2017 through Thursday, July 20, 2017 at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.
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Pitching Matchups
The Reds rotation remains a problem spot. It’s the worst rotation in the NL and only the Orioles’ staff makes this unit look good.
Given that, the Diamondbacks have the match advantage on the mound in each of the three games in this set.
To kick things off on Tuesday, the Reds will look to Sal Romano, getting recalled from Triple-A. He’s made two career starts. He struggled through three innings in April, but tossed five solid frames on July 6 against Colorado. He’s pitched to a 3.47 ERA in 10 starts at Triple-A Louisville.
The D-Backs’ series opening starter has a bit more experience. Robbie Ray gets the start.
Ray was named to the All-Star team for his strong first half and gets his first start of the second half. He struck out 13 Dodgers in his last start and has 141 strikeouts in 106 innings. He’s a strikeout machine.
Ray still allows too many walks, but he’s been able to pitch his way around the free passes with a 8-4 record and 2.97 ERA.
In the second game, Tim Adleman to try and keep pace with Zack Greinke.
Other than a scoreless frame in the All-Star game, Greinke last started against the Reds and will get to pitch with a nice break. In that game, the Diamondbacks’ ace tossed seven scoreless innings. He’s 11-4 with a 2.86 ERA and 0.997 WHIP in 116.1 innings pitched.
The veteran right-hander has struck out 131 batters and walked 23, giving him a 5.7 strikeout per walk ratio. Adleman’s ratio is half of that at 2.25. He’s not as big of a strikeout pitcher as Greinke, but the biggest difference is the command. The Reds’ right-hander has walked 36 batters in 88.1 innings.
Overall, Adleman has been better than the rest of the Reds’ rotation not named Scott Feldman, but he’s still just 5-7 with a 4.99 ERA. He also allowed five runs on seven hits—including a pair of homers—in 4.1 innings against the Nationals in his last start. He gave up four runs in five innings against this Diamondbacks squad in his previous start.
The series concludes on Thursday with Taijuan Walker aiming to out pitch Luis Castillo.
Walker’s had a good year with Arizona when healthy, going 6-4 with a 3.61 ERA. Castillo has been good in his limited chances as well. He’s just 1-2 in his five starts, but has allowed 11 runs in 29 innings. His strikeout rate is great, sitting down 36, but his walk rate is also elevated, leading to short outings and some extra base runners.
Who's Hot?
The Diamondbacks have seen their team crumble a bit lately, but there are still some bright spots shining. The rotation is still very good and Archie Bradley remains in contention for MVP of this team.
The starter-turned-reliever has been very good solidifying the back end of the game. He’s struck out seven in 6.1 innings over five appearances in July. Overall, he’s got a 1.50 ERA in 42 innings. He’s still helping bridge the gap to the ninth.
At the dish, the D-Backs have a couple All-Stars. One has gone cold, but Paul Goldschmidt continues to hit. It’s hard to find a better hitter in the game and flat out impossible to find a more consistent one.
Goldschmidt is batting .315 with 21 homers and 71 RBIs. His slash line is .315/.428/.579 and he provides speed as well with 14 steals in 18 attempts. In July, his slash line is .300/.391/.525.
Outside of Goldschmidt, it’s hard to point to any Arizona hitter as being hot. David Peralta does have a .343 OBP in July, but he’s only hitting .258 with three extra base hits. That’s not bad, but doesn’t qualify as hot.
Scooter Gennett’s .382 average with four homers, 12 RBIs and a 1.253 OPS in 10 July games, however, is the exact definition of a hot player.
Much like Goldschmidt, Joey Votto continues to hit well, too. He’s batting .289 in July, but his .431 OBP and .579 slugging percentage top the figures put up to Goldy.
Just as importantly, Billy Hamilton is hitting. He’s got a .353 OBP in the month and six steals without being caught.
In the pen, Raisel Iglesias, Wandy Peralta and Ariel Hernandez have combined to allow two runs on seven hits in 16 innings. The trio has struck out 18.
Who's Not?
Chris Herrmann has had a few key hits off the bench this year, but the utility man is just 2-for-23 in July with 11 strikeouts. There are bigger concerns, but he’s certainly one player struggling for Arizona.
Others in that camp include A.J. Pollock and Jake Lamb. Pollock is 5-for-27 since his return. He does have a homer and three steals in nine games showing a bit of pop and speed, but the rest is still there. On the other hand, Lamb is going through a rough spell. Here in July he’s 6-for-26 with 12 strikeouts.
On the mound, Jorge De La Rosa has allowed a couple homers in four July appearances while Fernando Rodney has shown cracks again in the ninth inning after a very nice run of dominance over the last couple months. Rodney got the save in his last appearance, but blew both of the two previous, including giving up four runs without recording an out against the Dodgers in a 5-4 loss.
For the Reds, Drew Storen is coming off a bad outing, giving up three runs and two homers against the Nationals in his last outing. He cracked against his former team and will need to show he can bounce back. Michael Lorenzen, meanwhile, allowed six runs in just a third of a frame against the same Nats team.
At the dish, Scott Schebler is hitting .196 in July with a couple homers and a meager .213 OBP. Jose Peraza is still struggling getting on base and Adam Duvall has struck out 16 times in 48 at bats while posting a .229 average.
Votto is hitting, Gennett is hitting and Hamilton is getting on base, but much of the rest of the order around them have struggled in the first half of July.
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