Diamondbacks at Padres
Little went right for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014 as they posted the second-worst record in franchise history, except when they faced the San Diego Padres. The Diamondbacks look to continue their recent good fortune against the host Padres on Monday as the National League West rivals open up a three-game set.
Arizona went 64-98 last year to finish in last place in the division,
posting a winning record against only two NL foes. One of those
opponents was San Diego, which the Diamondbacks outscored 87-59 en route
to winning 12 of the 19 meetings. Many of the Padres that contributed
to the team’s third-place finish in the NL West and the majors’ worst
offense last year are gone, the latter of which was readily apparent
over the weekend as they scored 17 runs to take the final three of a
four-game home series with the San Francisco Giants. After pounding out
20 hits in Saturday’s 10-2 rout of the Giants, San Diego got most of its
offense in Sunday’s 6-4 win courtesy of backup catcher Wil Nieves’
first career grand slam.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona, FSN San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks RH Rubby De La Rosa (1-0, 10.13 ERA) vs. Padres RH Andrew Cashner (0-1, 9.00)
Acquired
in the Wade Miley trade with Boston in the offseason, De La Rosa
received a lot of offensive help from his new teammates to collect his
first victory of the season in Tuesday’s 7-6 home win over San
Francisco. The 26-year-old Dominican yielded a career-high tying six
earned runs – including two homers – on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings.
Wil Myers (3-for-4, two RBIs) is the only Padre with more than two
at-bats versus De La Rosa, who will face San Diego for the first time
since tossing six scoreless frames in a no-decision in 2011 as a member
of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Cashner found himself on the wrong
end of a career-high three-homer performance from Adrian Gonzalez on
Wednesday, taking the loss in a 7-4 decision at the Dodgers. The TCU
alum tied a career high by surrendering six runs (five earned) while
also allowing eight hits and three walks in five frames. Paul
Goldschmidt (4-for-9 with a homer and three RBIs) is the only
Diamondbacks' regular that has fared well against Cashner, who posted a
1.43 ERA in 11 home turns in 2014 and is 3-2 with a 3.50 ERA in 12
all-time outings (eight starts) versus Arizona.
WALK-OFFS
1.
Arizona LHP Andrew Chafin has retired 16 straight batters, six shy of
the record set by a Diamondbacks’ reliever (22 in a row by Willie Banks
in 1998).
2. San Diego pitchers have recorded 61 strikeouts – the second-highest tally in the majors.
3.
The Diamondbacks recalled RHP A.J. Schugel from Triple-A Reno and
placed C Gerald Laird on the 15-day disabled list with lower-back
spasms.