Diamondbacks at Braves
The Arizona Diamondbacks visit the Atlanta Braves on Friday to open a three-game weekend set between two teams whose struggles on the field have placed their managers in the spotlight. The Diamondbacks have lost six in a row after Thursday’s 4-0 defeat at Miami as speculation has started on Chip Hale’s future at the helm for Arizona, while Atlanta skipper Fredi Gonzalez’s days seem numbered with the Braves off to a 7-20 start.
Arizona chief baseball officer Tony LaRussa did his part to reiterate Hale’s job is safe Thursday, citing a difficult early-season schedule in saying, “no, the issue is not Chip Hale.” Predicted to contend in the National League West, the Diamondbacks are 12-18 and their revamped starting rotation – highlighted by newcomers Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller, who start the opening two games this weekend – has struggled. Expectations were low for the Braves entering the season but Atlanta has been terrible, and despite going 3-4 on a seven-game road trip that ended with Wednesday’s 8-0 loss to the New York Mets, rampant speculation continues to swirl around Gonzalez. “We just haven’t done our job the first 27 games,” Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman told reporters late Wednesday, “and we need to get better at it.”
TV: 7:35 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona, FSN South (Atlanta)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks RH Zack Greinke (2-2, 5.50 ERA) vs. Braves RH Aaron Blair (0-1, 3.18)
Greinke pitched well Saturday against Colorado, giving up two runs on eight hits with eight strikeouts in seven innings in a no-decision. The 32-year-old has struggled with consistency in his first six starts with Arizona, allowing a league-high 47 hits in 37 2/3 innings after surrendering only 148 in 222 2/3 innings while going 19-3 for the Dodgers last season. Greinke is 1-1 with a 2.53 ERA in five career starts against Atlanta.
Blair has impressed in his first two major-league starts, no-hitting the Cubs Friday for four innings and allowing just two hits in six frames with one run allowed. He gave up three runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings in his major-league debut April 24 against the Mets, taking a 3-2 loss. The 23-year-old was a first-round pick of Arizona in the 2013 draft, coming to Atlanta from Arizona in the Shelby Miller trade on Dec. 9, 2015.
WALK-OFFS
1. Arizona INF-OF Brandon Drury went hitless in four at-bats Thursday, but is batting .358 with four homers, five doubles and seven RBIs in his past 13 games.
2. The Braves are a major-league worst 1-12 at home and have been outscored 75-40.
3. Atlanta RF Nick Markakis – who leads the Braves in batting (.281), doubles (11) and RBIs (20) – missed Wednesday’s game due to a family emergency, but is expected to return to the lineup Friday.