Indians at Diamondbacks
With their offense clicking out of the gate, the Arizona Diamondbacks are displaying a never-say-die attitude under new manager Torey Lovullo. Arizona has come from behind in each of its four victories and heads into Saturday’s matchup against the visiting Cleveland Indians as one of the top hitting teams in the major leagues.
Paul Goldschmidt doubled in two runs and the Diamondbacks collected 11 hits en route to a 7-3 win in Friday’s series opener. Jake Lamb is hitting .263 with two homers and six RBIs for Arizona, which has scored a total of 34 runs in its first five games. Cleveland suffered its first loss on Friday but received another strong performance from Francisco Lindor, who belted his third home run and has recorded seven RBIs in four games. Carlos Santana, who usually serves as the team’s designated hitter, started in right field and batted leadoff for the interleague contest while Edwin Encarnacion remained at first base.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), FSN Arizona
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Trevor Bauer (2016: 12-8, 4.26 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks RH Zack Greinke (0-0, 3.60)
Bauer made his major-league debut with the Diamondbacks and went 1-2 in four starts in 2012 before being traded to Cleveland. The 26-year-old is looking to build on his successful 2016 season, when he finished second on the team in innings (190), starts (28) and strikeouts (168). Bauer allowed two runs over eight frames on Aug. 13, 2014 in his only career outing against the Diamondbacks.
Greinke made his third Opening Day start on Sunday and settled for a no-decision after yielding two runs and four hits over five innings against San Francisco. It was an encouraging outing for the 33-year-old, who struggled to meet expectations last season and saw his velocity drop during spring training. Michael Brantley is 4-for-13 with a home run against Greinke, who owns a 9-9 record and 3.87 ERA in 28 career games (23 starts) versus Cleveland.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Indians have won seven of their last 11 meetings with the Diamondbacks.
2. Arizona’s pinch-hitters have gone 5-for-9 with four RBIs and four runs scored to open the season.
3. Cleveland 2B Jason Kipnis (shoulder) is set to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Akron on Sunday.