Diamondbacks at Cardinals
The Arizona Diamondbacks send ace Zack Greinke to the mound as they go for a fifth straight victory Saturday afternoon in the middle contest of a three-game series against the host St. Louis Cardinals. Robbie Ray and four relievers held St. Louis to just two hits in its home opener Thursday for a 3-1 victory as the Diamondbacks equaled their best seven-game start in franchise history at 6-1.
“The pitching has set the tone,” Arizona infielder Daniel Descalso told reporters. “That was the story last year and it’s the same thing going forward this year.” The Diamondbacks’ starting pitchers are 5-0 in seven games with a 3.02 ERA and a league-best 53 strikeouts through Thursday and the Cardinals will try to get their offense going while sending right-hander Michael Wacha to the hill after he endured a rough 2018 debut. Paul DeJong (10-for-26, three homers, five RBIs) and Yadier Molina (7-for-27, three homers, team-best six RBIs) leads St. Louis, which is batting .235 overall and .208 with runners in scoring position. “Pitchers are always ahead of hitters early on,” Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter told the St. Louis Dispatch. “Cold weather. I think that’s what you’re going to see. But when this offense gets clicking. …”
TV: 2:15 p.m. ET, FS Arizona, FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks RH Zack Greinke (0-0, 1.59 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (0-1, 7.71)
Greinke limited Colorado to one run on five hits with nine strikeouts and no walks over 5 2/3 innings without getting a decision in his 2018 debut last Saturday. The 34-year-old Florida native was 13-1 at home as opposed to 4-6 on the road last year, but won his only start at St. Louis while allowing just one run over seven innings. Marcell Ozuna is 4-for-11 with three homers and Carpenter is 8-for-24 with a pair of blasts against Greinke, who is 12-4 with a 3.17 ERA lifetime versus St. Louis.
Wacha improved in 2017 after a rough 2016 campaign, but struggled in his season debut last Saturday when he yielded four runs on five hits (two homers) over 4 2/3 innings against the New York Mets. The 26-year-old Texas A&M product, who finished 12-9 last season after going 7-7 in 2016, went 8-4 with a 3.41 ERA at home in 2017 as opposed to 4-5 with a 4.97 mark. A.J. Pollock is 3-for-7 with a home run versus Wacha, who beat the Diamondbacks with six scoreless innings last season and is 1-1 lifetime in the series.
WALK-OFFS
1. St. Louis CF Dexter Fowler, who batted .264 in his first year with the team last season, is off to a 4-for-30 start in 2018.
2. Arizona’s five-time All-Star 1B Paul Goldschmidt is 2-for-22 with seven strikeouts in the early going and is 1-for-9 against Wacha.
3. Carpenter has reached base in all seven contests to start the season and registered his 100th career multi-walk game Thursday.