Diamondbacks at Giants
The Arizona Diamondbacks are 8-2 despite missing two of their middle-of-the-order hitters, which should cause some concern for the rest of the National League West. Starting pitching has been the early key for Arizona, which continues its three-game series against the host San Francisco Giants on Tuesday.
Paul Goldschmidt delivered an RBI triple and Zack Godley tossed seven shutout innings in Monday’s 2-1 victory as the Diamondbacks matched their best 10-game start in franchise history. Arizona’s lineup is missing third baseman Jake Lamb (sprained left shoulder) and outfielder Steven Souza (pectoral strain), but utilityman Chris Owings is hitting .400 and the team’s starting pitchers have gone 4-1 with a 2.20 ERA in the last eight games. San Francisco’s rotation has been strong out of the gate, but the team has scored fewer than two runs in six of their first nine games and needs more production from new third baseman Evan Longoria. The 32-year-old veteran went 0-for-3 while batting fifth Monday and has four hits in his first 32 at-bats with 11 strikeouts.
TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, FS Arizona Plus, NBCSN Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks LH Patrick Corbin (2-0, 1.38 ERA) vs. Giants RH Johnny Cueto (1-0, 0.69)
Corbin improved to 2-0 on Wednesday with a brilliant performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers, tossing 7 1/3 shutout innings with a career-high 12 strikeouts. “His slider and curveball were as good as I've seen it together,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters. “The slider was devastating. It looked like a fastball and we just couldn't figure it out.” The 28-year-old native New Yorker is 5-7 with a 3.33 ERA in 19 career games (17 starts) against the Giants.
After posting a 4.52 ERA last season, Cueto has returned to form in his first two starts, allowing one run across 13 innings. The two-time All-Star allowed one run on eight hits over six innings in Wednesday’s 10-1 rout of Seattle. Goldschmidt is 7-for-27 with two home runs and eight strikeouts against Cueto, who is 11-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 15 career starts against Arizona, including 2-0 with a 4.91 ERA last season.
WALK-OFFS
1. San Francisco is expected to promote RHP Tyler Beede to make his major league debut for Wednesday’s series finale.
2. The Diamondbacks are 16-7 over their last 23 road games since Aug. 21, 2017.
3. The Giants are 4-0 when scoring first and 0-5 when their opponent scores first.