Diamondbacks at Athletics
After receiving a brief glimmer of hope, the Arizona Diamondbacks are back to looking for answers on how to win on the road. Arizona attempts to bounce back from a futile performance as it concludes a dismal nine-game trek Sunday against the Oakland Athletics.
The Diamondbacks lost seven straight both overall and on the road before recording a dominant victory in the series opener but were silenced by Daniel Mengden on Saturday, notching only a pair of singles in a 3-0 setback. Arizona is 1-7 on the road trip and has lost 14 of its last 16 overall contests. Mengden tossed his second career complete game - and shutout - as he improved to 2-11 lifetime at Oakland Coliseum while the Athletics raised their record to 2-3 on their 10-game homestand. Oakland managed only five hits Saturday, but all went for extra bases - including solo homers by Matt Joyce, Matt Olson and Chad Pinder.
TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, FS Arizona, NBCS California (Oakland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Diamondbacks RH Zack Greinke (3-3, 3.71 ERA) vs. Athletics RH Frankie Montas (2017: 1-1, 7.03)
Greinke had his four-start unbeaten streak halted last time out, as he served up a season-high three homers en route to yielding four runs over six innings in a loss at Milwaukee on Monday. The 34-year-old Floridian did register nine strikeouts, marking the fourth time he has reached that total in 10 turns this season. Greinke has had success against Oakland in his career, going 6-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 15 appearances (11 starts).
Montas is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Nashville to make his third major-league start - and first for Oakland - in order to give Trevor Cahill an extra day of rest. The 25-year-old Montas came out of the bullpen for the Athletics last season after going 0-2 in two starts and five relief appearances for the Chicago White Sox in 2015. The Dominican, who never has faced Arizona, has gone 1-5 with one complete game and a 4.39 ERA in nine turns for the Sounds this year.
WALK-OFFS
1. Athletics SS Marcus Semien doubled on Saturday to avoid going hitless in back-to-back contests for the first time this season.
2. Arizona has scored fewer than three runs six times over the first eight games of its road trip.
3. Oakland placed Santiago Casilla (shoulder) on the 10-day disabled list, optioned Josh Lucas to Nashville and recalled fellow RHPs Chris Bassitt and Carlos Ramirez from the Sounds.