The Arizona Diamondbacks will face the Giants for the primary time this season and can get acquainted with Justin Verlander in a brand new uniform when the Nationwide League West rivals start a three-game sequence Monday evening in San Francisco.
Each groups are coming off exhausting experiences that concluded with disappointing flights into San Francisco on Sunday evening.
The Diamondbacks’ 8-1 residence loss Sunday afternoon ended a tense four-game set in opposition to the Los Angeles Dodgers. It additionally served because the continuation of a rugged 24-day stretch wherein Arizona has seen the Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Dodgers a complete of twenty-two instances.
The Diamondbacks have gone simply 9-13 within the gauntlet, having alternated losses and wins of their final 9 outings in opposition to the Phillies, Mets and Dodgers.
In the meantime, the Giants flew residence saddled with a three-game dropping streak — all one-run defeats in an interleague matchup with the Minnesota Twins.
The third of the three disappointments was the hardest. The Giants led 3-0 early after which 6-5 going into the underside of the tenth, solely to see nearer Ryan Walker quit a walk-off, two-out single to DaShawn Keirsey Jr. in a 7-6 loss to the Twins.
“Typically baseball is a merciless sport,” Giants supervisor Bob Melvin stated after Sunday’s defeat, which he watched from the clubhouse after getting ejected within the ninth inning. “Only a robust sequence for us. Now we have to go residence and choose our heads up, play nicely at residence like now we have.”
The Giants have received their final three residence sequence — over the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers and Colorado Rockies. Two of the three losses amongst these 10 video games got here in Verlander begins, nonetheless.
Verlander (0-2, 4.50 ERA) has but to document a win in eight begins since signing with San Francisco within the offseason. Three of these eight resulted in crew wins, together with a 14-5, 11-inning overcome the Cubs final Tuesday in a sport that the 42-year-old left with a 5-3 lead by way of 5 innings.
His quest for profession win No. 263 will proceed in opposition to a Diamondbacks crew he is confronted simply eight instances in his 20 seasons. The fitting-hander has gone 5-2 with a 3.14 ERA in these eight begins regardless of getting roughed up for eight runs in simply three innings in a 2024 head-to-head whereas with the Houston Astros.
Verlander has been opposed by Arizona’s scheduled starter on Monday, right-hander Merrill Kelly (3-2, 4.09 ERA), simply as soon as of their careers, and each pitched nicely within the Astros’ 1-0 victory in 2023. Verlander threw 5 shutout innings to get the win, whereas Kelly was a hard-luck loser after limiting Houston to 1 run in seven innings.
The Giants will see a Diamondbacks crew that is comparatively nicely rested regardless of their tough current schedule. Arizona supervisor Torey Lovullo gave Lourdes Gurriel Jr. a time off Saturday, then sat Ketel Marte on Sunday regardless of matchups with the mighty Dodgers.
“We’ll get into an actual good rhythm right here the place he is ultimately going to play six, seven days in a row,” Lovullo stated of Marte, who missed nearly a full month earlier this season with a strained left hamstring.
As for Gurriel, the supervisor reported: “He got here into my workplace (and) stated, ‘I am getting drained. I’ll want a time off right here fairly quickly.'”
Kelly has gone 7-5 with a 3.30 ERA in 19 profession begins in opposition to the Giants.
– Subject Degree Media
