After winning the final four of their most recent six game road trip, the Arizona Diamondbacks were looking forward to heading to Chase Field for a ten game home stand. Unfortunately, their win streak, and the home stand did not start out on a positive note, as the Diamondbacks lost to the Miami Marlins 12-3 in their first of a four game series last night. Tonight, the Diamondbacks will be looking to get back on track when they send Trevor Cahill to the mound to face Ricky Nolasco.
Cahill, in his first season with the Diamondbacks, is 9-10, with a 3.75 ERA in 24 starts heading into tonight's game. In his last outing against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 16, Cahill allowed only one run on five hits, with four strikeouts in six innings. He did not figure in the 2-1 win, since the Diamondbacks did not score their two runs until the last inning of the game. Cahill was with the Oakland Athletics for three years, and has a 49-45 overall record, with a 3.87 ERA in 120 career starts. He has allowed a first-inning run in seven of his last 11 games, which has also plagued other Diamondback pitchers this season. Cahill has posted a 9-0 record when the Diamondbacks score three or more runs in support.
Ricky Nolasco is getting the call for the Miami Marlins tonight. He is 9-12, with a 4.94 ERA this season, with a 73-63 overall record, and a career 4.56 ERA. In his last outing, Nolasco pitched a complete game in the Marlins 5-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies. He tied his career high of seven strikeouts, while allowing nine hits and registering one intentional walk in the loss. Nolasco will be facing the D-backs for the first time this season, but has a 5-2 record with a 4.14 ERA in seven career starts against Arizona.
After going scoreless in three straight losses, the Marlins have gone 4-2 in their last six games, scoring 38 runs in the process. The Diamondbacks swept their three game road series against the Astros before losing to the Marlins last night. When asked about the loss, Manager Kirk Gibson didn't have much to say, other than they tried to play short and not utilize their bullpen, and the decision backfired. Sam Demel has been recalled from Triple-A Reno to help in the bullpen. He has been working on utilizing all his pitches, and has been "throwing the ball pretty good lately," according to Gibson, who says he reads the minor league reports every single day.
In other recent news, Tyler Skaggs has also been called up from Triple-A Reno to make his Major League debut for the Diamondbacks tomorrow. The team needed a spot starter due to the schedule change that forces the Diamondbacks to play their first ever double-header tomorrow at Chase Field. Skaggs was scratched from his Triple-A start on Sunday in order to make him available for Wednesday's game.
Skaggs is 4-2 in nine starts with Triple-A Reno this season, and has a 2.91 ERA with 45 strikeouts. When asked about Skaggs, D-backs Manager Kirk Gibson said, "He's had good years in the Minors, he's a big lefty and he's got good strikeout stuff." Gibson does not know what the plans are for Skaggs after his start tomorrow.
With Stephen Drew going to the Oakland Athletics for minor league prospect Sean Jamieson last night, Jake Elmore will get the start tonight at shortstop. Here are the rest of tonight's starting lineups:
Marlins:
Emilio Bonifacio (CF)
Bryan Peterson (LF)
Jose Reyes (SS)
Carlos Lee (1B)
Giancarlo Stanton (RF)
Greg Dobbs (3B)
Donovan Solano (2B)
Rob Brantly (C)
Ricky Nolasco (P, 9-12 4.94 ERA)
Diamondbacks:
Chris Young (CF)
Aaron Hill (2B)
Jason Kubel (LF)
Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
Justin Upton (RF)
Miguel Montero (C)
Ryan Wheeler (3B)
Jake Elmore (SS)
Trevor Cahill (P, 9-10 3.75 ERA)