Arizona are now 7-7 on the road, and seek to move into positive territory there, against San Diego at Petco tonight. It's Brandon McCarthy versus former Diamondback, Ian Kennedy.
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Diamondbacks Lineup
- Gerardo Parra - RF
- Martin Prado - 3B
- Paul Goldschmidt - 1B
- Miguel Montero - C
- Aaron Hill - 2B
- Chris Owings - SS
- Alfredo Marte - LF
- Ender Inciarte - CF
- Bronson Arroyo - P
Worst starts in the major-leagues since 1998
- 7-25.
2003 Tigers (Lost #33) - 8-24.
1998 D-backs (Lost #33)
1999 Marlins (Lost #33)
2005 Royals (Lost #33)
2013 Astros (Won #33) - 9-23.
11 teams tied - 10-22
29 teams tied, including 2014 D-backs
If we get a win today, I'll retire this feature of the preview - at least, until the next losing streak sinks us down into the bottom tier. Or maybe I shouldn't, considering we're currently 2-0 since I started it. Why quit on a good thing? The other streak on the line is Brandon McCarthy, who is still winless after his first six starts in 2014. That isn't a Diamondbacks' record - that belongs to Edgar Gonzalez, who went 0-9 in his first ten starts for the team in 2004. It isn't even a personal best for McCarthy, because he struggled similarly at the beginning of last season. He was winless over his first eight starts there, with an ERA of 5.63, very close to the 2014 figure.
However, if there's an omen, it's that his 2013 streak was finally ended his next appearance, after easily the best start of the season to that point went unrewarded. Then, he put up eight shutout innings against the Phillies, only for the bullpen to blow it: a Game Score of 73 was 26 points better than any preceding outing. Similarly, last time out, McCarthy struck out a career-high 12, and the resulting Game Score of 66 was 21 points better than any preceding outing this year. If the same pattern is followed, McCarthy will finally break through and get a W today. He has only pitched once before in Petco, taking the loss last September, allowing four runs over six innings.
We'll be facing Kennedy, for the third time since he was traded to San Diego. The previous results have been mixed, with eight earned runs allowed over 11.1 innings, but Kennedy seems to have settled down this year, and the offense has been sputtering a bit of late. Over the last eight, Taco-less games, we have averaged less than four runs per contest, though we've actually been hitting better than average (a .722 OPS). Our struggles with runners in scoring position this season - a .586 OPS, 13th in the National League - are a significant factor in the lack of productive offense for Arizona.
In case you're wondering about the ongoing lack of Pollock, our own GuruB quizzed Nick Piecoro about the very topic.
Yeah. Groin issue for Pollock. Says he's about 80 percent. RT @GuruB_Tucson Curious why no AJ again.... something wrong?
— Nick Piecoro (@nickpiecoro) May 3, 2014