D-backs Starting Lineup & Game Preview: Banda on the Hill, Iannetta Hits Second, Goldy Fourth
I’d love to say that I really hope Paul Goldschmidt can continue punishing baseballs in a similar fashion to his performance on Thursday against the Cubs, but I realize that may be asking for just a bit too much. Or is it? Well, we will find out when the Diamondbacks start their weekend series against the San Francisco Giants tonight (Series Preview).
Coming off a three home run game is kind of like being a kid walking out of Disneyland, you know it ain’t gonna get any better. In 53 games at AT&T Park, Goldy is slashing a robust .307/.419/.524 including 8 home runs over his career. And against Madison Bumgarner he’s hitting .286/.390/.490 with 2 homers and nine walks in 59 plate appearances. Those are some solid career numbers against a pretty elite pitcher.
Leading off for the D-backs tonight is David Peralta. He’s followed by Chris Iannetta batting second. Similar to Thursday’s lineup that had another unexpected batter hitting second, namely Adam Rosales, Torey Lovullo has once again chosen to go with an unconventional approach to his lineup. If we look a little deeper we see that in the two starts Iannetta has made this season batting second in the order, he’s hitting .500/.500/1.200. Small sample but you can’t argue with those results.
Following Iannetta in the order is A.J. Pollock, Goldschmidt, and J.D. Martinez, who has eight hits and six home runs as a D-back. No question, Martinez has sick power, but I’d love to see him go 3-for-4 with a double, single and homer, just for a change of pace and to get him into a nice little hitting grove. Or three home runs would be cool too.
Anthony Banda was recalled today from Triple-A Reno to make his second big-league start for the D-backs. His first start was exceptional until he got knocked around a bit in the 6th inning by the Washington Nationals. Luckily, the Giants have the 29th ranked offense in the league based on fWAR, so hopefully Banda has a better outing tonight and can get his first career win.
Tonight’s #Dbacks lineup. #OurSeason pic.twitter.com/PcCmqpCbpY
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 4, 2017
