D-backs Starting Lineup & Game Preview: Banda on the Hill, Lamb Hitting 3rd, Series Win in Sight
The Diamondbacks can do something tonight that hasn’t been done since for two months. They can take a series from the Dodgers. That feat was last accomplished by the Washington Nationals way back on June 6. So, to say this is a big game may be a slight understatement. It would certainly go a long way towards boosting the confidence of the D-backs as they head down the stretch.
Pitching for the D-backs tonight is LHP Anthony Banda, who looked sharp in his outing last Friday in San Francisco. He managed to notch his first career win while allowing only one run on three hits over six innings pitched. This kid has a presence to him on the mound that you don’t see everyday in a rookie. If he establishes the fastball command early, this could be another really good outing.
Torey Lovullo has gone back to the most logical lineup the D-backs have. Well, at least it’s logical when compared to a lineup that has Jake Lamb batting seventh in the order. David Peralta is batting leadoff, a spot he’s grown accustomed to, and he’s followed by A.J. Pollock, Jake Lamb, and Paul Goldschmidt. See, that just feels right, doesn’t it?
Following Goldy is J.D. Martinez, Daniel Descalso, Chris Iannetta and Ketel Marte.
On the hill for the Dodgers tonight is Yu Darvish, who will be making his second start for L.A. since being traded from the Rangers on July 31. In his first start, Darvish threw a three-hit shutout, striking out 10 batters over seven innings. Sounds pretty good until you look at his performance the previous game when he gave up ten runs on nine hits in 3 2/3 innings. So, you never know what you’ll get with Darvish but he’s usually pretty solid.
Left-handed batters are hitting .241, a full 42 points higher than righties, who are hitting .199 against Darvish. If Peralta and Lamb can do damage early in the game, they could knock Darvish off his game-plan which could set the D-backs up for a big night at the plate.
Tonight’s #DbacksTBT lineup. #OurSeason pic.twitter.com/wDF6fxKmuW
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 10, 2017
