Diamondbacks-Padres Game 1 Preview: Road Happy

Apr 30, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero slides into home where he is congratulated by teammates after hitting a walk off home run in the tenth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Diamondbacks are probably the only team in Major League Baseball and in sports that looks forward to going on a long nine game road trip and getting out of their home ball park and for good reason. The Dbacks this season are 3-15 at Chase Field and just one game under .500 at 6-7 on the road. Typically, by the end of the season most teams are well above .500 at home and below .500 on the road. Nothing is more puzzling for the Diamondbacks during their early seaon struggles than their nightmare play at home. The Dbacks are embarrasing their home fans and as a result attendence is suffering. No one can really explain why they are struggling at home but one thing is clear: its taking a huge tole with this team. After the Dbacks lost to the Mets in the finale of the series going 0-6 on that homestand, veteran pitcher Brandon McCarthy talked about the effects losing at home and losing in general is having on this team with MLB.com: “You get worn down mentally when you’re not performing well by yourself, and when the whole team is doing it and everybody around you is in that same boat, the team isn’t winning and really nothing positive is happening, you don’t have anything to hang onto,” McCarthy said. “It does kind of carry over and it’s an extreme mental battle to just try and minimize things as much as we can and focus on the smallest things that we can control, which is what we’re all doing. Hopefully it turns itself soon.” ‘

This team salvaged a home victory on Wednesday thanks to a Miguel Montero HR but this team is simply not putting all the areas of the game together and its making it hard for this team to win consistently. When the pitching does its job, the offense cant score, and the defense commits a ton of errors, and when the offense and defense does their job, the starters give up a ton of runs in the early innings. The bottom line is the Dbacks are not a confident team. Veterans that are supposed to deal with failure and lead the team are down in the dumps and are mentally not righ and its rubbing off on the whole team. I know that its popular to blame G.M Kevin Towers for 100% of this team’s struggles becuase of all the bad moves he has made, but this team is talented enough to win, and shouldn’t be this bad. If it is a confidence and chemistry issue than that is on Kirk Gibson. Hopefully the Snakes can rally behind their comeback win on Wednesday and put together a sustained winnings streak on the road where they play well. The Dbacks simply need to put together several games where all three areas are clicking. Here is the need to know info for game 1 of the road trip:

Up Next:

What: Diamondbacks@Padres

When: 7:10pm

Where: Petco Park

TV/Radio: FSAZ/KTAR-FM (98.7)

Matchup: RHP Bronson Arroyo vs. RHP Andrew Cashner

Need to Know: Cashner has allowed four earned runs in each of his last two starts, though he felt his overall stuff was good the last time out against the Nationals. The nine hits he allowed in that game tied his season-high. He also had five strikeouts….Cashner has devolped into one of the better starting pitchers in the game and pitches really well at Petco Park where he faces the Snakes tonight…In 28.1 innings pitched against Arizona he is 3-0 with an 3.81 era and 24 strikeouts…In his last start Arroyo proved why the Dbacks grabbed him in free agency….He allowed 2 runs over 6 innings against the Phillies going deep into the game and pitching well enough to get the victory…Unfourtunatley, the bullpen didn’t do their job melting down in the 8th and Arroyo took the no decision…In 97 innings against San Diego he is 7-7 with a 3.99 era and 76 strikeouts.

Roster Move: The Diamondbacks made another roster move sending 27 year old outfielder Tony Campana to Reno recalling hot OF Alfredo Marte. Campana had been struggling batting .160 with nine puchouts and two RBI’s off eight hits through 50 at bats. Despite this he was able to create havoc on the base paths with his speed so I personally question this move to a degree. He will continue to provide this team with OF depth. Marte was hitting .342 with Reno before his callup.

Dbacks Lineup: Ender Inciarte makes his MLB debut in centerfield

Picture courtesy of @Dbacks on twitter

Projected starters for the next two games:

Saturday: At San Diego, 5:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon McCarthy (0-5, 5.54) vs. Padres RHP Ian Kennedy (2-3, 3.16).

Sunday: At San Diego, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Wade Miley (2-3, 5.36) vs. Padres RHP Tyson Ross (3-3, 3.68).