Diamondbacks-Dodgers Preview: Final LA Trip of 2014
By Thomas Lynch
David Peralta now has nine triples in 2014. Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
The word”final” in association with Major League Baseball most of the time represents sadness. This weekend’s three game series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers is the final meeting between the clubs this season. These two teams kicked off the 2014 season in Australia in March which at this point seems like a lifetime ago. The Dodgers are still playing for playoff positioning while the D’backs are playing for the lovely word pride.
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The opening game Friday night will have Vidal Nuno of the D’backs face Dan Haren of the Dodgers. Nuno was scheduled to start the finale of the Padres’ series but was pushed back as the the Snakes began to use a six man rotation. Nuno will look to build on a string of impressive outings while still searching for his elusive first D’backs’ victory. This will be his first outing against Los Angeles. Haren is out to record his 12th win of the season and is 2-1 against his former team this year. On Saturday, Chase Anderson squares off against Zack Greinke. The rookie Anderson will be making his 19th start of the season with management keeping an eye on his innings. He is 1-1 vs. the Dodgers this season pitching a total of only 10 innings. Grienke is out for win number 14 and has dominated Arizona this year. He is 2-0 against them in three starts allowing only two earned runs in 19 1/3 innings. On Sunday, Trevor Cahill looks to get untracked once again as he faces Hyun-Jin Ryu. Cahill has reverted back to early season form over his past two outings with nine walks in 7 1/3 innings. He has a loss and a save in three appearances against LA in 2014. Ryu looks for win number 15 overall and win number three against the D’backs.
David Peralta‘s nine triples have him tied for fifth in all of baseball, three behind the Dodgers’ Dee Gordon who is the leader. Miguel Montero took over the D’back lead in RBI’s this week as he now has 71. Even though the Snakes handed Clayton Kershaw his worst defeat this year on May 17th, they are very lucky not to face him this weekend. He could very well be named the National League MVP. Perhaps Daniel Hudson will see another inning’s worth of action in this series. He had a 1-2-3 eighth inning on Wednesday, his first Major League appearance in over two years.