The D’backs travel to Miami to face the listless Marlins, a team tied for the worst record in the majors at 11-30 and are on a five-game losing streak.

After a fire sale in the offseason, only Giancarlo Stanton remained a legitimate above-average regular. And he’s hurt.

The Marlins are dead last in the majors in runs, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. In their last game, against the Reds on May 16, the Marlins trotted out a lineup featuring Juan Pierre in the leadoff spot, Adeiny Hechavarria in the two hole, Derek Dietrich, and his six career games in the majors, in the third spot and Marcell Ozuna, and his 15 games in the majors, hitting clean up. It’s a very bad, no good, dirty, rotten lineup.

On the flip side, the Snakes are playing very well right now. Coming off a series win against the talented Braves, and winning seven of their last 10, the D’backs should get off to a good start on their six game road trip through Miami and Denver.

Game 1 (Friday): Trevor Cahill (2-4, 2.70 ERA) vs. Kevin Slowey (1-3, 2.55 ERA)

Slowey has been a bright spot for the Marlins this season. He was brilliant in April, compiling a 2.15 ERA. He kept opponents off the base paths, only walking six in 37.2 innings of work, and limited the home runs, only three in 138 at bats. In his first start in May, he finally earned his first win of the season, throwing seven shut out inning against the Phillies. However, in his next outing, his last, Slowey was pounded. On May 11 against the Dodgers, Slowey gave up five runs and 11 hits in only 4.2 innings. Will he bounce back or will the regression continue?

Despite having issues with control in his last outing, walking four in five innings, Cahill limited the damage to one run, yet still received the loss against the Phils on May 11. Cahill is quietly chugging along with his 2.70 ERA. He may be getting a tad lucky with home runs but not much. He’s becoming the pitcher the D’backs were expecting when they traded for him before last season.

Game 2 (Saturday): Brandon McCarthy (0-3, 5.63) vs. Tom Koehler (0-1, 3.31)

Koehler will be making his second start for the Marlins this season. He’s pitched in seven games this season, but only in his last appearance, on May 12 against the Dodgers, did he start. He went five innings, gave up two runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out one. On the season, he has 10 strike outs and seven walks in 16.1 innings of work. McCarthy was brilliant, finally, in his last outing, shutting out the Phillies on May 12 for eight innings. He struck out five, walked none and only allowed seven hits. Unfortunately, the bullpen blew the lead in the ninth and McCarthy received a no decision. Still, in his last three games, McCarthy has a 3.10 ERA and has struck out 14 and only walked two in 20.1 innings.

 Game 3 (Sunday): Wade Miley (3-2, 3.75) vs. Ricky Nolasco (2-5, 4.39)

In his last start, Nolasco was touched up for six runs in five innings against the Reds on May 14. Nolasco has been up and down all season, four quality starts but also three outings where gave up four runs or more. Despite his home field being a pitcher’s haven, Nolasco has actually been his worst at home. He owns a 5.25 ERA in four games, going 1-2 in the process.

Miley may be showing some flaws after continuing his dominant 2012 into April 2013. But now, he’s had three bad outings in his last four, struggling with command in those bad outings. He walked 12 in 14.1 innings. In his last start, he gave up six earned in five innings and received the loss on May 13 against the Braves.

 The D’backs and Marlins are squaring off for the first time in 2013. The D’backs came out on top in 2012, going 5-3 against the fish, outscoring them 38-32.

May 3, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Wade Miley (36) throws during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Image Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Braves (21-16) just lost three out of four games to the San Francisco Giants over the weekend, and will now start a three-game series with Arizona. One of the reasons why they struggled against the Giants is that their offense was non-existent and their pitching gave up too many runs.

Arizona (21-17) had a chance to earn a series victory against the Philadelphia Phillies, but a mistake by manager Kirk Gibson cost them a victory. The starter for the Diamondbacks Brandon McCarthy pitched a great game, and had only thrown 88 pitches going into the ninth inning.

Gibson opted to use the bullpen, and they blew another save opportunity for the team, this is the 11th save the bullpen has blown this season.

This was a bad loss for Arizona, but now they will face a very good Braves team and they also will see their former franchise player Justin Upton return to Chase Field.

This is the first time that Arizona will face the Braves this season. Arizona went 2-5 against the Braves last season.

Game 1 (Monday): Mike Minor (4-2, 2.96 ERA) vs. Wade Miley (3-1, 2.93 ERA)

Mike Minor has pitched great this season for Atlanta, and looks to continue his success against Arizona. Minor in his last start against the Cincinnati Reds gave up one run, walked three, struck out seven batters in seven innings. Arizona will struggle on offense once again because Minor is another left-handed starter they have to face.

Wade Miley rebounded from his last two starts where he had issues with his command. He went seven innings did not issue a walk, and threw more strikes against the opposition. Miley has been one our most dependable starters this season and needs to have great command in this start against the Braves.

Game 2 (Tuesday): Julio Teheran (2-0, 4.84 ERA) vs. Patrick Corbin (5-0, 1.75 ERA)

Julio Teheran has been pitching better in recent starts for Atlanta, and one of the reasons is that he has changed the grip on his change up. He has just allowed two runs or less in each of past three starts.

Patrick Corbin has pitched excellent in each start he has made this season. He has pitched at least six innings, and has given two earned runs or less in each start. He will need to have his best stuff once again against a Braves team that can score runs in bunches, though they are struggling to hit. Corbin has faced the Braves only once in his career, he threw three shut-out innings in relief last June.

Game 3 (Wednesday): Tim Hudson (4-2, 4.70 ERA) vs. Ian Kennedy (1-3, 4.83 ERA)

Tim Hudson has not pitched great this season for the Braves, as he has thrown fewer than five innings in three of his eight starts this season. The positive for Hudson is that  he is 4-0 in his career against Arizona with a 0.94 ERA in five starts.

Ian Kennedy did not have have a good beginning to his last start, but managed to pitch better as the game went on. The key for him was that he was able to throw more strikes, and he used his fastball more than he used his breaking pitches.

May 5, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Didi Gregorius (1) turns a double play ahead of the slide by San Diego Padres right fielder Will Venable (25) during the fourth inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Dodgers (13-17) are streaking in a bad way, and have now lost four straight games. They were just swept by the San Francisco Giants in a series that concluded on Sunday. The Dodgers have not started off the season well, and it appeared they were getting healthy when Hanley Ramirez returned. Then, he injured his hamstring while running the bases in his fourth game this season, and is now on the D.L.

The D’Backs (16-15) did not have a good series against the San Diego Padres, and have now lost five of their past six games. The offense was inconsistent once again, and they struggled to produce when they had runners in scoring position. The bright spots for the offense is that A.J. Pollock continues to impress and Didi Gregorius has provided a spark that the offense has desperately needed.

This is second series of the season between D’Backs and Dodgers. Arizona is 2-1 against them this season, and went 12-6 in the 2012 season.

Game 1 (Monday): Trevor Cahill (1-3, 2.84 ERA) vs. Chris Capuano (0-1, 9.64 ERA)

Trevor Cahill has been pitching better, especially in his last two starts against the opposition. The reason that Cahill has looked like a completely different pitcher is the command of his sinker. Another reason he has pitched well is that, he cut down on his walks, and trusting in his abilities as a pitcher.

Chris Capuano will be making first start since going on the D.L., and the Dodgers need him to pitch well in this start. They have suffered too many injuries to their starting rotation, and need him to perform well while other members of the rotation get healthy.

Game 2 (Tuesday): Brandon McCarthy (0-3, 7.22 ERA) vs. Josh Beckett (0-4, 5.24 ERA)

Brandon McCarthy pitched well in last start against the Giants, but the bullpen threw away any chance he had at earning his first victory this season. McCarthy is allowing too many hits to the opposition, and also his pitches are catching too much of the strike zone. McCarthy has made one career start against the Dodgers, and pitched well by throwing seven scoreless innings.

Josh Beckett is also looking for his first victory of the season, but his issue has been with giving up too many HR’s this season. He has also struggled, when there have been men on base. The positive for him is that he pitched very well the last time he faced Arizona.

Game 3 (Wednesday): Wade Miley (2-1, 3.06 ERA) vs. Clayton Kershaw (3-2, 1.66 ERA)

Wade Miley seems to going through a rough patch with his command, but I am confident he will return to how he pitched in the beginning of the season. The main problem for him through this stretch is that he is not locating his fastball, and he also is using his slider less.

Clayton Kershaw is pitching the best baseball of his career, and he has to with the injuries to the Dodgers rotation. The reason for his recent success is that he is using his curveball more often to the opposition. The struggles that the Diamondbacks have had on offense, could lead to him having a huge game for the Dodgers.