Arizona Diamondbacks: Cubbies come to Chase

The Chicago Cubs are coming to Chase Field in attempt to redeem themselves from the series loss they took to the Arizona Diamondbacks last week.

The Diamondbacks will be looking to redeem themselves from the series loss they just suffered at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Both teams are riding two-game losing streaks, if you can call it a streak.

The Cubs are also holding a one-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central, while the Diamondbacks have fallen to one-game back behind the Colorado Rockies in the NL Wild Card race.

Basically, this is playoff baseball. This series, followed by the series against the Washington Nationals will likely determine the legitimacy of the Diamondbacks postseason bid.

To get the series going, the Diamondbacks will send Taijuan Walker to the mound on Friday night against John Lackey.

Walker is 0-1 since the All-Star break with three no decisions and a 3.42 ERA. He will be looking to earn his first win since June 21.

Luckily for Walker, three Diamondbacks hitters are batting significantly well against Lackey. Goldschmidt, Lamb and Peralta are batting .375, .429 and .667, respectively, in an average of seven at-bats.

The downside is that Lackey is 4-0 since the All-Star break.

The Diamondbacks will also send Patrick Corbin to the mound against Jon Lester on Saturday.

For a second there in July, Corbin seemed to be coming out of the rough year he’s been having. In July, Corbin was 2-2 with a 3.10 ERA, only to fall in August to 0-2 with a 10.00 ERA.

His season 4.76 ERA is down from the 5.15 ERA he had in 2016, but he’s still been a dark spot in the Diamondbacks rotation.

Finally, the dominant Zack Godley will take the mound against Jake Arrieta on Sunday.

Godley might have a 5-4 record, but it is not indicative of his 2.94 ERA and 1.02 WHIP for the season. In fact, his ERA and WHIP are the lowest among the Diamondbacks rotation.

This series will depend on the status of the Diamondbacks offense, which has been relatively quiet.

As a team, the Diamondbacks have 14 home runs over the last two weeks. However, in that same time frame, the Diamondbacks are batting .179 with runners in scoring position.

Another important matchup in this series will be the “Versus Dog.” Adding to the unique food at Chase Field, the Diamondbacks revealed a half-Arizona, half-Chicago-style hot dog for the series against the Cubs.

The Diamondbacks might have a shot to win the series, but the Chicago dog will probably take the food challenge.