The Arizona Diamondbacks host the San Francisco Giants this weekend, in a showdown of teams on opposite ends of the standings.
The Giants have struggled mightily the last week, but still hold the lead in the division.
The Diamondbacks have had a rough season from day one and currently sit in last place in the National League West.
Still, this series presents an opportunity for two struggling teams to get back on track, as the Giants and Diamondbacks meet for the first time since April.
Records:
Diamondbacks: 31-45, 5th place in NL West, 14 games behind San Francisco
Giants: 43-29, 1st place in NL West, 4 games ahead of Los Angeles
Season Series: Giants lead series 4-3 (home team is 2-5)
Arizona Outlook: The Diamondbacks started the season with an 8-22 record, and haven't made much progress in climbing out of their early season hole.
Not surprisingly, Paul Goldschmidt has been one of the few bright spots, posting a .308 average, 15 home runs and 52 RBI's to lead Arizona in almost all offensive categories.
The starting rotation has been hampered by injuries this season, losing Patrick Corbin and Daniel Hudson to Tommy John surgery.
Free agent acquisition Bronson Arroyo may be the next name on that list.
He missed his last start – snapping a streak of 369 consecutive starts – with damage in his elbow, something that the Diamondbacks will try to fix with rest, but that type of injury often ends with surgery.
This latest injury may open a spot for top prospect Archie Bradley. He should make his debut soon, especially with the team in need of pitching and currently in the cellar in the NL West.
San Francisco Outlook: Where did the Giants go the last 10 days? San Francisco is 2-8 in their last 10 games, and now sit just four games ahead of Los Angeles.
The bullpen blew three consecutive late-inning leads against Colorado last weekend, the defense has played poorly at crucial points, and the offense has suddenly stopped producing the clutch hits they thrived on.
The good news is their strong play in the first 60+ games of the season built a lead large enough to withstand a poor stretch of play like this.
Overall the Giants will be fine going forward, but there are still question marks at second base (Brandon Hicks is hitting .172) and with Matt Cain (1-5, 4.52 ERA).
Meanwhile Santiago Casilla returned from the disabled list, adding some stability to the back-end of the bullpen. Brandon Belt remains a few weeks away from a return.
What to watch for:
The Giants have had great success in Arizona recently – they went 3-1 to open this year at Chase Field – and have a solid 14-8 record there since the start of 2012.
Meanwhile Arizona has posted the worst home record in the majors at 13-27, and have won just three home series the entire year.
Arizona will send Josh Collmenter (4-4, 4.05 ERA) to the mound on Friday to face Tim Lincecum (5-4, 4.81 ERA), and will follow with Brandon McCarthy (1-9, 5.18 ERA) vs. Ryan Vogelsong (4-3, 3.94 ERA) and Mike Bolsinger (1-2, 5.70 ERA) vs. Madison Bumgarner (8-4, 2.85 ERA).
Goldschmidt has obliterated Lincecum ever since coming into the league, posting a .542 batting average with seven home runs in 31 career plate appearances.
As usual, the Giants will have to keep his bat in check to find success against an otherwise struggling lineup.
What they're saying – Diamondbacks:
Gibson deserves to stay as D'backs manager (AZcentral)
After difficult '13, Montero bounces back (AZcentral)
What they're saying – Giants:
Team interested, not interested in Jeff Samardzjia (McCovey Chronicles)
Lack of depth highlights the Giants' current tailspin (Giants Cove)
For more content by Chris Kersevan, check out his writer’s page and on Twitter @cker7
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