Diamondbacks Going for Sweep Against Cubs
The Diamondbacks (78-72) take on the Cubs (78-71) today at Chase Field at 4:10 P.M. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN due to the playoff implications. With a victory today the D-backs would vault past the Cubs into the second wild card position. The Reds already lost today and the Marlins won. See our article from earlier today to learn about the tiebreaker issues.
The Diamondbacks won a thriller last night, 7-6 in 13 innings. Torey Lovullo had to empty his bullpen, using every reliever except for Scott McGough and Kyle Nelson. We learned this morning that McGough is going on the 15 day IL with right shoulder inflammation. Bryce Jarvis has been recalled from Triple-A Reno. According to Lovullo every pitcher in the bullpen is available to pitch today, including Jarvis, who just got on a flight to Phoenix at 6:00 A.M. this morning and is operating on limited sleep.
Pitching Matchup
aWAR is the average of Baseball Reference and Frangraphs WAR
Jordan Wicks was a first round pick in the 2021 draft, taken 21st overall by the Cubs. He's advanced quickly through the Cubs system and has burst on the scene since being called, posting much better ERA and FIP so far than he has in the minors. He may be due for some home run regression, having allowed just one homer in 23 innings. His K/9 is only 5.96. His four seamer averages just 92 MPH, and he throws a 91 MPH sinker. The changeup is his main go to pitch, and he uses it 33% of the time. He also throws a cutter and an occasional curveball slider. It's the changeup that has done the heavy lifting though, generating the most swing and miss and soft contact. If the D-backs are patient and lay off the change they should be able to get to this pitcher.
Ryne Nelson will be heavily depended to go at least five innings after last night's marathon. Despite what Lovullo said pre game, he certainly is hoping for a longer outing than Nelson was able to deliver in his most recent outing. Nelson lasted just 4.1 innings against the Mets on September 12th giving up six runs on seven hits. In his previous outing, his first since being recalled from Reno, he pitched 5.2 innings against the Padres giving up just one run on two hits. It was very encouraging, but it's been a step forward, a step back for the inconsistent Nelson all year. Nelson's home road split is something that is not easily explained, but desperately needs to reverse course. He's 2-5 with a 8.59 in 11 home starts and 5-3 with a 3.66 ERA in 15 road starts.
Lineups
Michael McDermott
Jordan Lawlar is in at shortstop today against the lefty Wicks. The rookie has just two hits in 19 trips to the plate, including an infield single and a bunt base hit. In fact he has yet to hit a ball out of the infield and has eight strikeouts. Last night's hero Gabriel Moreno is back in the lineup for a rare Sunday start. Typically he'll rest on the third game of the series or a day following a night game. With tonight's start pushed back to 4:00 P.M. however that allowed Lovullo to put the emerging catcher back in the lineup
The Cubs are running out the same top seven hitters as they did last night, replacing Yan Gomes at catcher with Miguel Amaya.
