Diamondbacks Preview: Series Finale Vs. Rays

The Diamondbacks (48-33) host the Tampa Bay Rays (55-28) for the finale of a three game series today at Chase Field, first pitch is at 12:40 P.M. The two first place teams have battled to a draw in the first two games. Arizona took the opener 8-4 behind Zac Gallen and four homers from the offense. Last night the Rays came back to score three in the 9th off closer Scott McGough, winning 3-2.

Pitching Matchup

Brandon Pfaadt has been recalled from Triple-A Reno to make this start for the Diamondbacks, filling in for Merrill Kelly who suffered a blood clot over the weekend in San Francisco. To make room on the roster reliever Justin Martinez was optioned back to Reno before he even got a chance to appear in a game.

The D-backs will hope that Pfaadt's second chance in the rotation will go better than the first time around. In his first five major league starts he posted a 8.37 ERA and gave up eight homers in 22.2 innings. He has been pitching well back in Reno however, working on his fastball location and pitch sequencing.

Zack Littell will be the "opener" for the Rays. The right handed reliever has yet to open a game this year. In eight outings, 9.1 innings pitched he's given up 13 hits, including three homers, and six earned runs for a 5.79 ERA. He could possibly be followed by Yonny Chirinos who has appeared in the 11 games, including four starts. Also a right hander, Chirinos has a 3.91 ERA in 48.1 innings. That ERA was inflated by his most recent outing where he gave up eight runs in 5.1 innings in a loss to the Royals.

Lineups

Ketel Marte and Christian Walker have been leading the charge in the month of June and both are in contention for NL Player of the month.

Marte is hitting .329/.452/.635 in 104 PA. His 1.087 OPS is the second highest in the NL for June. He leads the league in runs scored with 29 and has seven homers and 22 RBI

Walker is in the middle of a 12 game hitting streak, the longest of his career. He is batting .362/.419/.638, and ranks 5th in the league with a 1.057 OPS. His 14 doubles are the most in the league this month.

Yandy Diaz of the Rays is 11 for his lst 20, .550 B.A, and Jose Siri has three homers in his last six games, including a solo shot against Gallen on Tuesday night. He is not starting this game but will be available to pinch hit off the bench

Bullpens:

Scott McGough will almost certainly be given the game off after throwing 31 pitches in a blown save/loss last night. Miguel Castro has worked two days in a row, but thrown just 10 and 9 pitches in those games. Everyone else in the D-backs pen should be available.

The Rays are well positioned for today's bullpen game. Everyone but Shawn Armstrong, who threw 40 pitches Tuesday, should be available. Despite coming up short in a rally attempt, the D-backs did manage to force closer Pete Fairbanks to throw 17 pitches last night.