Arizona Diamondbacks Look to Stay Hot Against Rival San Francisco Giants

The Arizona Diamondbacks are back at Chase Field for a quick three-game series against the San Francisco Giants. After this, they'll head back out onto the road to face the San Diego Padres. The first game is Monday night, at 6:40 PM local AZ time.

The D-backs are fresh off winning two games in a row and splitting a four-game series against the Mets. The Giants have lost four in a row and were swept by the Yankees.

The D-backs are 27-32. They are 2.0 games back of the final Wild Card spot that the Cardinals currently hold. The Giants are 29-31 and 0.5 games back of the Cardinals. The Giants have a -29 run differential while Arizona is even at zero.

The Giants have been 12-17 on the road while Arizona has struggled to defend its home turf and is just 13-15 at Chase Field. That has to change if Arizona hopes to get hot and climb up the playoff positioning.

Similar to the Diamondbacks, San Francisco has been bit by the injury bug lately. They recently lost starting first baseman Lamonte Wade Jr. to a hamstring strain. They've sent three outfielders to the IL, including star Jung-Hoo Lee to a dislocated shoulder that ended his season. Yesterday, ace Blake Snell hurt his groin and is set to go back onto the IL.

In one good piece of news for the Giants, they expect Michael Conforto back very soon. The Giants went 15-13 in May, but are 0-2 to start June. The D-backs went 11-15 in May, but are 2-0 in June.

The D-backs struggled with offense for most of May, but seem to be finding their groove having scored 24 runs over their last three games. Meanwhile, offense has been an issue all season for San Francisco as they average just 4.28 runs per game.

Christian Walker has hit two homers over his last three games while Ketel Marte had two homers Sunday and reached base five times. Corbin Carroll will look to get back on track after a tough series in New York.

Statcast Park factors rank Chase Field with a 99, indicating it's slightly harder to hit for offense there, but is relatively neutral for pitchers and hitters. It's ranked 20th out of all of MLB stadiums.

Last year, Arizona went 7-6 against the Giants. This year, the D-backs are 2-2 against the Giants, having split a four-game series in San Francisco in April. However, they have outscored them by 25-16 margin.

Pitching Matchups

Monday, June 3rd, 6:40 PM Arizona time

Ryne Nelson RHP, 3-4, 6.02 ERA, 4.26 FIP in 40.1 IP

Nelson starts tonight and is making his second start against the Giants. As you might recall, he pitched two innings against them in April before leaving early after getting hit on the elbow with a comebacker.

Nelson has been somewhat unlucky, but has given up far too many hits, 58 of them in just 40.1 innings. Over his last two starts, Nelson shut down the Dodgers for five scoreless innings while giving up four runs in six innings against the Rangers. The key for Nelson will be to limit the hits as he did in his last two starts.

TBD

The Giants have yet to announce a starter for their game Monday night. It's possible that Keaton Winn will be activated off the IL to start tonight after his rehab start was scratched, but it's also possible the Giants have a bullpen game.

Tuesday, June 4th, 6:40 PM Arizona time

Blake Walston, LHP, 0-0, 2.16 ERA, 3.14 FIP in 8.1 IP

Blake Walston is making his second start in the Big Leagues and just his third appearance overall. Walston has had a good start to his career, allowing just two runs and seven hits, but he has walked five batters. He's struck out nine. In his first start, against the Marlins at home, Walston pitched 4.2 innings of scoreless ball with just four hits, one walk, and four strikeouts.

Kyle Harrison, LHP, 4-2, 4.15 ERA, 4.34 FIP in 65 IP

Harrison has continued to be a staple of innings for the Giants in his second season. He has 65 strikeouts and 22 walks in 65 innings while averaging 5 2/3 innings per start. He can be hit with 69 hits given up in that span.

In his first start against the D-backs, he lasted just four innings and gave up three runs, six hits, a walk, and five strikeouts in a Giants win. Over his last two starts, Harrison has given up 18 hits, nine runs, three walks, and 11 strikeouts in just 10 innings.

Wednesday, June 5th, 12:40 PM Arizona time

Jordan Montgomery, LHP, 3-3, 5.48 ERA, 4.07 FIP in 44.1 IP

Montgomery is coming off his worst start as a Diamondbacks pitcher. He gave up nine hits, eight runs, three walks, and struck out four in just four innings. That's not the typical Monty start and expect him to be far better against the Giants.

Over the four previous starts before the Mets, he had pitched to a 4.07 ERA, 3.35 FIP over 24.1 innings with eight walks and 16 strikeouts. The D-backs will hope this version of Montgomery pitches Wednesday.

Jordan Hicks, RHP, 4-2, 2.70 ERA, 3.82 FIP in 63.1 IP

Hicks has successfully become a MLB starter after years of being a late-inning reliever. The flamethrower has yet to become a strikeout machine with just 52, but has had great control with just 19 walks. In his start against Arizona in April, the D-backs recorded just one hit and one run, but had four walks in his five innings of work.