Diamondbacks Look to Jordan Montgomery to Prevent Sweep

The Diamondbacks are reeling from a pair of forgettable showings in the first two games against the Detroit Tigers. Today, they look to salvage the final game of the series at home. First pitch is at 1:10 PM Arizona time.

Arizona has been out-hit 32-11 in the previous two games. They've been outscored 21-3 in that time. The Tigers hadn't scored a run in two games prior to beating up on the D-backs for a 13-0 victory in game one.

Perhaps such is the nature of baseball, but regardless, Arizona needs to right the ship and take a win to prevent dropping back to five game below .500. Jordan Montgomery will have the tall task of playing stopper.

Montgomery's face-value numbers might pose a bit of a concerning look for the big left-hander. He has a 4.76 ERA and 1.41 WHIP, although his Fielding Independent Pitching is a half run lower than his ERA at 4.27

Opponents are hitting .282 against Montgomery, and his last outing saw him throw 101 pitches to get through 5 1/3 innings with only 57 strikes thrown. Despite the rocky-looking starts, he's allowed three or fewer runs in all but one of his starts, and has recorded three Quality Starts in five appearances.

Montgomery recorded a season-high 17 whiffs in his last contest while striking out seven. Arizona will need his location and whiff-inducing pitches to be working well as they face right-hander Matt Manning.

Manning hasn't been exactly as solid as Tarik Skubal or Jack Flaherty, but he still has a somewhat respectable ERA at 4.37. He hasn't been exceptionally sharp, allowing 16 hits and three walks over his last 10 2/3 innings, but he has for the most part kept the Tigers alive in the games he's started.

Manning sports a mid-velocity fastball, with a sweeper and curve to go with it, along with a very occasional slider and splitter. He has a variety of weapons, although none seem to have much more than an average run value attached.

The D-backs will need to take patient at-bats. With two slow games behind them, there is danger in swinging away and trying to jumpstart a staggering offense, but Arizona will need to look to their roots and couple getting on with good baserunning.

The D-backs will keep Corbin Carroll in the lead off spot after he ripped a triple to deep right field. Carroll was ultimately stranded at third, and only finished 1-for-4, but the hard contact deep liner was an encouraging reflection of his quality of contact, and his never-faltering speed got him to third easily.

Ketel Marte extended his hit streak to 17 games last night. It's the longest active streak in MLB, and he'll have a chance to make it 18 in the two hole. Joc Pederson will take expected DH duties against a right-handed starter, and Eugenio Suárez will get a routine day off as his average dropped to .211 last night.

Notably, young infielder Blaze Alexander will take over Suárez' role at third. Alexander's bat has been a plus weapon this season, and he's shown an ability to keep up with big league pitching, but the defense has been a major struggle for the natural shortstop.

Today, he'll get his first shot at third base, which could bode well for his defensive skillset. His footwork leaves something to be desired, however his arm is exceptionally strong, and his quick-instinct plays can be a thing of beauty, while his routine plays can be unreliable.

Manager Torey Lovullo still held confidence in Alexander. He noted that the emergence of Kevin Newman as both a defensive shortstop and a hot hitter in recent weeks was what caused him to relegate Alexander to mostly DH duties, but feels that Alexander is a good fielder, and is hoping to get a different look with him at third base.

The Tigers will send out an army of right-handed bats against Montgomery. Old friend Carson Kelly will start at catcher again, after being struck out by Zac Gallen but ultimately ending 2-for-4 with two RBI against his old squad.

Javier Baez, despite coming in to the series with a .167 batting average, has gone 7-for-9 with four doubles and six RBI against Arizona. They will need to limit his hot streak today to stay afloat as the Tigers offense has become explosive in back-to-back games.

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