Diamondbacks With Chance to Take Series Early vs Angels

The Arizona Diamondbacks will take on the Angels at home for game two of their three-game set at Chase Field. First pitch is 6:40 PM Arizona time.

The D-backs are 32-35, fresh off a commanding 9-4 victory, in which they collected 14 base hits, with two players just one hit away from the cycle. Arizona is in a four way tie, one game out of the third NL Wild Card spot in the standings.

Jordan Montgomery got back to a familiar consistency, despite some mistakes, and pitched 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball, enough to keep the D-backs in the driver's seat. Today, Arizona will look to young right-hander Slade Cecconi to deliver a solid start as they hope for similar offensive output.

Cecconi, as has been stated many times, tends to pitch exceptionally well early in games, but falls off the second and third time through. His ERA is north of 5.00, but he did pitch 4 1/3 innings of three-run ball in his last outing, which ended up being enough for the D-backs to take a 4-3 win.

Right-hander Jose Soriano will start for the Angels. Soriano features a diverse arsenal, with a high-velocity sinker and fastball that can top out near 100 MPH. He alzo throws a curveball, splitter and slider.

Soriano has pitched generally well for the Angels this season over 11 starts in 13 appearances. His 3.64 ERA is bolstered by a similar 3.84 FIP, suggesting his results are warranted for the level he's pitched at thus far.

His last outing was six strong innings against the Padres, where he allowed two runs (one earned), but struck out just one batter. He's not a strikeout-heavy pitcher, despite the high velocity, but he does have a stellar 60.3% ground ball rate, good for a 96th percentile in MLB.

The D-backs will have to look for the right pitches to get into, as weak contact is a strength of Soriano's.

Lineups

The D-backs are making a bit of a change at third base. The struggling Eugenio Suarez will sit out, with young infielder Blaze Alexander taking the reps at third. Manager Torey Lovullo confirmed that this is not simply a day off for Suarez, and he'll look to give Alexander more regular at-bats and starts in that position, although he would not commit to a specific platoon strategy.

Jack Sommers has the story on Suarez' benching, and the opportunity for Alexander here.

Corbin Carroll will continue to hit leadoff, as he's found himself growing hotter in the recent weeks. In last night's game, Carroll was a home run shy of the cycle, and went 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored.

While the overall .213/.300/.309 slash might not look excellent, his sample size of the last seven games is excellent, with a .400/.483/.560 in that time frame. As Carroll appears more confident at the plate, it's important to remember not every game can be a 3-for-4 kind of night, but he does appear to be swinging the bat well and getting some of his power and hit distribution back to a similar level to 2023.

Randal Grichuk is out of the lineup against the hard-throwing righty, although he was a mere single from the cycle last night. He's slugging .889 in his last seven games, and knocked in two runs while scoring three against his old squad last night.

Geraldo Perdomo will get his second start back from injury, in his familiar nine-hole. He was 2-for-4 with a walk last night, knocking in a run with a ripped single on the first pitch he saw.

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