Diamondbacks Face Important Game One vs Padres Behind Cecconi

The Diamondbacks will begin a four-game set against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park tonight. First pitch is at 6:40 PM Arizona time.

The D-backs are fresh off a series victory against a similar division rival in the San Francisco Giants, albeit dropping game three in disappointing fashion. They'll look to get back on track against an opponent who might become a slightly tougher challenge offensively.

Arizona is 29-33, although only 1.5 games back of a Wild Card spot. The Giants and Padres aren't far ahead, sitting at 30-33 and 31-32 respectively. Taking three of four against the Padres this series would be a huge boost to the D-backs' standings.

Arizona will send young right-hander Slade Cecconi to the mound. Cecconi is a curious case in the young--and injured--rotation, as he's pitched to excellent success early in games, before sputtering out and seeing his velocity decline drastically as he went deeper.

Cecconi's ERA is 5.59, which would suggest overall struggles. That might be true late in games, but his WHIP remains at an exceptionally impressive 1.05, and he's able to mow down offenses in early innings. His last start saw him go 4 2/3 strong innings against the Mets. A solo home run was his only blemish, as the D-backs went on to win 10-5 behind an offensive surge.

The righty did struggle against the Padres the last time he saw them, however, as he allowed five hits, two walks and two home runs, totaling six earned runs over 4 1/3. Once again, that apparent meltdown only happened after the first time through the order.

The Padres have also been bit by injury as a whole, and their rotation is similarly banged up as reliable starters in Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove have both hit the IL. Young right-hander Randy Vasquez will get the start tonight.

Vasquez, 25, has a diverse range of pitches. A mid-90s four-seam and sinker combo, with a cutter, curveball, changeup and sweeper to round out his off-speed and breaking balls. Vasquez hasn't been stellar in 2024, pitching to a 5.74 ERA and 1.61 WHIP. Opponents are hitting .336 against him.

He's allowed three or more runs in his last three starts, and has pitched only one Quality Start in six opportunities. The D-backs, who can struggle against weaker arms, will need to avoid lazy at-bats and work counts against a pitcher who allows a great deal of base traffic.

Lineups

The D-backs will trot out a somewhat standard lineup. Blaze Alexander is out the lineup, despite a 10-for-21 hot streak at the plate in June. Pavin Smith, who has come alive as a hitter as of late, will get the start over Jake McCarthy in right field.

Smith is slashing an impressive .294/.327/.569 (albeit in a small sample size), and has homered in two straight games, one being a pinch-hit walk-off blast to defeat the Giants, and the other being a laser off San Francisco righty Sean Hjelle to pull within three in yesterday's game.

Ketel Marte and Christian Walker are both back in the lineup after receiving scheduled days off on the same day. Corbin Carroll will continue to hit leadoff. He was 1-for-5 with a run scored in yesterday's game, but struck the ball well for a couple of unlucky outs.

On San Diego's side, slugging third baseman Manny Machado is out of the lineup, after sustaining a right hip flexor strain in the fourth inning of last night's contest. Tyler Wade will fill his spot at third base.

Machado has not been placed on the IL as of yet, as the team is still evaluating the severity. Nonetheless, the loss is a big one for San Diego, as he'd been on a tear to begin June. In the last five games, Machado was slashing .385/.556/.615, with five walks, a homer, three RBI and just one strikeout.

Luis Arraez also appeared to be banged up on Monday, but seems to have avoided serious injury and will start at first base. Ever the contact hitter, he's hitting .337 with a .375 on-base percentage, but is only slugging .408.

Arizona will also see a familar face in former D-back David Peralta. Peralta will DH for the Padres. He's only hitting .150 with a .340 OPS, but he's also only had 20 at-bats. He hasn't hit since May 23rd, so he could be a candidate for some revenge knocks against the D-backs.

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