D-backs Go For the Sweep Against the Guardians

Coming off a very disappointing series loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Diamondbacks have rebounded against the Cleveland Guardians. Facing a team that is 27th in runs per game (3.79), Arizona has allowed just a total of four runs in the first two games of the series. However the Guardians are a very resilient team, so the D-backs will need another quality pitching day to win the final game of the series.

A win today would not only result in a sweep, but it would be the D-backs third winning homestand out of four. The only homestand where they have a losing record came on April 20th-26th, when they went 3-4 against the Padres and Royals.

Pitching Matchup

Zach Davies is coming off a rough start against Philadelphia, where he allowed six runs, four earned, over three innings. The defense behind him made physical and mental errors, which extended innings or gave the Phillies more run scoring opportunities. His 5.46 ERA is a bit unsightly, but that's due to a .341 BABIP that's likely to drop. More advanced run prevention metrics such as FIP and xFIP have him at 4.20 and 4.62 respectively. Davies pitched against the Guardians last season, allowing four runs in two-plus innings in a 6-5 loss in extra innings.

Tanner Bibee began the season as one of the Guardians' top pitching prospects. He's been solid in his first nine career starts, pitching to a 3.91 ERA with a 45/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 48 1/3 innings. Bibee utilizes a four pitch mix: 4-seamer, slider, changeup, and curveball. Against right-handed hitters, he uses mostly fastball-slider while left-handed hitters see more changeups and curveballs. Bibee has never faced the D-backs before.

Lineups

Could Ketel Marte make a late All-Star push? He has reached base in 42 of his last 43 games, hitting .301 with eight home runs, an .897 OPS, and nearly as many walks (25) as strikeouts (30). He's been a consistent presence at the top of the order, which is why the D-backs rank fifth in MLB for runs scored per game (5.15). Marte is out of today's lineup, but he believes this team is ready to win.

Christian Walker has been a consistent force in the lineup on this homestand, going 8-for-23 (.348) with three doubles, two home runs, and seven RBI. Like Marte, Walker has flown under the radar this season. He's hitting .265 with 14 home runs, 45 RBI, and an .833 OPS (126 OPS+).

Another top prospect for Cleveland, catcher Bo Naylor, will get the start behind the plate. The younger brother of 1B/DH Josh Naylor, Bo was a first round selection by the Guardians in the 2018 MLB Draft. He came into the season as the No. 64 prospect on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 list.

Jose Ramirez and Andres Gimenez have driven in all four of Cleveland's runs in the series. Over the last seven days, Ramirez and Gimenez sport a .914 and 1.016 OPS respectively.

Bullpen

The backend of Arizona's bullpen has seen a bit of recent use on the homestand. Closer Scott McGough and left-hander Kyle Nelson have each pitched in three of the last four games, likely making them both unavailable today. They might need to piece it together with Andrew Chafin and Miguel Castro in the late innings and then works backwards from there. A deeper start by Davies would definitely help.

Cleveland's bullpen is in pretty decent shape after Shane Bieber covered 7 1/3 innings last night. Xzavion Curry and Enyel De Los Santos both threw more than 30 pitches on Friday night, so their availability is up in the air.