Diamondbacks hope to continue hot streak against Padres

The Diamondbacks travel to San Diego for a 3-game series, their 4th straight series against teams with playoff aspirations. Game time is 3:40 P.M. MST. The D-backs are 8-2 in this stretch with 3 straight series wins and have outscored their opponents 65-47. In their 8 wins, the average margin of victory is 4.5 runs.

The first game against the Padres will be a challenge, as the pitching matchup features a rookie in his MLB debut against a former Cy Young Award winner. Ryne Nelson, who ranks #9 on our list of the organization's Top 10 prospects, will get the start for Arizona. He has a 5.43 ERA in 26 starts for AAA Reno, but has been steady since the calendar flipped to June. The D-backs have confirmed that they will use a 6-man rotation through June 25th.

To make room for Nelson on the roster, the Diamondbacks recalled infielder Yonny Hernandez from AAA Reno and placed him on the 60-Day Injured List with a strained left calf and optioned right-handed reliever Luis Frias to AAA Reno.

Opposing him is Blake Snell, the 2018 Cy Young Award winner. Snell has battled injuries this season, but in 18 starts is 6-7 with a 3.87 ERA. In 6 career games against Arizona, 5 of them starts, Snell is 3-0 with a 0.61 ERA and a 46/9 strikeout to walk ratio in 29 2/3 innings. The D-backs will need to perform better against Snell if they hope to win today.

Corbin Carroll and Daulton Varsho are the odd men out in the outfield. With a southpaw on the mound, Stone Garrett gets the start in left and Thomas in center. Garrett has had a even split of plate appearances between righties and lefties in his short career, with a .500/.500/.786 slash in 17 PA against LHP. He's had 16 PA against righties.

Jake McCarthy unsurprisingly is in the lineup, he's been hitting .307 with an .884 OPS against lefties this season. Yesterday he had two big hits against left-handed relievers. Christian Walker and Ketel Marte are the only other two hitters that have performed well against lefties, with Walker and Marte sporting a .928 and .841 OPS against them this season.

The D-backs need to get Marte's bat going, he has hit .175/.227/.275 in the last 14 days. There has been some progress in the last homestand, as Marte hit .217/.280/.391 in the last 7 days, but the team will need more production from him in the middle of the order.