Diamondbacks Look to Set Early Tone in Key Series vs. Giants

The Diamondbacks will begin a very important two-game series against the San Francisco Giants that could define the end result for the two teams. These are the stakes that are at play, based on the three potential outcomes of the series.

Diamondbacks Sweep: Arizona wins the season series 7-6, establishes a 4.0 game lead over their National League West rival, and likely adds a bit of distance in the Wild Card race. The Giants playoff chances take a massive hit, as they'll likely be 2-3 games back in the loss column to the team they're chasing.
Series Split: Giants win the season 7-6, but they would gain minimal ground in the Wild Card race. Arizona likely holds onto a Wild Card spot, pending the results of the Reds, Marlins, and Cubs games.
Giants Sweep: Diamondbacks could potentially fall out of a Wild Card spot and behind the other NL Wild Card contenders. The Giants would be right back into the thick of the Wild Card chase.

Jack Sommers previewed the series earlier today, so you'll want to check that out. In order for the D-backs to have a series sweep against the Giants they will need both Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly pitch well. Going up against the Giants top two starters, this series should have a playoff feel to it with high stakes involved.

Here's what manager Torey Lovullo had to say:

"We know what's at stake, we know there's a lot that go into the tiebreaking procedures, we know the Giants are a tough team and we play them a lot. It's never easy when we play them, that's what we're expecting, we need to be at our competitive best. It's going to be a very, very good series, it's going to be a hard-fought series, and that's all what we're prepping for. That's all we're thinking about, just go do our job the best way we know how and let the outcome happen. We obviously want to win, but if we do our job the way we're supposed to we feel good about our chances."

For the D-backs, it will be important for Zac Gallen to right the ship in this start. In three of his last four starts, he's allowed at least five runs and taken a loss. He's projected to start tonight, September 24th in New York, and the series opener against the Houston Astros on the 29th.

Lineups

Christian Walker has had the most success against Cobb, hitting .421 (8-for-19) with a home run in 22 plate appearances. Walker's last home run came on September 3rd.

Despite a .331 career OPS against Cobb in 15 plate appearances, the D-backs will start Perdomo at shortstop over rookie Jordan Lawlar tonight.

Gabriel Moreno is putting a .333 BA/.396 OBP/.563 SLG in 96 plate appearances since coming off the injured list on August 13th. The D-backs are 17-10 (.630) in the 27 games he's started behind the plate over that stretch and 52-32 (.619) on the season.