Game Preview #61: Henry Starts Road Trip in D.C.

The Diamondbacks (35-25) begin a six-game road trip, in which they will play the Washington Nationals (25-34) and Detroit Tigers. Both teams are under .500, so it will be an opportunity for Arizona to try to stack some wins. The D-backs have an unique opportunity to make a run at a playoff spot with the National League playoff picture wide open than in years past.

On the flip side, the Nationals are not the type of team the D-backs should take for granted, as they have some young talent they'll looking to build around. They have a couple young starters who could be future All-Stars in Josiah Gray and Mackenzie Gore, who Arizona saw last month, and catcher Keibert Ruiz. They are also 24-28 after a 1-6 start to the season.

Lineups

Nationals third baseman Jeimer Candelario has enjoyed a bounceback season after struggling in Detroit last season. Candelario is hitting .260 with seven home runs and an .788 OPS. It's a toss-up between him and Gore as the Nationals potential representative for the All-Star Game this year.

Corbin Carroll's impressive rookie season continues. He hit .290 with three home runs, two stolen bases, eight RBI, and a .920 OPS on the D-backs last homestand. On the season he's hitting .286 with 10 home runs, 16 stolen bases, and an .895 OPS. He currently leads the team in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) according to Baseball Reference at 2.2.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is out of the lineup for a second straight game. He was a late scratch Sunday and was not used in an obvious pinch hit situation. Manager Torey Lovullo gave an update on Gurriel, who is dealing with groin tightness and will be available to pinch hit tonight.

Lourdes Gurriel is dealing with groin tightness, per Torey. He stayed back for a day with doctors in Phoenix but joined the team yesterday in DC and is available off the bench tonight.
— Theo Mackie (@theo_mackie) June 6, 2023

Pitching Matchups

Tommy Henry has developed into a solid back of the rotation starter. His curveball and changeup have emerged as quality secondary pitches, both yielding excellent results in terms of inducing whiffs and weak contact. Despite spending the first four weeks of the season with Triple-A Reno, Henry is tied for third in the team with three quality starts (6 IP, 3 ER or less). Last time out, he shut down the Rockies, tying a career-high in innings (7) and strikeouts (7). The D-backs rotation is desperate for someone to step up behind Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, so seeing Henry step up has been huge.

Jake Irvin made his MLB debut earlier this season, as the 26-year-old rookie has made six starts and pitched to a 5.67 ERA. Opposing hitters haven't had too many issues getting to his fastball, hitting .345 with a .448 slugging%. The curveball has been the main putaway pitch, with opposing hitters hitting .162 with 32% of swings against the pitch coming up empty. The key for Arizona hitters will be to attack the fastball but also not to bail out a pitcher who has had trouble limiting free passes this season. Irvin's walk rate is 13.7%, compounded by a weak strikeout rate of 17.7%, so there will be opportunities to put runs on the board.