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Blue Jays host Diamondbacks for two: Full preview and pitching matchups
The 39-33 Toronto Blue Jays welcome the 33-39 Arizona Diamondbacks to to for a quick mid-week series
This season hasn’t gone as planned for the Arizona Diamondbacks. After big-name offseason acquisitions like Zack Greinke, Jean Segura, and Shelby Miller in the bizarre deal with Atlanta Braves, Arizona wasn’t exactly expecting to be looking up at the third-place Colorado Rockies in late June.
Arizona has turned it on as of late, going 7-3 in their last 10 games, and they own the 12th ranked offence in baseball with 320 runs scored. Their power numbers rank similarly, with 85 home runs putting them 13th, while a team average of .264 ranks the Diamondbacks 10th. They even stay in that range when it comes to stolen bases, ranking 11th with 44.
It’s on the mound where the Diamondbacks have struggled, holding a 4.43 team ERA that ranks them in the bottom third of the league. They’ve walked the fifth-most batters in baseball at 250, and have surrendered a .258 opponent’s batting average (20th).
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Greinke has led the staff as expected, but that isn’t saying a great deal. He owns a 3.54 ERA through 15 starts, but of the Diamondbacks pitchers who have started two or more games, he’s the only one with an ERA below 4.00.
The bullpen has been a little stronger in Arizona, with the underrated closer Brad Ziegler being consistent as ever. Ziegler has saved 15 games in 15 opportunities with a 2.64 ERA. Offseason signing Tyler Clippard owns a 3.46 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 26 innings, but the home run ball has already bitten him five times. Daniel Hudson (1.61 ERA) and Jake Barrett (2.16 ERA) help to round out the group nicely.
At the plate, Paul Goldschmidt has found a running mate in the young Jake Lamb. Goldschmidt has 14 home runs and 45 RBIs to his name, leading the team by a mile with 57 walks and a mammoth .425 OBP.
Lamb has kept stride, though, equalling Goldschmidt’s power numbers and slugging .565, good for a .932 OPS as one of this season’s breakout players. Jean Segura has hit .307 so far while Yasmany Tomas is batting .257 with nine home runs. Ex-Jay Michael Bourn has also landed on the Diamondbacks roster, and rookie Peter O’Brien will be a name to watch. O’Brien is just 4-for-30 at the MLB level this season, but the powerful rookie was hitting .330 with 17 home runs in 51 games at the triple-A level.
Up next, we take a look at the two pitching matchups this week…
Next: Game 1 Preview: Blue Jays turn to their ace
Game 1: Tuesday, June 21st – 7:07 p.m. ET
Marco Estrada (5-2, 2.58 ERA) vs.
Patrick Corbin (3-6, 4.76)
Marco Estrada has quickly overtaken Marcus Stroman as the top arm in the Blue Jays rotation, and has easily been their most consistent one. In fact, there’s a real conversation to be had regarding Estrada’s Cy Young candidacy if he can continue his recent dominance on a winning Toronto team.
With his last start, Estrada tied an MLB record with his tenth consecutive start of at least six innings pitched with five or fewer hits allowed. He’s also been striking out opposing hitters at a strong rate, with five strikeouts or more in eight of those ten.
After a pair of back-to-back eight-inning starts against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, Estrada picked up another quality start against the Orioles on June 10th. That capped off a stretch of six starts where Estrada walked three or more batters five times, so he’ll need to avoid nibbling if he hopes to keep his pitch count down.
The Diamondbacks will send a lefty to the mound in Patrick Corbin, which could present a rather favourable matchup for the Blue Jays bats.
His last time out against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Corbin allowed three earned runs on seven hits over six and a third innings.
Toronto won’t need to expect anything terribly complicated from Corbin, as he is primarily a fastball and slider pitcher, relying on his heater (which averages 91.5 MPH) almost 65% of the time. He’s done better than his career averages when it comes to keeping the ball on the ground, however, with a ground ball rate of 52.3%.
Next: Game 2 Preview: Happ takes on Ray
Game 2: Wednesday, June 22 – 4:07 ET
J.A. Happ (8-3, 3.41 ERA) vs.
Robbie Ray (4-5, 4.44 ERA)
Left-hander J.A. has run into some inconsistencies after his red-hot start, but seems to have found his level once again.
After allowing 10 runs on 14 hits over 12 innings in his two starts prior against the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles, Happ buckled down for one of his strongest outings last week against the Philadelphia Phillies. He pitched seven innings of shutout ball, allowing just three hits and striking out five.
The coming month will present Happ with the challenge of fighting off regression, which his peripheral stats suggest could be oncoming. He’s also found trouble with the home run ball, already allowing 12 deep flies compared to 16 in all of 2015, which he split between the Seattle Mariners and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Arizona counters with another lefty in Robbie Ray. The 24-year-old is coming off a strong full-season debut with the Diamondbacks last season (3.52 ERA over 127.2 innings pitched with a 2.1 WAR).
Next: Blue Jays Morning Brew: Podcast, news and notes
Following a pair of rough outings against the San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays in which he couldn’t escape the fifth inning, Ray has enjoyed some recent success. After throwing seven and two-thirds innings of shutout ball with six strikeouts against the Marlins, Ray stayed hot with a six-inning win over the Phillies.
He’s maintained his strong velocity this season, topping out around 95 MPH, and will lean on his four-seam and two-seam fastball over two-thirds of the time. His primary secondary pitch is a slider, but Ray also works in the odd curve and changeup.