The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants begin a four-game weekend series by the Bay Thursday. The two teams have already met nine times this season, with Arizona holding a slight 5-4 edge in those contests.
Struggling
The Arizona Diamondbacks are currently 41-41 and are 14 games back from the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. Arizona is 3-7 in its last 10 games after defeating the Dodgers 8-2 on Wednesday. Taylor Clarke picked up the win for the Diamondbacks.
Starting in the first game of the series against the Giants will be left-handed pitcher Alex Young. This will be Young’s MLB debut after being called up from the Triple-A Reno team. The 25-year-old rookie made eight starts in the Pacific Coast League where he had a 5.79 ERA. With Arizona’s lack of depth on the mound, Young will look to make the most of his first opportunity in the majors.
On offense, the Diamondbacks are led both in home runs and batting average by 25-year-old centerfielder Ketel Marte. Marte has a .316 average, 20 home runs, and 51 RBI. Arizona’s offense was able to put up eight runs in two out of their three games against L.A. They will look to keep the bats going against the Giants in San Francisco over their four-game series to close out the month of June.
Lost Season
The Giants are currently 34-45 and in last place in the NL West, 5.5 games behind the Diamondbacks. The Giants are 18-22 at home this season. The Giants are coming off a 6-3 loss to the Rockies and are 4-6 over their last 10 games.
Tyler Beede will get the start for the Giants in the first game of the series. Breede is 1-2 this season with a hefty 6.96 ERA and 36 strikeouts. In his last outing, Breede did not factor into the decision as the Giants defeated the Diamondbacks 7-4 despite him giving up all four runs in four innings.
Much like Arizona, San Francisco also has a dangerous centerfielder in Kevin Pillar. The 30-year-old veteran has 37 RBI this season and a team-leading batting average of .245. Pillar and third baseman Pablo Sandoval lead the Giants with 10 home runs apiece.
Prediction
This will be a battle of the two worst teams in the NL West. Luckily, they are at least pretty evenly matched, which should make for competitive baseball. This game will give us a chance to see starting pitcher Alex Young’s major league debut. With the Giants being at home, a new pitcher on the mound for the Diamondbacks, and the Giants taking the last series 2-1 in Arizona, I am taking the Giants to win a close game and the over due to the lack of pitching.
