Right-hander Tyler Mahle hopes to pick up where teammates Logan Webb and Robbie Ray left off when he takes the mound for the San Francisco Giants in the opener of a three-game road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.
Mahle (1-7, 5.49 ERA) is scheduled to be opposed by Diamondbacks left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (6-2, 2.27), who won a head-to-head with Mahle on May 26, when Arizona won 7-5 in San Francisco.
Actually, both veteran starters pitched better than the final score might indicate that day.
Rodriguez limited the Giants to two runs in six innings, leaving with a 6-2 lead. It improved his career record against the Giants to 3-1 with a 4.78 ERA in six starts.
The third-year Diamondback has taken a liking to Chase Field, where he’s gone 4-1 with a 1.84 ERA in eight starts this season.
Meanwhile, Mahle kept the Giants in the May 26 game during his five innings, limiting the Diamondbacks to three runs on three hits.
He’s never beaten Arizona in his career, going 0-3 with a 3.38 ERA in seven starts.
Both clubs have reason for optimism entering the duel of third- and fourth-place teams in the National League West, with the Diamondbacks currently holding a six-game advantage.
The Giants are coming off a 4-2 homestand capped by 5-0 and 3-2 wins over the Atlanta Braves over the weekend. Webb and Ray combined to throw 15 of the 18 innings in those games, allowing a total of just five hits and no earned runs.
“I’m excited,” Giants manager Tony Vitello told reporters after Sunday’s win. “But you have to be cautious of wanting to go on this magic run. We’re just looking for that deal where the position players and the pitchers are in sync and we play good ball. If we do that, we’ll be in a good spot.”
The Diamondbacks returned home Sunday night following a winless three-game series in Florida against the Tampa Bay Rays. Arizona scored just four runs in the three losses.
The good news for the Diamondbacks is that they’ve returned home, where they won nine of 10 in one stretch earlier this season, and open a six-game homestand against a Giants team that they’re 6-0 against this year.
“We’ve got to get this worm turned,” Diamondbacks manager Troy Lovullo said to reporters in the wake of his team’s sixth loss in the last eight games. “We’ve got to get home and start playing our best baseball.”
One Diamondback surely happy to see the Giants come to town is second baseman Ketel Marte, who has clobbered San Francisco pitching to the tune of 13-for-27 (.481) with two doubles, three home runs and 12 RBIs in the six meetings this season.
Arizona has scored 39 runs in the six wins, with catcher Gabriel Moreno contributing two home runs and a .308 average.
Marte homered in both weekend games against the Rays, but both were solo shots and were his only hits in 11 at-bats in the series.
Moreno had three hits in eight at-bats over two starts (he was used as a pinch hitter Sunday), and all three were singles.
–Field Level Media
