The Arizona Diamondbacks have won 18 of their past 23 games, but their growing injury list is fast becoming a concern.
The Diamondbacks are expected to be without All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte when they continue their three-game series against the Colorado Rockies in Phoenix on Tuesday night.
Marte will have a precautionary MRI on Tuesday after aggravating a left ankle injury on a swing in the first inning of Monday’s game. He originally injured his ankle in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.
“He felt a little bit discomfort (on the swing),” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “It’s just a little bit of a re-aggravation of the original injury. It’s nothing in the knee. It’s above the ankle in the joint there.”
The Diamondbacks hope to have left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. back in the lineup after he missed Monday’s game due to left hamstring tightness. First baseman Christian Walker (oblique) and catcher Gabriel Moreno (left adductor strain) are not expected back for several weeks.
Arizona opened the series against Colorado by rallying from a three-run deficit to win 5-4.
Jake McCarthy had two hits and two RBIs for the Diamondbacks, who won their fourth straight and moved a season-high 14 games over .500.
Brendan Rodgers hit a two-run homer for Colorado, which has lost four of its last six games. Rodgers is 11-for-26 (.423) during a seven-game hitting streak.
Tuesday’s pitching matchup will feature a pair of left-handers in Arizona’s Eduardo Rodriguez (1-0, 4.76 ERA) and Colorado’s Austin Gomber (3-8, 4.92).
Rodriguez is set to make his second start of the season after being sidelined with a left shoulder strain. The 31-year-old signed a four-year contract with the Diamondbacks in December.
Rodriguez turned in a solid outing in his debut last Wednesday, allowing three runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings in a 5-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians.
“I feel great; everything went very well,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve missed 70 percent of the season, but the fun part is being able to come right in and help the team win important games.”
Colorado’s Jake Cave is hitless in eight at-bats with six strikeouts against Rodriguez, who spent the first eight seasons of his career in the American League. He is 1-0 with a 6.55 ERA in two career starts vs. Colorado.
Gomber is looking to bounce back after allowing five runs over three innings in a 9-1 loss to the New York Mets on Thursday.
“Nothing really had bite,” Gomber said after the game. “I felt good for the better part of the last two months physically. Today is just kind of one of those days in August. I knew early on everything was kind of a couple of ticks down. It makes it hard. The game’s hard enough. When you don’t really have your best stuff, it gets even harder.”
Eugenio Suarez is 3-for-12 with two homers against the 30-year-old Gomber, who is 3-0 with a 5.29 ERA in 12 career games (eight starts) vs. Arizona.
Colorado right-hander Cal Quantrill was expected to pitch during the series, but his start was pushed back after he experienced right forearm soreness against the San Diego Padres on Aug. 4.
“I’ve taken a lot of pride in my career in making every start, so it’s never like it’s a good thing, and I’m not happy about it, but in this case, it’s so minor that we agree it’s better to clean it up,” Quantrill said. “I’m trending in the right direction. I’ve felt good the last couple of days.”
The Rockies are tentatively planning to have Quantrill start on Friday against San Diego.
–Field Level Media
