The Diamondbacks rolled into San Francisco and immediately took the first two, including a 7-5 grinder Tuesday night. Now they get the matchup they want: Michael Soroka (6-2, 3.27) on the mound, a Giants club at 22-33 and sinking, and a rookie counterpart who is coming off the worst outing of his short big-league career.
Soroka has quietly been one of the better stories in the NL. His last time out he went 6 innings of 1-run ball on 78 pitches against Colorado with a no-decision. The strikeout numbers (2 Ks that day) won't wow anyone, but he's pitching to contact and getting outs, which is exactly what Arizona needs with the bullpen patched together around A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez rehabbing.
Trevor McDonald is the wild card here. The 25-year-old rookie opened his MLB career with 3 starts so good he got compared to a 1981 Fernando Valenzuela line in the record books — 2-0, 2.37 ERA, more than 20 more strikeouts than walks. Then the White Sox happened: 7 earned runs in 3.2 innings, including a 9-run 4th that flipped his season ERA to 4.76. With Logan Webb activated to start Friday against the Rockies, this is essentially McDonald's audition to stick in the rotation.
The market is treating Arizona like the right side and the EV model agrees — the D-backs moneyline is the only number on the board grading out positive, and the handle is following (80% of DK money on Arizona). The run line is where it gets dicey: Soroka isn't a strikeout monster and Oracle's marine layer has a way of turning -1.5 favorites into 4-3 squeakers.
The injury picture is the other shoe. Nolan Arenado came out of Tuesday's game with right groin tightness and is now day-to-day, which is a meaningful subtraction if he can't go. Pile that on top of Gurriel, McCann, Burnes, and a bullpen full of 60-day IL guys and Arizona is essentially playing with a skeleton crew that still has the better roster than this Giants lineup, which is missing Jung Hoo Lee and Heliot Ramos.
- Day-To-DayNolan Arenado 3B — Arenado was removed from Tuesday's game against the Giants with right groin tightness.
- Day-To-DayA.J. Vukovich CF — no
- Day-To-DayDerek Law RP — no
- Day-To-DaySpencer Giesting SP
- Day-To-DayKyle Amendt RP — Amendt was invited to major-league spring training by the Diamondbacks, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
- 10-Day-ILLourdes Gurriel Jr. LF — Gurriel's hamstring injury is believed to be fairly minor, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports. Manager Torey Lovullo said Saturday the hope is Gurriel will be able to return from the injured list when first eligible.
- 10-Day-ILJames McCann C — Manager Torey Lovullo said Tuesday that McCann (quad) will likely be sidelined for 4-to-6 weeks, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.
- 10-Day-ILCarlos Santana 1B — Santana suffered a setback with his right adductor strain Sunday while on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Reno, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.
- 10-Day-ILJung Hoo Lee RF — Lee (back) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILHeliot Ramos LF — Ramos received a PRP injection in his injured right quadriceps and will be shut down for one week, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- 15-Day-ILLogan Webb SP — Webb (knee) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Friday against the Rockies, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
- 60-Day-ILReiver Sanmartin RP — Sanmartin (hip) tossed a scoreless inning in Triple-A Sacramento's 11-6 win over Sugar Land on Tuesday.
- 60-Day-ILJason Foley RP — Foley (shoulder) earned a hold in Triple-A Sacramento's 6-5 loss to Round Rock on Wednesday, allowing one hit in a scoreless inning.
- 60-Day-ILJared Oliva CF — The Giants transferred Oliva (wrist) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.
- 60-Day-ILRowan Wick RP — The Giants placed Wick (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Sunday, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
- 60-Day-ILHayden Birdsong RP — Birdsong underwent successful UCL reconstruction surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Pick a lane: trust Soroka and the hot bats (4 wins in 5) to finish the sweep, or fade the price and bet on Oracle Park doing what Oracle Park does to good pitchers and bad. Either way, the Giants need this one before Webb takes the ball Friday — losing a series at home to a division rival heading into a Logan Webb start is the kind of thing that gets people asking about Bob Melvin's seat temperature.