First pitch is 3:10 PM CT and Pinnacle has Arizona at -155 to bounce back, with the total sitting at 9.5. That's a market that very much remembers what Eduardo Rodriguez has been doing all year — 5-1 with a 2.24 ERA — and is choosing to forget the 14 runs the Nationals just hung on this same building.
E-Rod is the story for Arizona. He showed up to camp 20-plus pounds lighter, tweaked his arsenal, and has turned into the rotation's actual anchor with Corbin Burnes shut down on the 60-day IL with a teres major strain. His last time out was 6 innings of 1-run ball against the Dodgers in a no-decision. Littell is the opposite kind of story: a 7.24 ERA overall but a 4-0, 2.19 May that has made him semi-functional again. He served up an MLB-high 11 homers through his first stretch of starts, which is the kind of profile you do not love walking into a desert ballpark.
The opener was a Luis Garcia Jr. show — his first career grand slam, his second homer of the night, and 16 hits and 5 long balls as a team. Whether any of that carries over against a starter who has actually missed bats this year is the entire bet. The under is juiced to -125 for a reason.
The records say these teams are basically the same — 33-30 Arizona, 32-32 Washington — but the recent shape is uglier than it looks. The D-backs just got bullied in 4 of 5 by the Dodgers and Nats. The Nationals lost 3 straight at home to Miami before flipping the switch in Phoenix. Two teams stumbling sideways into each other, with the home side holding the pitching edge on paper.
- Day-To-DayTyler Stuart SP — no
- Day-To-DayTyler Baum DH — Baum has not pitched this year due an undisclosed injury.
- Day-To-DayTravis Sykora SP — Sykora will undergo a UCL reconstruction on his right elbow in two weeks, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
- Day-To-DayJarlin Susana RP — Susana underwent surgery last week to repair a right lat tear, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
- 15-Day-ILJake Irvin SP — Nationals manager Blake Butera said Monday that Irvin (shoulder) remains shut down from throwing, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILDJ Herz SP — Herz (elbow) was sent to the FCL Nationals on Friday to begin a rehab assignment.
- 60-Day-ILTrevor Williams SP — Williams (elbow) threw a simulated game at Nationals Park ahead of Tuesday's loss to the Marlins, MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILMax Kranick RP — The Nationals transferred Kranick (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Monday.
- Day-To-DayIldemaro Vargas 1B — Vargas (thigh) isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Nationals, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.
- Day-To-DaySpencer Giesting SP
- Day-To-DayA.J. Vukovich CF — no
- Day-To-DayDerek Law RP — no
- Day-To-DayKyle Amendt RP — Amendt was invited to major-league spring training by the Diamondbacks, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
- 10-Day-ILJames McCann C — McCann (quad) has started taking machine batting practice and doing catching drills, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
- 10-Day-ILLourdes Gurriel Jr. LF — Gurriel (hamstring) appears on track to begin a rehab assignment in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League as soon as next Monday, MLB.com reports.
- BereavementTaylor Clarke RP — Manager Torey Lovullo revealed that Clarke is expected to return from the bereavement list Sunday versus the Nationals, Jose M. Romero of The Arizona Republic reports.
Injury-wise this is lopsided in the worst direction for both clubs' rotations. Arizona is without Burnes, Blake Walston, and Cristian Mena (done for the year after shoulder surgery), plus Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Jordan Lawlar still working back. Washington's starting depth is gutted — Jake Irvin shut down from throwing, DJ Herz and Trevor Williams on the 60-day, Josiah Gray still building up. Both bullpens are going to see a lot of work this weekend, which is how 9.5 starts becoming interesting in the late innings.
The pick here is patience. Rodriguez has been the version of himself the Diamondbacks paid for, and Littell at Chase is exactly the matchup where the home run rate gets ugly fast. If Arizona's offense — which scored 1 run last night — remembers it exists, the line moves in a hurry.