Following a competitive opener, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cleveland Guardians will wait to conclude an already entertaining series.
After rain washed away the middle game of the set on Tuesday, the visiting Diamondbacks will look to continue their surge in a traditional doubleheader against the Guardians on Wednesday.
With a 7-6, 10-inning victory on Monday, Arizona has won 10 of 12 and is 22-9 since June 29 to move into wild-card position in the NL. Joc Pederson clubbed a pinch-hit, go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning after Ketel Marte and Gabriel Moreno opened the contest with back-to-back homers.
Arizona’s Justin Martinez stranded a pair of runners in the 10th to lock down the win against the Guardians, who have allowed 23 runs while losing three straight.
“It’s fun, that’s a great team over there. They’re competing, we’re competing,” Pederson, who is 9-for-22 (.409) with five homers and 12 RBIs in his last nine games, told the Diamondbacks broadcast.
In the downside for Arizona, Gold Glove-winning catcher Moreno was placed on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday after he sustained a strained adductor the previous night.
The Diamondbacks are 6-1 in the last seven games pitched by scheduled Game 1 starter Brandon Pfaadt (5-6, 3.97 ERA). That includes the past two outings, in which the right-hander allowed a combined eight runs over 11 innings.
Pfaadt surrendered three of those runs over five innings in a no-decision at Pittsburgh on Friday.
Arizona left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will make his season debut in Game 2. Rodriguez signed a four-year, $80 million deal with Arizona in December, but he has been sidelined since straining his pitching shoulder during spring training.
Rodriguez, who won 19 games for the Boston Red Sox in 2019 and went 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA for the Detroit Tigers last season, is finally ready.
“I want to go out there and show what I can do. I want to help the team,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez is 6-0 with a 2.28 ERA in eight career starts vs. Cleveland. He allowed just three runs (two earned) while striking out 29 over 28 2/3 innings to win all four of his starts against the Guardians last year.
Cleveland All-Stars Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan were a combined 2-for-21 against him in 2023. Ramirez, though, had three hits and an RBI on Monday, and he is batting .424 with five homers and 12 RBIs in his past nine contests.
The Guardians are slated to throw Ben Lively (10-6, 3.42 ERA) in the opener. The 32-year-old right-hander is enjoying a career season and owns a 2.78 ERA in his past four starts.
He allowed just two runs over six innings on Thursday in a 10-3 victory against the Baltimore Orioles.
“He just continues to give us a chance to win,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.
Lively gave up six runs and 10 hits over 10 1/3 innings in two starts against the Diamondbacks in 2023, while he was with the Cincinnati Reds. In his career, he is 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA in five games (four starts) vs. Arizona.
Scheduled Cleveland Game 2 starter Carlos Carrasco (3-9, 5.53 ERA) overcame four walks and yielded just one hit and one run over 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision against Baltimore on Friday.
Carrasco was outstanding in his two more recent outings against Arizona, in 2022 and ’23 when he was with the New York Mets. He allowed six hits while striking out 12 over 13 scoreless innings, leaving his career mark vs. the Diamondbacks at 2-0 with a 0.82 ERA in four games (three starts).
Marte is batting .385 with 11 homers and 27 RBIs in his past 21 games. He went 3-for-5 with two homers and a triple vs. Lively in 2023.
–Field Level Media