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) — no05/25
- Day-To-DayTyler Baum (DH) — Baum has not pitched this year due an undisclosed injury.05/08
- 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.05/08
- Day-To-DayJarlin Susana (RP) — Susana underwent surgery last week to repair a right lat tear, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.05/08
- 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.06/01
- 60-Day-ILDJ Herz (SP) — Herz (elbow) was sent to the FCL Nationals on Friday to begin a rehab assignment.06/05
- 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.06/05
- 60-Day-ILMax Kranick (RP) — The Nationals transferred Kranick (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Monday.05/25
- 60-Day-ILJosiah Gray (SP) — Gray (elbow) has resumed a throwing program, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.05/08
- 60-Day-ILKen Waldichuk (RP) — The Nationals transferred Waldichuk (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Thursday.05/08
- 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.06/05
- Day-To-DaySpencer Giesting (SP)
- Day-To-DayA.J. Vukovich (CF) — no05/25
- Day-To-DayDerek Law (RP) — no05/21
- Day-To-DayKyle Amendt (RP) — Amendt was invited to major-league spring training by the Diamondbacks, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.05/08
- 10-Day-ILJames McCann (C) — McCann (quad) has started taking machine batting practice and doing catching drills, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.06/03
- 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.06/02
- 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.06/04
- 60-Day-ILCorbin Burnes (SP) — Manager Torey Lovullo said Wednesday that Burnes (elbow) has been shut down from throwing after suffering a teres major strain, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.06/03
- 60-Day-ILJordan Lawlar (LF) — Lawlar (wrist) could move his rehab to Triple-A Reno by the end of the week, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.06/03
- 60-Day-ILA.J. Puk (RP) — Puk (elbow) allowed one hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning in a rehab appearance for Triple-A Reno on Tuesday.06/03
- 60-Day-ILCristian Mena (RP) — Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Monday that Mena underwent surgery on his right shoulder and will be sidelined for the rest of the season, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.06/01
- 60-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.06/01
- 60-Day-ILBlake Walston (SP) — Walston (elbow) paused his rehab program earlier in the season, but he was expected to start building back up around the middle of May, MLB.com reports.06/01
- 60-Day-ILJustin Martinez (RP) — Martinez (elbow) tossed a bullpen session Friday, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.05/09
- 60-Day-ILAndrew Saalfrank (RP) — Saalfrank (shoulder) said Wednesday that he expects to be sidelined 10-16 months, Arizona Sports reports.05/08
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.