Arizona @ Florida preview
Sun Life Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 12, 2009 ) Florida 8, Arizona 1
Whatever good feelings the Arizona Diamondbacks created in snapping a seven-game losing streak on Saturday evaporated quicker than a dew drop in the desert.
After posting an 11-1 road win over Atlanta on Saturday, the Braves topped that margin of victory in Sunday’s series finale with a 13-1 triumph over the Diamondbacks.
The defeat came with a familiar pattern: a mediocre starting pitching performance followed by horrid relief work.
Dan Haren lasted just 4 1/3 innings and allowed six earned runs in the loss, dropping the Diamondbacks rotation to 11-14 with a 4.95 ERA. The only National League rotation that’s been worse belongs to the Pittsburgh Pirates (6.07).
Ian Kennedy (2-2, 3.58 ERA) and Rodrigo Lopez (2-2, 3.81 ERA) have performed relatively well. Haren (4-3, 4.83 ERA) hasn’t pitched like a No. 1 starter. With former Cy Young winner Brandon Webb being sidelined, the biggest problem is Edwin Jackson, who will make his ninth start on Monday against the Florida Marlins.
Jackson was part of the three-team mega deal between the Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Diamondbacks. In addition to acquiring Kennedy from the Yankees, the Diamondbacks landed Jackson from the Tigers and had plenty of reason for optimism.
Last season, Jackson went 13-9 with a 3.62 ERA and topped the 200-inning mark for the first time in his career. He earned an All-Star selection and finished the campaign with a career-best 1.26 WHIP.
Pitchers moving from the American to the National League generally see a positive spike in their numbers. That hasn’t proven the case with Jackson. The top third of opposing batting orders are a combined 25-for-70 (.357) with six extra-base hits, nine walks and nine strikeouts off Jackson, who’s averaged just over 5 2/3 innings per outing.
Abbreviated starts aren’t good for any team, but they’ve been especially disastrous for the Diamondbacks. Their 7.68 bullpen ERA by far is the NL’s worst and veterans Chad Qualls (7.62), Bob Howry (10.67) and Blaine Boyer (7.82) have been atrocious thus far this season.
Those pitching numbers don’t figure to improve if the Marlins’ performances against the New York Mets last weekend are any indication.
In sweeping the four-game set, the Marlins logged double-digit hit totals in each of the last three contests and finished with a .305 average (40-for-131). That included a .343 mark (12-for-35) with runners in scoring position.
Winners of a season-high four in a row, the Marlins totaled as many extra-base hits (14) in the series as their previous eight games combined.
Rookie first baseman Gaby Sanchez had an outstanding weekend, going 9-for-17 (.529), with six runs, two doubles, a homer and two RBIs.