Arizona @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 28, 2010 ) Arizona 5, St. Louis 6
The Arizona Diamondbacks found a new way to lose a game Monday night.
Two ninth-inning errors wiped out a two-run lead and helped the St. Louis Cardinals score three runs for a 6-5 win.
Closer Aaron Heilman and first baseman Adam LaRoche made throwing errors, negating eight strong innings and a home run from Dan Haren as the Diamondbacks suffered one of their worst losses of the season.
At least as far as the pitching matchup goes, it may not get much better for Arizona in the second game of the series on Tuesday. The Diamondbacks send struggling Dontrelle Willis to the mound against Adam Wainwright, one of the top pitchers in the game this season.
Acquired on June 1, Willis has been no better with Arizona than he was with Detroit. The left-hander won his first start with the Diamondbacks, pitching six shutout innings against the Colorado Rockies, but that was his high point.
Willis has pitched only 11 1/3 innings, allowing nine runs, nine hits and 17 walks in his last three starts. He's lasted five innings one time and the Diamondbacks have lost all three games.
Willis' most recent start against the New York Yankees was his worst since the trade. He made it through only 2 1/3 innings, walked seven and staggered through 66 pitches.
Even though the Diamondbacks are last in the NL West and have one of the worst records in baseball, it remains to be seen how long they can stick with Willis. He struggles to pitch more than four or five innings and hasn't given his team a chance to stay in games. His struggle with control also puts his fielders on their heels and hurts the team's defense.
Although Wainwright is coming off his worst start of the season, he's tied for third in the majors in wins.
In addition, the right-hander has pitched at least seven innings 11 times in 16 starts. In 113 innings, Wainwright has allowed 86 hits, held opponents to a .216 average and has struck out 107.
Wainwright's last start against the Toronto Blue Jays was not the norm. He lasted four innings and gave up three home runs to the Blue Jays, who lead the majors in blasts. Vernon Wells took Wainwright deep twice while Adam Lind hit the other home run.
Wainwright, ironically, scored the winning run Monday night. He laid a sacrifice bunt in the ninth inning and reached base on Heilman's throwing error. Wainwright scored on LaRoche's throwing error.