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The Arizona Diamondbacks open a vital four-game series at Wrigley Field in opposition to the Chicago Cubs, one of many groups forward of them within the wild-card race. Thursday’s opener begins at 4:40 p.m. and might be seen on YurView TV.
Jordan Lawlar data first main league hit as Diamondbacks lead Cubs
CHICAGO — Jordan Lawlar collected his first main league hit within the fourth inning Thursday. Lawlar, the Diamondbacks’ high prospect, hit a reasonably routine grounder to 3rd base however used his velocity to beat Jeimer Candelario’s throw throughout the diamond.
In his first at-bat within the second inning, Lawlar bounced out to first base to finish the inning.
Lawlar’s landmark hit got here amid a weird scene at Wrigley Field, as two followers within the left area bleachers bought married earlier within the at-bat, eliciting massive cheers from close by followers as Cubs’ pitcher Javier Assad labored via the at-bat.
A half inning after his hit, Lawlar added to his day with a powerful sliding backhanded play to rob Nico Hoerner of a leadoff single.
Diamondbacks open up lead on Cubs with Ketel Marte homer
CHICAGO — The wind is likely to be blowing in at Wrigley Field on Thursday evening, however that hasn’t stopped the Diamondbacks’ bats. They lead, 3-0, within the fourth inning.
Tommy Pham opened the scoring with a house run to right-center area within the high of the primary earlier than Ketel Marte tripled the lead, homering into the hampers above the ivy in heart area to make it 3-0. The homer might have prolonged the Diamondbacks’ lead even additional, however Corbin Carroll was thrown out stretching a single right into a double on the earlier play.
Diamondbacks’ starter Ryne Nelson has given up his share of exhausting contact in his return from a four-start stint in Triple-A, however two Cubs’ flyballs have died on the warning monitor. Encouragingly, Nelson has struck out three Cubs within the early going. His greatest drawback this season has been an incapability to punch batters out.
Diamondbacks’ bullpen takes totally different look with Bryce Jarvis demotion
CHICAGO — As a part of the spate of strikes that they made previous to Thursday’s series opener in opposition to the Cubs, the Diamondbacks optioned reliever Bryce Jarvis to Triple-A, clearing a 28-man roster spot for Ryne Nelson, who’s beginning Thursday.
The transfer left their bullpen with an uncommon look in that the Diamondbacks should not have a prototypical lengthy reliever. Since debuting in August, Jarvis had excelled in that function, pitching to a 2.81 ERA and averaging over two innings per outing.
The Diamondbacks, although, felt comfy in that call as a result of the growth of lively rosters in September means they’ve 9 relievers within the bullpen, moderately than the eight that they carried for many of the season.
“We can just ask a couple guys to go two innings instead of one-plus,” Lovullo mentioned. “So we’ll be fine. So we don’t have a designated long man as we did with Bryce, but we’ll be fine coverage-wise.”
The Diamondbacks additionally claimed catcher Seby Zavala from the White Sox. Zavala reported to the key league membership, whereas Jose Herrera was optioned to Triple-A.
Zavala is only a .205 profession hitter and is hitting .155/.207/.304 this season, however the Diamondbacks imagine he will probably be a defensive improve as their backup catcher.
Thursday’s Diamondbacks-Cubs pitching matchup
Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (6-7, 5.47) vs. Cubs RHP Javier Assad (3-2, 2.69).
Nelson is predicted to be recalled from Triple-A Reno to make his first begin within the majors for the reason that center of final month. … In 4 begins with Reno, Nelson logged a 3.74 ERA in 21 2/3 innings however struck out solely 9 with seven walks in that span. … Nelson was mentioned to be engaged on a sharper, tighter slider that the membership hoped would result in extra swings and misses. … Assad spent many of the 12 months figuring out of the bullpen however moved into the rotation at the start of final month. He has been terrific ever since, posting a 1.95 ERA in 37 innings. … Most not too long ago, he fired eight scoreless innings in opposition to the Reds in Cincinnati, strolling one and hanging out seven. … Assad has a deep repertoire that features each a four-seam and two-seam fastball, a cutter, slider, curveball and change-up. Statistically, his slider has been his finest pitch, holding hitters to a .114 common with a 44.6 p.c whiff fee.
Coming up
Friday: At Chicago, 11:20 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (14-7, 3.48) vs. Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon (7-9, 5.73).
Saturday: At Chicago, 11:20 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (11-6, 3.22) vs. Cubs LHP Justin Steele (16-3, 2.55).
Sunday: At Chicago, 11:20 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (1-8, 6.27) vs. Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (5-7, 3.73).
What to know concerning the Chicago Cubs
The Cubs have been one of many hottest groups in baseball since simply earlier than the commerce deadline, a well-timed streak that doubtless satisfied the entrance workplace to not be sellers on Aug. 1. It turned out to be an excellent place: The Cubs entered Wednesday having received 32 of their previous 46 video games and are actually in prime place to say a wild-card spot within the National League — that’s, in the event that they don’t catch the Milwaukee Brewers within the NL Central. The Diamondbacks will face the Cubs seven instances within the subsequent 11 days, video games that might decide playoff hopes or positioning for each groups. CF Cody Bellinger has been the Cubs’ finest hitter this 12 months. He owns a .319/.364/.546 line with 23 homers and 19 steals. RF Seiya Suzuki is hitting .273/.344/.463 with 16 homers; he’s hitting .362 with seven homers since Aug. 9. 3B Jeimer Candelario, whom the Cubs acquired from the Nationals on the commerce deadline, has posted a .812 OPS with 5 homers together with his new workforce. LHP Justin Steele, whom the Diamondbacks will face on Saturday, is a Cy Young candidate; he has a 2.55 ERA with 153 strikeouts and solely 33 walks in 152 innings. RHP Adbert Alzolay has transformed 22 of 25 save probabilities with a 2.80 ERA.
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