Arizona Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #28: 4/27 @ Brewers
General view of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 8, 2024. Milwaukee will host the 2024 Republican National Convention in July. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images Today’s Lineups DIAMONDBACKS BREWERS Ildemaro Vargas – 1B Garrett Mitchell – CF Ketel Marte – 2B William Contreras – C Corbin Carroll – RF Brice Turang – 2B Lourdes Gurriel – LF Tyler Black – DH Adrian Del Castillo – DH Jake Bauers – 1B Jose Fernandez – SS Brandon Lockridge – LF Nolan Arenado – 3B Sal Frelick – RF Alek Thomas – CF David Hamilton – 3B James McCann – C Joey Ortiz – SS Merrill Kelly – RHP Chad Patrick – RHP Bit of a good news, bad news situation with regard to the line-up for the opener in Milwaukee.
Adrian Del Castillo is back, albeit at DH, after dislocating his finger on Sunday in Mexico. But still no Geraldo Perdomo, who twisted his ankle during the same series. Jose Fernandez gets another start at short: while his playing time in the field since coming up has mostly been at first-base, he has most experience at shortstop in the minors, so he’s not exactly unfamiliar with the position.
However, last year he made 22 errors over 104 games for Amarillo, which does suggest it’s not Jose’s best position. Still, needs must. [Perdomo was seen taking grounders today ] Merrill Kelly will seek to bounce back after one of the worst outings of his career.
Last time, against the White Sox, was the first ever occasion he had allowed 8+ earned runs, while also giving up double-digit hits. At 4,1 innings, it was also the shortest outing in his career with 10+ hits. The 13 overall base-runners (10 hits and 3 walks) had been surpassed only one, an August 2023 outing in Los Angeles where he allowed 12 hits and 3 walks over five innings.
All told, the Game Score of 13 was tied for third-lowest, and was the worst of Kelly’s career when pitching at Chase Field. Lots of room for improvement, obviously. The Brewers are last in their division, despite having a winning record.