On Saturday, the Arizona Diamondbacks (25-18, 1st NL West) play the New York Mets (20-19, 4th NL East) at Citi Field in the Big Apple.
The two opened the series on Friday. Arizona lost its last outing prior to this series on Wednesday falling to Milwaukee 8-2. Arizona starter Matt Koch gave up four home runs in the game over the first four innings. Arizona has now lost 7 of its last 8 games. The Mets lost their last outing before this series to Toronto 12-1. New York starter Zack Wheeler gave up six runs over four-plus innings and now has an ERA of 5.92. The Mets bullpen did not fare much better. AJ Ramos allowed three runs in one inning and from the fourth through the sixth inning, Met pitching faced 24 batters.
A.J. Pollock is on the 10-day disabled list and leads Arizona with a .293 batting average, 11 home runs, 33 RBIs and 44 hits. His offensive output will be a big loss to the D-Backs, as he leads in every major offensive category. Arizona has a team batting average of .220 while opposing hitters are averaging .222 at the plate against Diamondbacks pitching. On Saturday, Arizona will send Patrick Corbin to the mound. The southpaw this season is 4-1 with an ERA of 2.53, 75 Ks and 14 BBs.
Asdrubal Cabrera leads the Mets with a .320 batting average and team high 48 hits. Yoenis Cespedes is the team leader in home runs with eight and RBIs with 28. New York has a team batting average of .236, while opposing hitters are averaging .250 at the plate against Mets pitching. On Saturday, the Mets will send Steven Matz to the mound. The left-hander this season is 1-3 with an ERA of 3.86, 34 Ks and 15 BBs.
