Jordan Montgomery Back on the Mound Again vs. the Dodgers

One night after being scratched due to a bee delay, the veteran left-hander will face the Dodgers.

Apr 24, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery (52) receives a new ball after giving up a one run single to St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado (not pictured) during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

After getting scratched from Tuesday night's start due to a bee delay, left-hander Jordan Montgomery (1-1, 2.77 ERA) will face the Dodgers just 24 hours later. There could be some concern about Montgomery getting back up hot again one day after a short warm-up followed by two hours of sitting. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo explained that decision.

"He said he'd walk in here today and feel charged up, ready, and 100%. I trust him because he knows himself. I feel like a good night's rest was going to clean his mind, clear the head a little bit without having to deal with the frustration of the up, down, UP, he was potentially dealing with yesterday."

On the other side, the D-backs will face Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-1, 3.54 ERA) for the first time. Yamamoto signed a 12-year, $325 million contract with the Dodgers in the offseason with the expectation he'd anchor the top of their rotation. He is one of the top starting pitchers in missing bats and avoiding free passes, with a strikeout rate of 31.9% and a walk rate of 5.4%.

If there is one flaw in Yamamoto's game, it's he can be hit hard when he has poor fastball location. Opposing batters are hitting .316 with a .605 slugging percentage against his four-seamer this season. Expect a lot of early-count swings against the fastball in order to prevent him from getting to his nasty assortment of secondary pitches, especially the curveball and split-finger.

Starting Lineups and Notes

Starting lineups for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. / Michael McDermott

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is out of the lineup with a left-hander on the mound. Austin Barnes will start at catcher, with Will Smith batting as the designated hitter.

Blaze Alexander gets the start at shortstop for the D-backs in the third game of the series. Kevin Newman started the first two games.

Catcher Gabriel Moreno has been scratched from the lineup as a precaution after a dental procedure. He is available to bat off the bench.

D-backs Bullpen

After needing the bullpen to get 30 outs last night, they were a bit short-handed in terms of length with both Bryce Jarvis and Logan Allen unavailable. To provide some more length and coverage for the bullpen in the final game of this series, they brought up left-hander Blake Walston from Triple-A Reno. Walston has been stretched out as a starter all year, so he should be able to provide some length in the event of a short start from Montgomery or extra innings.

The D-backs are also a bit short-handed with their short-inning relievers. Justin Martinez and Scott McGough have pitched in the first two games of the series. Ryan Thompson threw two innings on Tuesday. Joe Mantiply also pitched multiple innings.