Diamondbacks and Astros Series Preview and Pitching Matchups

A Trip to Minute Maid Park means another tough series for the D-backs as they make their push for a Postseason berth, but they will receive a boost with the return of Ketel Marte.

Aug 4, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (4) circles the base on a solo home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the start times for Saturday and Sunday.

The Arizona Diamondbacks traveled from San Francisco to Houston Thursday night and will face the Astros for a three game weekend series starting Friday.

Minute Maid Park is playing as a roughly neutral run environment with a 99 batting park factor at baseball reference, and 100 at MLB Statcast (100 = average, over 100 favors hitters). While it's a somewhat homer-friendly park due to the Crawford Box, the park allows fewer doubles and triples than average.

The D-backs are coming off a 2-1 series victory against the Giants, but failed to gain the sweep by dropping the finale 3-2. Their record is 79-62, and they hold the second NL Wild Card spot. The Mets, who are the biggest threat to the D-backs playoff hopes at the moment, were idle Thursday. They're just 2.5 games back of Arizona and a half game behind the Braves.

The Astros were swept on the road in Cincinnati this week, losing their series finale 1-0. Houston is 75-65, and hold a 4.5 game lead over the Mariners in the AL West. The Astros were 10 games back of the Mariners on June 18th. They're 42-25 since that date. Houston is also 39-29 at home this year.

TRAINERS ROOM

Ketel Marte (high left ankle sprain) has been expected back for this series ever since Torey Lovullo said the he was a definite possibility before the end of the road trip. The All-Star second baseman all but confirmed it via his Instagram Story.

Gabriel Moreno (groin strain) is still at least a week away from returning for the Diamondbacks, perhaps more. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is on the injured list with a strained calf, retroactive to September 2nd.

Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker (Shin fracture) was reinstated from the injured list for this series. Starters Cristian Javier and J.P. France are out for the year, as is reliever Kendall Graveman.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Friday, September 6th, 5:10 P.M. MST

Brandon Pfaadt RHP, 9-7, 4.32 ERA, 3.49 FIP in 160.1 IP. Pfaadt went 5.2 innings allowing three runs while striking out 10 against the Dodgers on September 1st, picking up his ninth win in a 14-3 blowout. His 4.56 K/BB ratio has led to a FIP much lower than his ERA. He's been prone to sequencing issues and the big inning from time to time.

Framber Valdez LHP, 13-6, 3.11 ERA, 3.25 FIP, in 150.1 IP. Valdez was having a good but not great season up to the All-Star break but has really kicked it up several notches since July 20th. In his last eight starts he's posted a 2.40 ERA and struck out 64 batters in 52 innings while allowing just three homers.

Saturday September 7th, 1:10 P.M. MST

Eduardo Rodriguez LHP, 2-1, 5.33 ERA, 4.73 FIP in 25.1 IP. Rodriguez is coming off a lackluster outing against the Dodgers, lasting just four innings. He'll be making his sixth start for Arizona since missing the first four months of the season with a shoulder strain. He has yet to complete six innings in a game so far.

Yusei Kikuchi LHP, 7-9, 4.24 ERA, 3.49 FIP in 150.2 IP. Kikuchi was traded from the Blue Jays to the Astros at the deadline and has been terrific ever since. He's 6-0 with a 2.57 ERA in six starts since the trade. He faced the D-backs on July 14th while with the Blue Jays and cruised through the first four innings before a surprising seven-run fifth inning.

Sunday September 8th, 4:10 P.M. MST (ESPN Sunday Night Baseball)

Ryne Nelson RHP, 10-6, 4.15 ERA, 3.73 ERA in 143 IP. Nelson went 6.2 innings, allowing two runs and striking out nine against the Giants on September 3rd. In 12 games since July 2nd he's 5-0 with a 2.76 ERA and 3.04 FIP in 75 innings.

Justin Verlander RHP, 3-5, 4.52 ERA, 4.74 FIP in 71.2 IP. The future Hall of Famer is a shadow of his former self at age 41. His fastball velocity still averages 93.5, but that is a couple of ticks off of where he's been in recent season. He's given up four runs or more in four of his last five starts.

OFFENSE

The Diamondbacks lead MLB in runs scored with 765, but uncharacteristically struggled to hit with runners in scoring position over the final two games of the Giants series. They went 4-for-25 w/RISP Wednesday and Thursday. For the year they're batting .285 w/RISP, second only to the Kansas City Royals.

Eugenio Suarez has 39 RBI since the All-Star break, which is tied with Aaron Judge for the most. Corbin Carroll just won August player of the month and player of the week for last week as well. He cooled off a bit in San Francisco the last two games, going 1-for-7. with the lone hit being an infield single.

Christian Walker went 2-for-9, including a double in his first two games back after missing over a month with an oblique strain. He seemed to be struggling to catch up to the fastball as he works to get his timing back.

The offense could get a boost with Ketel Marte's return, although Torey Lovullo will certainly have him play every other game at the outset of his return.

The Astros offense is led by Yordan Alvarez, who is hitting .311 with a .965 OPS and 30 homers. He has five homers in his last 10 games. Jose Altuve is batting .294 with 18 homers and 80 runs scored.

BULLPENS

The Diamondbacks' bullpen ranks 23rd in MLB with a 4.27 ERA. Since the start of the Dodgers series on August 30th that number is an unsightly 10.07 in 22.1 innings from the pen. The dependable arm over the last week has been A.J.Puk. Closer Justin Martinez has struggled, as has almost every other high and low leverage reliever.

The Astros meanwhile have the fourth best reliever ERA in MLB, posting a 3.49 mark. Closer Josh Hader has a 3.28 ERA and 29 saves, and blown just two. Tayler Scott, 7-3, 2.04 ERA and Bryan Abreu, 2-3, 3.41 ERA, have been the primary setup men.