Diamondbacks Joe Mantiply to Open, Ryne Nelson to Follow Vs. Dodgers

Torey Lovullo turns to the opener strategy once more against the best lineup in the National League. Alek Thomas and Gabriel Moreno return from the injured list.

Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Alek Thomas (5) congratulates catcher Gabriel Moreno (14) after scoring a run against the Texas Rangers during the fourth inning in Game 4 of the 2023 World Series at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ. The DBacks lost to the Rangers 11-7, putting the Ranger at 3-1 in the World Series. / Joe Rondone/Arizona Republic / USA TODAY

The Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in Chavez Ravine tonight at 7:10 P.M. The D-backs are in third place in the NL West with a 41-43 record, 10.5 games back of the 52-33 Dodgers.

Arizona is just 2.5 games behind the Cardinals for the 3rd Wild Card spot with only the Mets in between them. The D-backs are 5-5 in their last ten games while the Dodgers are 6-4. So far, the two teams have split the season series, 3-3.

Arizona just made a raft of roster moves this afternoon, including reinstating Gabriel Moreno and Alek Thomas from the injured list. They optioned Blaze Alexander to Triple-A. In the big surprise move of the day, Jordan Montgomery was placed on the injured list. You can read the full story of the roster moves here.

Lineups

D-backs at Dodgers Lineups July 2nd, 2024 / Jack Sommers

Shohei Ohtani barely edges out Ketel Marte in Baseball-Reference WAR, 4.8 to .4.4. The DH Ohtani has a big edge in batting, leading the league with a .316 average and 26 homers while knocking in 62 runs. Marte is batting, .287 with 17 homers and 49 RBI while playing Gold Glove defense at second base.

The Dodgers are without Mookie Betts, who is out with a fractured hand, but still have Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, and Teoscar Hernandez all mashing.

Alek Thomas is batting 8th and back in centerfield, with Carroll shifting over to right field and Jake McCarthy going to the bench.

Pitching Matchups

In another twist on the day, Joe Mantiply will be the opener for this game, followed by Ryne Nelson who was the originally scheduled starter.

Mantiply has a 4.11 ERA but a 2.35 FIP in 31 innings. He opened against the Dodgers on May 20th and threw a scoreless first, retiring both Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman in that inning. Slade Cecconi pitched a scoreless second but gave up a six-run third innings en route to a D-backs loss

The D-backs have had success using the opener strategy against the Dodgers before however. On May 22nd of this year Nelson came in behind opener Brandon Hughes with two outs in the first inning. He recorded 15 outs without giving up a run. He allowed five hits, three walks, and struck out five.

The young right-hander is having an up and down season with a 5-6 record and 5.69 ERA, but has had plenty of success against the Dodgers in his career.

On April 9th, 2023 Nelson threw a quality start, going six innings and giving up three runs to get the victory. Going back to September 12th, 2022, in just the second start of his career, Nelson threw six shutout innings against the division rivals at Chase Field.

It's all added up to 1.59 ERA and 1.059 WHIP in 17 innings against the frequently fearsome Dodgers lineup. Nelson will hope to duplicate that success and keep the momentum going for the D-backs.

The team is coming off a two-game winning streak in which Zac Gallen and then Brandon Pfaadt each pitched six strong innings in victories over the A's. Nelson will also be looking to bounce back after a poor outing in his last start against the Twins.

The Dodgers are starting right-hander Bobby Miller. He has a 1-1 record with a 6.75 ERA and 5.46 FIP in five starts, 20 innings this year. Miller lasted just two innings, giving up three runs to the White Sox in his previous outing.

Miller has made three starts against the Diamondbacks, two in the regular season and one in last year's 2023 NLDS. His initial start came on 8/9/2023 when he shut out the D-backs for six innings, taking a no-decision in a 2-0 Dodgers win.

He didn't pitch as well 19 days later on 8/29203, giving up seven hits and four runs in six innings, but got the win anyway due to a rare bad outing from Zac Gallen.

That set the stage for game two of the NLDS. The D-backs jumped Miller for three runs in the first inning and knocked him out of the box in the second, on their way to a 4-2 victory in Dodger Stadium

Bullpens

Both teams were off on Monday and both teams should have fully loaded bullpens for tonight

The Dodgers rank second in MLB with a 3.02 bullpen ERA but just 16th with a 3.95 FIP.

The D-backs are 25th in reliever ERA with a 4.50 mark, and 29th with a 4.60 FIP. Arizona's back end with Paul Sewald, Ryne Thompson, Kevin Ginkel, and Justin Martinez have been lights out. But the parade of middle and low-leverage relievers has been hit hard all year.