Diamondbacks Attempt Four Game Sweep Vs. Cubs

Jace Peterson fills in for the injured Ketel Marte, D-backs will go with opener Joe Mantiply before giving ball to Brandon Pfaadt

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs will wrap up a four game series today in Wrigley Field. The D-backs have taken the first three games behind great pitching and defense, holding the Cubs to just four runs in the series. If they are able to pull off the victory today they will tie the Cubs for the second NL wild card position. 

Lineups

The D-backs will have to try to win today without Ketel Marte, who suffered a right knee contusion on a foul ball on the first pitch of the game yesterday. Marte stayed in the game until the 8th inning when the knee stiffened up.  It creates a big hole at the top of the lineup, as Marte has been one of the team's best hitters all year and was batting .333 with a .994 OPS for September so far. 

Jack Peterson is filling in for Marte and batting second. He is batting just .190/.288/.276 in 58 plate appearances since being picked up at the trade deadline from the Oakland A's. Several of Peterson's hits have been impactful however late in games.  He is also batting 9-for-20, .450  with three doubles, a triple, and two homers against Cubs starter  Kyle Hendricks. Peterson is under contract next year for $5 million, but according to Cots Baseball Contracts website, the A's are picking up $3 million of that salary. 

The D-backs will also be trying to win with left hand reliever Joe Mantiply starting the game as an opener before handing the ball off to Brandon Pfaadt. When the Cubs learned of this plan, they changed their lineup to counter Mantiply, which is why you see three right hand batters at the top of their order.

Seby Zavala will be making his first appearance at catcher as a Diamondback since being picked up on waivers from the White Sox several days ago. The 30 year old back up catcher  has a career .205/.268/.345 batting line in 169 games, 497 PA.  His defense has rated positive overall this year, although he's thrown out just 16% of baserunners, (7-for 45)

Pitching Matchup

As Pfaadt is still expected to be the bulk pitcher in this game the D-backs will be counting on him for at least four or five innings. After a promising run of starts since being recalled, Pfaadt has been hit hard in each of his last two outings, taking the loss in each. Over his last 7.2 innings he's given nine runs, eight earned on 16 hits, including two homers, walked four and struck out eight.  The Diamondbacks have few if any reliable options to put in his place however, hence the use of the opener strategy today. 

Kyle Hendricks is past his peak perhaps, but is still an effective pitcher when healthy and on the mound, as his sub-4.00 ERA and FIP attest. He spent the first two months of the season on the IL recovering from a shoulder injury. He was knocked around a bit by the Giants in his most recent outing, giving up five runs, four earned in 5.1 innings. But he's pitched into or completed the sixth inning in five straight starts and only failed to complete five innings three times out of 20 games. 

Hendricks has one of the slowest average fastballs in MLB, with both sinker and four-seamer averaging just 87.5 MPH, but his ability to induce soft contract and chase out of the zone remain elite. His changeup is one of the best in the game, and batters are hitting just .162 with a .263 slugging percentage. Hendricks generates a whiff rate of 34% on the change. Hitters just can't seem to lay off it, and he's built a very successful major league career with it.