Former Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey is 42-years-old but he’s surprisingly been pitching well this month, though he’s go no wins to show for it. Dickey is 0-1 in four starts this month despite a solid 2.42 ERA. He had a string of four-straight starts in which he didn’t allow more than a run while pitching no shorter than six innings before taking a loss last Wednesday to the Chicago Cubs. Dickey was tagged with four earned runs on seven hits in seven innings of an 8-2 home loss to the Cubs. He gets a shot to recover tonight against Arizona, which he had already tamed earlier this month.
Dickey, who is 6-6 this year with a 4.14 ERA in 19 starts, limited the Diamondbacks to just a single run in seven in six innings of a 4-3 home win last Jul. 14.
Ender Inciarte, who went 1-for-4 in Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, is 22-for-79 (.278) this month and he’ll team up with another hot July hitter in Johan Camargo, who is batting .339 (21-for-62) in his last 18 games.
Zack Greinke steps on the mound later tonight for the Diamondbacks, hoping he’s got his stuff back after an ugly start in a 4-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Jul. 19. The D’backs’ ace lasted just five innings in that game in which he yielded three earned runs on eight hits while also issuing three walks.
That could easily be just chucked as a rare bad night for the 13-year veteran, who is 11-4 with a 2.97 ERA in 19 starts this year. He’s also 2-0 with a 2.37 ERA in his last three starts.
In case you need any more encouragement to trust the Diamondbacks in this series opener, consider that Greinke is 9-0 with a 2.41 ERA in 11 starts at home this 2017.
Arizona also has a bevy of hitters who’s done well in the past against Dickey. Take for example Daniel Descalso, who is 8-for-13 in his career against Dickey. Newly acquired J.D Martinez is 5-for-14 in the matchup.
