Zack Greinke knows how to make waves. He was one of the biggest free agents last season with aggressive offers from the likes of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. But he signed a big contract with Arizona, immediately lifting the Diamondbacks in the NL West. He played behind Clayton Kershaw while with the Dodgers the past few seasons, but figures to be the big boss over in Arizona.
Greinke starts off the season against the Colorado Rockies, a team which could give Arizona’s new acquisition plenty of headaches. It’s going to be one hell of a matchup Monday night when the Rockies go down to the desert.
It’s one, jam-packed day of baseball. Check out our complete previews for the Phillies vs. Reds and Twins vs. Orioles.
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Colorado Rockies vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Preview
Where: Chase Field, Phoenix
When: Monday, April 4, 9:40 PM ET
Line: Colorado Rockies (+195) at Arizona Diamondbacks (-225); total 7.5 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Colorado Rockies (0-0)
The Colorado Rockies are live dogs in this matchup, as they face one of the National League’s best starters. It starts with Nolan Arenado, a 24-year-old slugger with a penchant for home runs. He’ll be at his best heading into 2016 after hitting a major league-best .542 during spring training with nine doubles, six homers and 17 RBIs with just six strikeouts.
Nick Hundley is also a pretty solid batter, hitting .301 last year. Carlos Gonzalez and Charlie Blackmon are also decent hitting .271 and .287 respectively last year. After all, there has to be someone on base for Colorado to really utilize Arenado’s power.
On the mound for the Rockies will be lefty Jorge De La Rosa. He was 9-7 with a 4.17 ERA for the Rockies last season. He had one of his more prolific seasons last year when it came to strikeouts. He fanned 134 batters over 149 innings. But he hasn’t been that good in spring training with a 4.63 ERA over 11.2 innings pitched.
The total has gone under in four of Colorado’s last six games against righty pitchers.
Betting on the Arizona Diamondbacks (0-0)
Zack Greinke stunned many by signing a six-year, $206.5 million with the Arizona Diamondbacks. His signing certainly helps make the D-Backs dark horse contenders for the NL West crown. Greinke gets only his second opening day start Monday night, following an outing for Kansas City in 2010. He went 19-3 with a major league-best 1.66 ERA last season.
Greinke struggled against Colorado last season, though. He went 1-1 with a 4.34 ERA in three starts. He allowed two homers as he gave up nine earned runs in 18.2 innings. He’ll have to be wary of the Rockies’ Carlos Gonzalez, who has hit .360 with three homers and five RBIs against the Arizona ace in his career.
If Greinke is to get a win in his Arizona debut, he’ll need plenty of run support from the D-Backs lineup. All-Star slugger Paul Goldschmidt should be the main man at the plate. He hit a career-high .321 last season with 33 homers and 110 RBIs. His 118 walks in 2015 was also a career-high. Goldschmidt has gone 4 of 16 with a homer, four RBIs and has walked four times against Colorado’s opening day starter, Jorge De La Rosa.
An injury to A.J. Pollock certainly stings as he may be out for half or even all of 2016. But having the likes of David Peralta and Ender Inciarte still in the batting order should keep Arizona competitive. Peralta hit .312 last season and finished with the second-most RBIs (78) on the team. Meanwhile, Inciarte was also a solid hitter, finishing 2015 with a .303 batting average.
Greinke’s team has won seven of his last 10 starts against Colorado.
Writer’s Prediction
Greinke struggles, but plenty of run support saves him from a loss in his Arizona debut. The Diamondbacks (-225) win their first game of the season.
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