Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Colorado Rockies Series Preview


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Diamondbacks Come Back Home After Long Road Trip

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Ed Szczepanski-USA Today Sports

The Arizona Diamondbacks just ended a grueling nine-game road trip, which saw them face adversity in each series. The offense struggled to score runs when they faced the New York Yankees and Colorado Rockies, but when they squared off against the San Francisco Giants their offense came back to life.

They were able to take two of three games from the Giants, and will now come back home to Chase Field to start a four-game series against the Rockies on Thursday.

The probable pitchers for the upcoming series against Colorado include, Trevor Cahill, Brandon McCarthy Wade Miley and Patrick Corbin. This will be the second time that the Diamondbacks will face the Rockies this season.

Arizona struggled in the first two series of the road trip, because the offense could not come up with a clutch hit when they had runners in scoring position. Then when they faced the Giants, the offense came alive and managed to score runs for the team.

The only issue for Arizona was that their bullpen blew a save in each game of the Giants series. The Rockies did not play well in their previous series against the Atlanta Braves, and will look to perform better.

The last series for Colorado showed the weakness for their team, and that is their offense will struggle when they face better pitching. The other negative for them is that their starting pitching is not solid against better offensive teams.

The Diamondbacks need their bullpen to improve against a Rockies team that has shown the ability to come from behind.

The following slideshow is a preview of what to expect in the Rockies vs. Diamondbacks series.

Chris is the Diamondbacks writer for www.RantSports.com

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Pitching Match up No. 1

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Ron Chenoy-USA Today Sports

Trevor Cahill did throw the ball well the last time he pitched, but he had an issue of putting opposing hitters away when he got ahead in the count. The problem for Cahill was that his sinker was ineffective.

Jorge De La Rosa had a good outing the last time against Arizona, and he also extended his scoreless innings streak to 17. He has great career numbers against Arizona, as indicated by a 7-3 record and 2.33 ERA.

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Pitching Match up No. 2

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Matt Kartozian-USA Today Sports

Brandon McCarthy had his best game of the season in his last start, and he did a great job of commanding his pitches. McCarthy had a good feel for the strike zone, and it showed as he walked no batters.

Juan Nicasio threw the ball great in his last start against Arizona, but he once again had a problem with throwing too many pitches.

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Pitching Match up No. 3

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Matt Kartozian-USA Today Sports

Wade Miley continued his success from last season by once again throwing strikes and locating his pitches. He also made history by becoming the first left-handed pitcher to hit a home run in AT&T Park.

Jeff Francis had an issue with locating his pitches in his last start, as indicated by him giving up three Home runs. He will look to rebound against a team that he has faced numerous times in his career.

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Pitching Match up No. 4

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Ed Szczepanski-USA Today Sports

Patrick Corbin pitched tremendous in his last start, and his confidence is growing with each start he makes. One of the reasons he has been successful this season is because of his improved breaking ball.

Jon Garland gave up six runs in his last start, but the silver lining from the start was that he lasted six innings. He had a problem of leaving his pitches up in the strike zone, and the opposition was able to take advantage of his mistakes.

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Key Diamondbacks Player No. 1

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Kyle Terada-USA Today Sports

Cody Ross has started the season off strong, as indicated by his .293 batting average. He also made some stellar plays in the outfield on the road trip.

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Key Diamondbacks Player No. 2

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Matt Kartozian-USA Today Sports

Matt Reynolds has been the best pitcher in the bullpen for Arizona this season and he has yet to give up an earned run. He would be the ideal candidate to become their temporary closer for the club.

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