ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
NL Wild Card lineups: D-backs, Rockies roll out batting orders
The Arizona Diamondbacks released their lineup for the NL Wild Card Game against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday afternoon.
Tonight's #WildCard lineup. #OurSeason pic.twitter.com/89oyFbRCnh
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) October 4, 2017
Left fielder David Peralta will lead off, and he’ll be followed by shortstop Ketel Marte, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, right fielder J.D. Martinez and third baseman Jake Lamb.
A.J. Pollock will start in center field and bats in the six-hole, while Daniel Descalso starts at second base and follows.
Catcher Jeff Mathis will catch for starting pitcher Zack Greinke after entering the postseason with his status in question due to his injury recovery from a broken hand. Arizona does, however, have Chris Iannetta and Chris Herrmann off the bench.
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Marte (leg) and Peralta (back) also were in question heading into the Wild Card matchup, but after taking Monday off, their prognosis looked positive heading into Wednesday, according to manager Torey Lovullo.
Descalso gets the start over Brandon Drury at second despite Drury going 3-for-8 with a walk and three strikeouts against Gray this season. The veteran Descalso went 2-for-7 against Gray this season and has 44 games of postseason experience, the most of any D-back.
“You know, I said it all year long, the heartbeat, not getting glossy-eyed,” Lovullo said Wednesday. “You know what you’re going to get. I love that type of player on the field. He’s played in World Series. He’s had big at-bats. He’s come off the bench, he’s started. There is so much variety to what he does, and he does it well. I felt like defensively, more than reliable, more than reliable.”
Here’s what the Rockies’ batting order looks like:
LET'S GOOOOO!#Rocktober 🏔️ pic.twitter.com/0rezslasl3
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) October 4, 2017
Colorado is going against it’s usual 1-2-3 order.
While center fielder Charlie Blackmon and second baseman D.J. LeMahieu will start at the top of the order as usual, third baseman Nolan Arenado will slide to the clean-up spot in favor of Carlos Gonzalez, who is hitting .333 for his career against Greinke.
Arenado has started in the four-hole just 12 percent of the time this season.
Additionally, the Rockies will start Gerardo Parra in left field. On a skid to end the season, including a .213 average in September, he has a strong record against Greinke with a .293 average.
Tune in to 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station starting at 6 a.m. Wednesday as our shows come to you live from Chase Field.
The 2017 National League Wild Card Game gets underway just after 5 p.m., and you can hear the action on 98.7 FM.