The Diamondbacks will meet the defending NL West and World Series champion Giants for the first time this season in a three-game series at AT&T Park beginning Monday.
The last time the Giants won the World Series, in 2010, the D-backs surprised the baseball world winning the NL West the next year. The Giants have been the D-backs’ toughest opponent in the 16-year history of the franchise, winning 133 of the 240 games, although the teams have split the series series the past two years, going 9-9 each time.
Pitching matchups: Monday -- LHP Wade Miley (2-0, 2.79 ERA) vs. RHP Ryan Vogelsong (1-1, 5.89). Tuesday -- LHP Patrick Corbin (2-0, 1.42) vs. RHP Matt Cain (0-2, 7.15). Wednesday -- RHP Ian Kennedy (1-2, 5.47) vs. LHP Madison Bumgarner (3-0, 2.05)
Who’s hot for the D-backs: Didi Gregorius has two home runs in his three starts since being recalled from Class AAA Reno last Tuesday. He has six hits in his first 11 major league at-bats. ... Cody Ross has eight hits in his last 25 at-bats. ... Eric Chavez drove in five of the D-backs’ 20 runs in the first six games of the road trip. ... Patrick Corbin has given up three earned runs in his first 19 innings, and he made two quality starts against the Giants last season. ... Setup man Matt Reynolds has not given up a run in his first eight appearances.
Who’s not hot for the D-backs: Martin Prado has four hits in his last 29 at-bats. ... Gerardo Parra’s game-deciding sacrifice fly in the ninth inning Sunday was his first RBI since April 6, covering 62 plate appearances. ... Miguel Montero has two hits in his last 22 at-bats. ... Cliff Pennington has three hits in his last 23 at-bats.
Who’s hot for the Giants: Sergio Romo has carried his end-of-game success in the 2012 playoffs into the new season, converting eight of his first nine save chances in his first season as the full-time closer. ... Brandon Crawford is hitting .375 in the last 10 games. ... World Series hero Pablo Sandoval has 17 RBIs, seven in the last five games. ... Madison Bumgarner has made quality starts in all four of his appearances, and he has not given up more than two runs in a game.
Who’s not hot for the Giants: Matt Cain, who threw a perfect game last season, gave up nine runs to the Cardinals in his second start and seven to the Brewers in his fourth and most recent last Thursday. He has given up five homers in his last 13 innings. ... Brandon Belt is hitting .183 with 16 strikeouts in 60 at-bats.
Notes, quotes, odds and ends: The D-backs scored just 20 runs in the first six games of the road trip without middle-of-the-order bats Aaron Hill and Jason Kubel but showed their resilience by salvaging the final game of the series in New York and Colorado in their final at-bat. “You have to keep grinding and fight your way back,” Ross said Sunday. ... The Giants are 6-2 at home, having swept series from the Rockies and Padres after losing two of three to their 2012 NLCS opponent, the Cardinals. ... A.J. Pollock leads the National League with nine doubles. ... The D-backs are 6-0 in the final game of a series this season. “Getaway wins are awesome, but it would be nice to steal the first ones, too,” Ross said. ... The Giants’ have the longest active streak of home sellouts in the majors at 171. The 820-game streak at Boston's Fenway Park, the longest in any major professional sport, ended April 10.
