The Evil Empire arrives at Salt River Fields, and the run they had last post-season is ongoing. The Dodgers have won their first four games, outscoring their opponents by a whopping 34-6 margin so far. So let’s hope this is not an omen of things to come in the regular season. But we are sending Zac Gallen to the mound today – and I would imagine, after the news that Merrill Kelly won’t be ready to start the season, he’s most likely to be the Opening Day starter for the D-backs in four weeks time, against these same Dodgers. But it will be Gallen’s first start of spring, so I wouldn’t expect him to throw more than a couple of innings. Here’s the full Arizona line-up:
Also potentially pitching: RHP Dylan Ray, RHP Drey Jameson, RHP Gerardo Carrillo, RHP Alfred Morillo, RHP
Hayden Durke, LHP Spence Giesting, LHP Avery Short, RHP Casey Anderson, RHP Indigo Diaz and LHP Carlos Rey. Jameson is probably the one I’ll be keeping a particular eye on, seeing if he can flash the sharply increased velocity he showed in the Arizona Fall League. He was hitting 99 mph there after, of all things, a botox injection in his neck helped relieve elbow discomfort. If he can get back to the form he had, I’d not be surprised to see him getting the chance to close out games for Arizona.
This one is going to be streamed through dbacks.com, though I haven’t clicked around enough to find the exact location yet. Mike Ferrin is on the call, and will be joined by former D-back Jake Lamb, acting as the color commentator. That should be fun.