Diamondbacks at Reds, Game One - Preview and Lineups

I often get the impression that the Arizona Diamondbacks don’t actually exist. I mean, it’s hard to fathom that someone in charge of a professional sports franchise would ever actually settle on that jersey design, for one, not to mention that I’m fairly certain nobody has ever actually seen them in the same place at the same time as the Oakland Athletics.

Nevertheless, that’s who’s on the schedule for the Cincinnati Reds this weekend, as the club has limped back to GABP with hopes that the once-promising turnaround to their season can actually regain some much needed steam. Joey Votto will be back, Anthony DeSclafani will be on the mound, and the stage will be set for an enjoyable Friday evening of baseball in Cincinnati.

In many ways, Clay Buchholz is the player-version of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He’s been around for a decent enough amount of time, and purportedly done some winning in his time, but the idea of him actually pitching against the Cincinnati Reds just doesn’t register much in the memory bank. A quick glimpse at his vs. batter page on Baseball Reference nearly confirms as much, as the two players on the Cincinnati roster he’s actually faced the most are Preston Tucker and Mason Williams, each of whom have only been Reds for half a lunar revolution. Buchholz, though, will start for Arizona in GABP tonight, and actually owns a career renaissance-esque 164 ERA+ through 57 IP in 2018...

...if, y’know, he and the Diamondbacks are actually a thing.

First pitch is set for 7:10 PM ET.

Cincinnati Lineup

Arizona Lineup