Instead of Slade Cecconi, who was originally scheduled to take the mound, the Arizona Diamondbacks will hand the ball over to Joe Mantiply to start against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday, as announced by Torey Lovullo after Arizona’s series finale win over the Tigers.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This will mark Mantiply’s first start of the season and only the fourth of his career. Last season, Mantiply stepped into the starting role three times due to injuries plaguing the Diamondbacks’ rotation, allowing just one earned run over three innings in those appearances.
Coming out of the bullpen this season, Mantiply has posted a 4.67 ERA, allowing nine runs in 17.1 innings. In his most recent outing on May 18th, the 33-year-old failed to record an out while giving up three earned runs against the Tigers in the Diamondbacks’ 8-3 loss.
Since joining the Diamondbacks in the second half of the 2020 season, Mantiply has faced the Dodgers in 23 different appearances, recording a 4.96 ERA.
Slade Cecconi is expected to be up next once Mantiply wraps up his short start on Monday. While the Diamondbacks did not expect themselves to be in a situation where they would be having bullpen games = early on this season, with Eduardo Rodriguez and Merrill Kelly on the 60-day IL, it is a reality that they are now forced to deal with.
As for the Dodgers, they will have Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound to start. In his first season in the majors, Yamamoto holds a 4-1 record with a 3.21 ERA. On May 1st, he tossed six shutout innings against the Diamondbacks, allowing just five hits. The Dodgers signed the highly sought-after right-hander from Japan to a 12-year, $325 million contract this past offseason.
The Diamondbacks are 1-2 against LA this year, with their one win coming in extra-innings fashion. The second meeting of these NL West rivals this season will start at 7:10 PM in Los Angeles
