Diamondbacks Rodrigo Lopez appears to have won the #4 spot in the Diamondbacks’ rotation for Opening Day. He blanked the Brewers for 5.1 innings on Sunay, and with a Cactus League ERA of 2.35, has a clear edge over the other contenders, Billy Buckner and Kevin Mulvey. The Diamondbacks will likely go with four starters and eight relievers to begin the season, since they don’t need a fifth rotation member until April 17.
Around NL West Spring Training, 3/29: Teams Move Into The Final Stretch
Dodgers Russell Martin’s recovery continues to go well, and True Blue LA believes he may not need a trip to the DL, and will simply be carried as an active but injured reserve on the 25-man roster for a few days. Clayton Kershaw and the LA bullpen posted a solid performance on Sunday, beating the Reds 2-1, and allowing only six hits and a walk, striking out seven batters. Kershaw will start the second game of the season, if kept on normal rest, following Vincente Padilla
Giants San Francisco has had a very productive spring as far as pitcher extensions goes, locking up starter Matt Cain yesterday, adding that to the contracts recently signed by reliever Jeremy Affeldt and closer Brian Wilson. However, Nate Schierholtz’s poor Cactus League numbers have them looking for credible alternatives. John Bowker and Mark DeRosa are possibilities, though neither are ideal for the position of right-field.
Padres San Diego announced Jon Garland would get the Opening Day start for the team, facing his old outfit in Arizona on April 5th. It’ll be the first new Opening Day starter since 2005 for both teams. However, Gaslamp Ball reckons that Chris Young will remain the “true” #1 of the staff, and notes that the way this sets things up, Young will now be starting the first game at Petco on April 12th.
Rockies Colorado are enjoying the somewhat unusual, for the franchise, position of being the favorites to win the NL West. “Consensus of scouts in Arizona is that Colorado Rockies are hands down best team in the NL West,” says one report, going on to quote a scout as saying “No weakness. Bench has best depth of any team in the game.” However, Tim Redding’s poor outing on Saturday has probably cost him a spot on the 25-man roster.
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