Only 161 games left on the schedule. With that in mind little can be taken from opening day. The teams who won can feel good about their starts while those who came up short will throw the results out and look forward to game two.
The Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants came away with their first wins of the season yesterday. All three will head into game two of the 2015 season looking to maintain their good vibrations. The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres were disappointed with the results and will turn to their #2 starters in hopes of evening up their record. All five NL West teams know they are in for a six month battle for the division title.
Today's games:
Colorado Rockies (1-0) - Milwaukee Brewers (0-1)
Location: Miller Park Game Time: 7:10 PM CDT
Season Series: Rockies lead 1-0 (All-Time: Rockies lead 65-57)
At Miller Park: Rockies lead 1-0 (All-Time: Brewers lead 36-24)
Last Game: 4/06/15 Rockies defeated the Brewers 10-0
Starting Pitchers
CO: RHP Jordan Lyles (0-0, -)
Lyles begins his second season as a starter for the Rockies since coming over in a trade from the Houston Astros. Lyles started off hot last season as he compiled a record of 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA in his first six starts before a broken hand sidelined him for an extended period of time. He finished 2014 with a record of 7-4, 5.09 ERA in 22 games.
Brewers - Lyles (career)
Best: Carlos Gomez .455 (5-for-11)
Worst: Aramis Ramirez .238 (5-for-21)
MIL: RHP Matt Garza (0-0, -)
The last four seasons Garza has been plagued with injuries. Last season Garza posted an 8-8 record with an ERA of 3.64 in 27 starts. Despite an offseason with a new training regiment Garza once again struggled in Spring Training, posting a 6.95 ERA while giving up multiple runs in all but one of his six starts.
Rockies - Garza (career)
Best: Drew Stubbs .313 (5-for-16, 1 hr, 3 RBI)
Worst: Troy Tulowitzki .154 (2-for-13)
Top Hitters (season)
CO: Nolan Arenado .750 (3-for-4, 1 hr, 4 RBI)
MIL: Adam Lind .750 (3-for-4)
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San Francisco Giants (1-0) - Arizona Diamondbacks (0-1)
Location: Chase Field Time: 6:40 MST
Season Series: Giants lead 1-0 (All-Time: Giants lead 172-125)
At Chase Field: Giants lead 1-0 (All-Time: Giants lead 85-64)
Last Game: 04/06/15 Giants defeated the Diamondbacks 5-4 at Chase Field.
Starting Pitchers
SF: RHP Ryan Vogelsong (0-0, -)
Vogelsong was signed in the offseason to a one year contract in order to provide the Giants with much needed pitching depth. Going into spring training he was not guaranteed to make the club. The injury to Jake Peavy changed all of that and propelled him into the starting rotation. In 2014 Vogelsong was 8-13 with a 4.00 ERA in 184 2/3 innings.
Diamondbacks - Vogelsong
Best: Aaron Hill .467 (14-for-30, 2 HR, 6 RBI)
Worst: Cliff Pennington .100 (1-for-10, 4 K)
ARI: RHP Rubby De La Rosa (0-0, -)
Brought over to the Diamondbacks from the Boston Red Sox, De La Rosa will be making his Arizona debut today. Armed with an upper 90's fastball, De La Rosa can blow the ball by just about anyone when he maintains his control. Plagued with a high percentage of walks due to command issues he has worked over the last year on commanding his pitches and adding in a changeup. While his walks have decreased he has also seen his strikeouts drop off as well. In 101 2/3 innings with the Red Sox last season De La Rosa posted a 4-8 record with an ERA of 4.43.
Giants - De La Rosa (Only 14 total plate appearances - De La Rosa.)
Best: Brandon Belt .500 (1-for-2, 1 HR, 1 RBI)
Worst: Norichika Aoki .250 (1-for-4, 2 K)
Top Hitters (season)
SF: Angel Pagan .750 (3-for-4, 0 HR, 2 RBI
ARI: Ender Inciarte .500 (2-for-4)
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San Diego Padres (0-1) - Los Angeles Dodgers (1-0)
Location: Dodgers Stadium Time: 7:10 PM PDT
Season Series: Dodgers lead 1-0 (All-Time: Dodgers lead 412-370)
At Dodgers Stadium: Dodgers lead 1-0 (All-Time: Dodgers lead 219-174)
Last Game: 04/06/15 Dodgers defeated the Padres 6-3.
Starting Pitchers
SD: RHP Tyson Ross (0-0, -)
Ross was an All-Star for the first time in 2014, posting a 13-14 record with an ERA of 2.81 in 31 games. A strained forearm flexor ended his season last year. The Dodgers had Ross' number last season, going 4-0 in the games he started against them. Ross has command of his slider heading into his first start of the season and looks to pick up his first win of the year against his nemesis from a year ago.
Dodgers - Ross
Best: Carl Crawford .538 (7-for-13)
Worst: A.J. Ellis .091 (1-for-11, 7 K)
LAD: RHP Zack Grienke (0-0, -)
Grienke has dealt with an elbow issue since the beginning of spring training. After a lousy spring attempting to correct mechanical issues in his delivery, Grienke produced his best outing to end the exhibition play in a minor league game, striking out nine in seven innings of work. The Dodgers will be counting on Grienke to replicate an outstanding 2014 season in which he went 17-8 with a 2.63 ERA in 32 starts.
Padres - Grienke
Best: Justin Upton .500 (7-for-14, 1 HR, 2 RBI)
Worst: Will Venable .111 (2-for-18, 9 K)
Top Hitters (season):
SD: Matt Kemp .500 (2-for-4, 0 HR, 3 RBI)
LAD: Adrian Gonzalez .600 (3-for-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI)
W L .PCT GB | Home Road | RS RS DIFF | STRK L10 | |
Colorado | 1 0 1.000 - | 0-0 1-0 | 10 0 +10 | W1 1-0 |
LA Dodgers | 1 0 1.000 - | 1-0 0-0 | 6 3 +3 | W1 1-0 |
San Francisco | 1 0 1.000 - | 0-0 1-0 | 5 4 +1 | W1 1-0 |
Arizona | 0 1 .500 1 | 0-1 0-0 | 4 5 -1 | L1 0-1 |
San Diego | 0 1 .500 1 | 0-0 0-1 | 3 6 -3 | L1 0-1 |